AIBU to put a baby mouse back in the field?

[Thirstysomething]

getting distracted by other threads now... the reason I came on MN is that we have just found a baby mouse on the driveway, probably brought in by dog/cat. My three year old is obviously desperate to keep it in our old hamster cage, but I can't believe we would be able to keep it alive and I think it would be better for the mouse to die in the field than in a strange plastic box in our kitchen. And there is a minuscule chance its mother would find it?
I am not sentimental, but, having just had a baby, am finding it hard to just abandon the little thing. Someone tell me I am doing the right thing?!

I would try and nurse it back to health. I'm so pathetic.

www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/wildlife/orphanedanimals/-/article/WLD_OrphanedWildAnimals

hope they can help

Is it fully furred and alert? My cat brought in a young woodmouse a few weeks ago- it was unharmed but was a bit stunned and had no fear of being handled. I kept it in a small covered tank for a couple of days until it went back to being scared of humans then let it back out.

I am not a fan of interfering with wildlife; let animals lead their lives.

What do you mean by "baby" mouse? Does it have fur? If it has fur then it is probably at least 2.5+ weeks old and capable of eating an entirely solid diet. Put it in a field and leave it alone. If it does not have fur, or has a satiny like covering, then it needs it's mother's milk still and will probably die.

Chances are it will die of shock if you handle it. It will likely become part of the food chain in a field, which will be even more painful for the mouse.

When my cat brought baby rats in, I used to put them in a couple of freezer bags and drop a brick on them. Painless and quick, although those were a bit more of an obvious situation - one poor mite had 2 broken legs (took me a couple of minutes to realise what was going on in which time the cats had used it as a tennis ball). Cruel to be kind (we also alerted the large supermarket chain downstairs who had the actual problem dealt with properly)

Disclaimer: I wouldn't drop a brick on a rat in front of a small child no matter how fascinating 5yo dnephew would find it

I have killed injured/myxy bunnies before, hideous, but you are right about cruel to be kind sometimes.
Just being sentimental today and it does seem to be fine, just very stunned. It is tiny but furred, eyes just about open I would say. It could be a tiny field mouse, or it could be a couple of weeks old.
I have put it in a hole the dogs scraped out in the hedge, in case it came from there and will keep dogs in for a few hours as you suggest.
It is now raining and I am feeling a bit (I know) stupidly upset about it. Hey ho. That's life, and all those cliches... just leaves you feeling nasty doesn't it.
So silly.

thank you.

I think you did the right thing.