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You cannot successfully breed and exhibit mice without culling.
The
optimum amount of kittens a female can rear at a time is four or five.
In the wild mice have very, very large litters because only four or five
will actually make it to adulthood. In captivity it is possible for all
fifteen of a large litter to survive to adulthood, but these adults
will be nowhere near the quality of the adults from a litter of four.
The litter of four will be bigger, meatier, and healthier because they
had all the milk they needed. As if this wasn't reason enough, show
breeders must cull babies because there is simply no room to keep
surplus animals. Your space will be needed for your showing and breeding
stock. Mice are not particularly popular pets and you will find it very
difficult homing most of each litter. Bucks especially need to be
culled as babies because they are greedier with milk than does and, when
they grow up, they will most likely need to be housed alone because
males will usually fight to the death. Your first litter could well
produce ten males that will end up needing ten seperate cages. On the
other end of the scale, there is no space for retired mice. Female mice
can breed up to about a year old, maximum. After that, she will be
taking up space in your stud that you need for mice you can use. A male
can breed to the end of his days, but if his son is a better mouse than
he is, there's no point keeping him. It sounds very harsh, I know, but
that's just how it is when you are breeding small animals for
exhibition. If you are unable to kill mice, show breeding is not for you.
The mouse fancy as whole is only interested in the mouse as an exhibition animal, not as a pet.
Exhibition mice are not pets, they are stock.
When you visit a breeder's stud for the first time, you will not find
mice in big cages with toys and wheels and what-have-you because when
you have a stud big enough to breed mice for exhibition, you just don't
have time to keep all those things clean. Mice are much, much better off in spartan, clean surroundings than in cages full of dirty toys that you just don't have time to wash.
Mice don't need these things anyway, they are perfectly happy with
other mice to interact with, litters to nurse, and a big handful of hay.
Regardless of their livestock status, be assured that exhibition mice
receive the best of care, simply because unhappy or unwell mice won't
keep the condition needed to win shows or breed winners.
Mousing, done properly, is not a cheap hobby
It
is expensive to breed and show mice and there's no way you can do it
properly and make a profit, or even break even. The initial set-ups are
expensive enough, with all of your equipment and cages/tubs/boxes, but
there is also a great deal of traveling involved. Then there are the monthly costs of food, bedding and
sundries such as mite spray, worming syrup, etc.
Mousing takes up a lot of time
In
order to bred a large amount of mice, daily dedication is needed.
Mousing is a heavily time consuming hobby.
Inbreeding is the only way to produce consistent winners.
If
you want any kind of consistency in the quality of the mice you're
producing you NEED to inbreed. INBREEDING IS NOT BAD! Some strains of
mice have been bred brother to sister for a very long time with no new
blood added and they are normal, healthy, mice with only one head and four legs.
Inbreeding
can only use the genes that are already there - if the genes are all
good then you can only produce good stock from them. The problem comes
in when there are hidden bad genes, when a dodgy gene is being carried
down the family unnoticed. For example - you don't know that the doe
you're mating carries a gene that produces mice with no legs. You mate
her to a random unrelated buck, who unknown to you carries a gene to
produce an extra pair of eyes. The offspring all turn out as healthy,
curious little babies and grow up normal. This is called hybrid vigor,
when the offspring of two unrelated parents are apparently healthy
because they each only have one copy of the parent's genes. Then, you
breed a brother and a sister from the mating together and lo and behold,
your kittens have no legs and four eyes. This is terrible, and the
uninformed may well blame this on the fact that these mice were the
product of brother/sister mating. What has actually happened is you've
identified that the gene is there and therefore can avoid using any mice
from that strain again.
Now imagine you're breeding the best
mice in the fancy, everything about them is perfect and they win time
and again. There is no other stock as good, so there's no way you'll
outcross to inferior stock for no reason! You keep inbreeding and
because these mice are perfect they are hiding no bad genes, and bad
genes don't spontaneously appear. You will end up with generation after
generation of perfect mice.
These scenarios are exaggerated
obviously, but they illustrate that you have to inbreed if you want to
produce good mice consistently. If you don't, you have no idea what
kinds of horrible things are lurking unseen in the genetic make-up of
your mice. At the very least, inbreeding brings these things to the
surface and enables you to make a decision on how best to improve your
mice. At the very best, inbreeding will cement in the good qualities you
want to keep and produce consistent quality mice that will improve as
you breed the best mice together through the generations.
When you are starting out, it is best to start with either just one variety or two very compatible ones (like pink eyed white and ivory, dove and silver, or agouti and cinnamon). A small beginner stud with one variety (or two very compatible varieties) would have at least 30 does of varying ages and 3 stud bucks. Running two incompatible varieties turns that into 60 does and 6 bucks.
I can't stress enough how important it is to go to shows and actually see the varieties in the fur before making you final decision and sourcing your first trio. Looking at photographs just doesn't compare. Go to shows, talk to breeders, and see as many different varieties as possible before making a decision.
One of the most important things when choosing a variety is whether or not winning is important to you. There are varieties that are not as likely to win as others. Reds, for example, will not have as good a chance at best in show as a silver self because reds are naturally let down by the poor type inherent with the Ay gene. A superb example of a red will get it's due, but it's much harder and will take longer. But, there is still much satisfaction to be gained from varieties like reds, especially if you become known within the fancy as having the best mice of that variety. If you want to win, choose a variety that has a good chance. Any of the pale selfs and satins have much success on the show bench, but black is the only dark self likely to make it to best in show. Chocolate and blue will never look as good as a good show black, and varieties like these are known as 'bridesmaids', as in 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride'. Black tans are more likely to win than, say, champagne tans, because with a black tan the whole mouse is bred to be as dark and rich as possible, whereas on the cham tan you need to keep the top color delicate and pale whilst trying to make the tan dark and rich. Breeding marked mice will rarely result in BIS winners - but when you have a 'flyer', it will keep on winning for as long as it's kept in show condition. If you're in it to win, keep an eye on the top twenty and the show reports, see which varieties are consistently winning and which fanciers are doing well with them, and go to them for advice and stock.
Beware pet breeders selling 'show mice'.
There have been many incidents of late where newcomers to mouse breeding have arranged to buy mice advertised as show mice from a breeder, and getting ripped off. Many pet breeders who have mice from show lines sell them as show mice, and they have never shown mice in their life. I'm sure this is a genuine mistake on their part; show mice are so distinctive with their racy type, long bodies, big ears and exquisite shaped heads, that people think these are defined as 'show mice'. This is not the case.
Show mice are mice that are being shown, regardless of where they came from. If the mice in question are not being shown then they are pet mice, whatever they look like. Some people will make their pet stock more appealing by saying 'bred from show lines'. That means nothing to the exhibitor, it only takes one bad decision, one generation, and the line is ruined. To the novice looking for mice to start off exhibiting mice, this can be very difficult. It can mean novices unwittingly buying inferior stock.
If you are buying stock advertised as 'show quality', don't be afraid to ask the breeder their show results and how recently they've shown. If the reply is something along the lines of "well, I don't really show", walk away and buy some better stock from someone who does.
The best way to purchase show mice is through a good breeder in the American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association who regularly exhibits and does at least fairly well. Join up first, talk to breeders, visit shows, and then find your stock.
Members of the mouse fancy will ALWAYS have time for people who are seriously interested in the hobby. Ask their advice and listen. If you are unsure of who to talk to, a judge is a good starting place. Don't be afraid to call them - their contact details are available for just that reason, so that members can get in touch with them. If you write to them, make sure you include a stamped, addressed envelope for their reply. Things like thank you cards sent to those who give you stock will be remembered and appreciated. Many members have been mousing for longer than I have been alive, and as such should be dealt with with respect.
Mouse Breeding/Showing glossary:
GENERAL MOUSE TERMS:
Buck: male rodent
Doe: female rodent
Sire: a father animal
Dam: a mother animal
Kitten: baby rodent or rabbit. Also refers to the young of cats, badgers, stoats, and many other animals.
Pinkie: naked kitten aged from newborn to about 5 days
Fuzzy: furred kitten aged 6 days to 2 weeks
Hopper: kitten aged 2 to 3 weeks
Weaner: kitten aged 3 to 4 weeks
In Kindle: pregnant
Kindling or 'to kindle': giving birth
Stud: a collection of animals for the purpose of breeding
Mousery: a collection of mice, kept for any purpose
Strain: An
inbred line of mice which produces mice extremely similar to their
ancestors. Most show lines of mice can be described as 'strains'.
Waster: a substandard or useless mouse
Culling: to remove an animal from the breeding program by euthanizing or selling surplus/substandard stock.