hides for mice?

I have four females in in a tank and I was wondering if I have to have multiple hides for when they make their birthing nest or should I just leave the hides out? Or have a really big hide? I would think that if they all give birth around the same time that one would be cramped with lots of babies, one female produces about 14 per litter and the other gives smaller litters, my other two are going to have their first litter. Please help.

I'm not sure but I think that mice often kill each others litters......
I don't know if this is true or not I'm 100 percent sure there are better people than me to answer the question

You are incorrect. Mice often take care of each other litters. This is why for mass production of feeder animals we often have colonies of 1 male to 4 females. The mothers and fathers share in the care.

As far as hides, its really a personal issue. Mine do awesome without. I have a friend that uses 4 in pvc with an end cap for a roof. They look like little tiki huts after he drills the door in them. He uses the pvc because he can wash them easily. Using wood hides you may get a horrid smell because it won't come out of the wood. Toilet paper tubes are disposable and work ok. They usally get chewed down for bedding. If your mice don't get stressed by looking in on them, I would suggest no hide at all.

I would say if you have them in a tank in a busy room give them a plastic hide. If they are kept away from noises they may be okay without one. Mine pile up extra bedding around where they give birth. They all share babies too, even my mice that haven't given birth will nurse the babies.

@ hedwigdan These babies are 3 days apart. Both moms nurse them as well as one of the females that hasn't given birth yet. The bigger ones are 4 days on and the younger are a full day old.

You could give them toilet paper tubes or empty boxes for hides. Chewing them is actually good since mice and rats teeth constantly grow so chewing helps keep them down. Ours will also share in taking care of the babies and even divide them up into smaller piles so it is less of a strain on the female nursing them.

Originally Posted by Airidies

I would say if you have them in a tank in a busy room give them a plastic hide. If they are kept away from noises they may be okay without one. Mine pile up extra bedding around where they give birth. They all share babies too, even my mice that haven't given birth will nurse the babies.

@ hedwigdan These babies are 3 days apart. Both moms nurse them as well as one of the females that hasn't given birth yet. The bigger ones are 4 days on and the younger are a full day old.

Those are some nice looking pinkies. Is that from the group? They look great.

I have never seen mice use a hide when caring for their babies. Even if you provide a selection of them, they typically just dig a big nest in the substrate somewhere toward the middle of the cage and care for the babies there. If you do keep more than one mom and their litters together, they tend to pile all the babies into one nest and take care of them there together, even if the babies are different ages.