# Breeding, what's desirable?



## Skye_29 (Jan 7, 2013)

Hiya,

I currently breed my mice as a food source for reptiles, however I am always in excess and wondered if it was worth selling any.
I'm not looking for any profit nor am I expecting any. But rather than cull unnecessarily, I'd rather sell.
I have eight adult mice that collectively carry grey in varying shades (dove with black eyes?), light brown/grey, black eyed white, broken, black, tan and blue.

What type of mice should I breed towards? What are the desirable colours? Also what are the desirable features, like shape of eat, length of tail, overall body shape?

Thanks, Skye


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

If you're breeding towards type, you want the body to be long and racy with an arched back. The tail should be thick and at least as long as the body. the ears and eyes should be large too.

As far as the colors you should breed for, I noticed that pied/marked mice sell faster than selves. Also, I noticed that black eyed sells faster than pink eyed. I'd breed for genes that go well together so you have multiple colors in one litter (like for me I breed black based to agouti based and pink eyed to black eyed and self to pied and my litters turn out with a mixture of black dove argente and agouti in self and pied.) I noticed that people love the variety and the option to choose one that's perfect for them. If you only want to breed one color though, I would breed for colors you don't usually see around your area


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

It's worth screening the owners. I had a lot of inquiries about my mice but only one person seemed capable/willing to properly care for them for the duration of their lives. If I were a mouse, I'd rather be dead rather than be in a state of potential neglect. Food for thought!


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## Skye_29 (Jan 7, 2013)

rematnogard said:


> If you're breeding towards type, you want the body to be long and racy with an arched back. The tail should be thick and at least as long as the body. the ears and eyes should be large too.
> 
> As far as the colors you should breed for, I noticed that pied/marked mice sell faster than selves. Also, I noticed that black eyed sells faster than pink eyed. I'd breed for genes that go well together so you have multiple colors in one litter (like for me I breed black based to agouti based and pink eyed to black eyed and self to pied and my litters turn out with a mixture of black dove argente and agouti in self and pied.) I noticed that people love the variety and the option to choose one that's perfect for them. If you only want to breed one color though, I would breed for colors you don't usually see around your area


Thanks! Definitely gives me some idea of what to head for.

And Seafolly, thanks too. So far I've sold a pair of girls to a friend, but my relation to them will help her look after the mice. I'm always cautious when contacting people I don't know 

Edit: rematnogard, how would I find out what's in my area? Pets at home doesn't sell mice and there aren't really that many ads on here. Where would I look to find the popular mouse-selling-communities?


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

You might just want to breed what YOU think is cute and improve on health and type. That'll hold your interest longer as there's no money in mouse breeding if done correctly. I'm personally looking into donating "extras" to a rehab centre that looks after owls (and humanely culls before feeding them).


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## TwitchingWhiskers (Feb 2, 2013)

Seafolly said:


> You might just want to breed what YOU think is cute and improve on health and type. That'll hold your interest longer as there's no money in mouse breeding if done correctly. I'm personally looking into donating "extras" to a rehab centre that looks after owls (and humanely culls before feeding them).


 :thumbuo

Yes! Breed what you like, not what others like. If you are found of typey pieds, by all means go for it, but don't breed them just because pet owners like them. It is very true that you shouldn't make profit on your mice, and I can't imagine it being easy either.


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