Mice Update

As I said, I was wrong when I told Wendy that the mice would not cause a smell in the house. I figured they were in the basement, but the circulating fan on the furnace chases the odor all over the house. So they are being evicted. To the garage........

I picked out the far corner of the garage, in a window, for the daylight they need. It is a hard place to photograph because the strong light comes from outside...

..........I am not a carpenter, but over time a framework of 2X4's took shape.......

.......this is the door, ready for installation....

...........here is the door installed. The large structure next to it is a trailer for hauling snowmobiles, motorcycles, etc., that's stored in the garage.............

......here you can see some of the pink Styrofoam used for walls and to insulate the "incubator". Also in place is a baseboard heater Jake wired in place for the heat, along with a thermostat............

...........The door is covered with pink and the mice are ready to move in..........

.....they are enjoying their new digs, but are disappointed that they can't see the lake very well. The house smells much better.......

.....the challenge is to keep the temp around 70. The garage is heated but to only about 45. The temperature on the other side of that window can go to -30. I put some 3M clear plastic sheeting on the inside of the window for extra insulation, making a "double-pane" into a "triple-pane". But still, it will be a challenge to regulate........

.......here is what it looks like from outside. Kinda hard to see in the picture..........

......the final touch is a peep hole, to check on them without opening the door and letting out all the heat.............

..........Let's take a look..........

..............Yep, still there. The Daves on the left and the Steves on the right. We are about a month into the experiment now and have some observations already. The Daves (the control group) are eating more, bigger, have better fur and look generally healthier. Both groups fight more than I think they should, but the Daves have drawn blood, with three of them injured and bleeding. Not sure why. They have healed up now and that storm seems to have blown over. We are off to a rough start for proving that my vitamin regime will make the Daves live longer......

Uncle Hans