This article is from the WSSF 2012 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Karen Robbins

Shane Vogel, Facebook
QDoes anyone have a homemade recipe for formula for baby mice? I can’t get to a store til tomorrow night, it doesn’t look like my doe is feeding her pups enough—no milk band/belly at all on either of them.

AI’ve never used a homemade formula, just the various ones that are normally used such as whole, raw, fresh goat milk, Esbilac®, KMR®, Mother’s Helper™ puppy formula, Just Born® puppy/kitten formula, Enfamil (without iron), or Soyalac www.afrma.org/orphanrm.htm. I did find one homemade recipe on YouTube for orphan mice by CreekValleyCritters in Yukon, Canada, that uses goat milk. She has several videos on raising orphan mice. The WildAgain Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. web site has a lot of info on various milk replacers.

Recently, one of my first-time mouse moms had a litter and none of the babies looked fed the day after they were born, but by the next day they all had milk in their tummies and none died from lack of food. I’ve had great success fostering mice onto rats when I had a litter I needed to keep several from or a litter where the mom died. Hope your babies are doing better now.

The following is taken from the CreekValleyCritters videos on YouTube; also has several videos of raising Matilda and Stuart:

Homemade Formula

Matilda’s Formula

10 oz goat milk
10 oz sterilized water
1 raw egg yolk
1 cup whole yogurt
½ tsp corn syrup
1 tsp mayonnaise

Mix well in blender. Pour into clean sterile containers (freshly emptied water bottles). Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Uses an artist’s paint brush as the nurser and Q-tip to clean up the face.

Homemade Pedialyte

4½ cups water
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda