Feeder Mice at the Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Situation before: At the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, the live reptiles and birds of prey in exhibits need food.  Staff at Chickasaw spent time and money raising their own feeder mice to feed to the snakes and owls in the exhibits.  As part of the Department of the Interior’s effort to spend budget dollars as efficiently as possible, Chickasaw asked the question: do we really need to be in the business of raising our own feeder mice, or is there a cheaper way to get feeder mice.

Actions Taken: Chickasaw calculated what it costs to raise its own feeder mice and compared that with the cost of getting feeder mice from private vendors.  What did it find?  Vendors could provide the feeder mice Chickasaw needed at a lower cost.

Results: Today, Chickasaw buys feeder mice from a private vendor at a savings of $15,000 per year. Chickasaw now has more money to spend on core priorities such as nature trails that more directly benefit its visitors.