Left a rug out on the front porch of the ranch house. Went to roll it up and underneath the rug was a mama mouse dragging five babies on her teats. She finally broke free and ran back under the rug. I caught all five babies and put them in the bucket. They were squealing so I set the bucket on edge and out she came and went straight into the bucket. I couldn't bring myself to do what needed to be done, so I built her a nest in a distant hay bale. Little bastages will probably grow up and chew all the wiring in my truck as thanks.

Hawk food

Good on you. All things deserve a chance.

+1
Except snakes.

You did the right thing. Anti-hunters get this misconception that we are all blood thirsty, but this shows how must of us are I feel like.

when i find babies i let them loose one at a time and let my dogs have at em. better than the damage they cause.

Chewed wires can cause fires.

When my daughters were young, we (mainly me) had two guinea pigs that free ranged in my backyard for over 4 years. They were very entertaining to watch and basically fed themselves off of grass and houseplants. I had sweet potato vines planted in pots. The guinea pigs were basically farming them as every day they would get up on their back legs and check out the growth. Only when the vine would reach the ground would they nip it off and have a feast. But never more than one a day and never until it touched the ground. They are smarter than given credit for. The mama mouse's protective nature earned her a reprieve.

Yup