# Abyssinians - big progress... and a small set back...



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Hi All,

These are photographs of my latest Abyssinian litter. You can clearly see that three of these babies have just the four rosettes, one either side of the tail set and one on the side of each back leg. This is pretty standard for my Abyssinians, but I've been trying hard to get rosettes further up the body on the ribs and shoulders. Two of these babies actually have rosettes on their shoulders! I couldn't be more thrilled, it's only taken a year to get here (that wasn't sarcasm, I was expecting a few more years to go)!



















But!- What's going on here?! These are the two with shoulder rosettes, but what's up with the super long guard hairs?! 
Is this... longhair? NOOOOOOOOO!



























I can't believe I spent all that time getting the Abyssinians to produce babies all the same colour, with no more surprise recessive curly-haired mice popping out, and now that's all sorted and I have a chance at a true-breeding line it looks like I have a brand new recessive to breed out! :lol: :lol:

This is the sire:










Here is the dam:










Sarah xxx


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Long haired Abbys must look ridiculous. :lol:


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

I think a long haired abby would be gorgeous......I'd kill for any abby's honestly...lol ...but yeah that would bug the crap out of me if a recessive that I didn't want popped up too...... Here's hoping for you that its just something wierd with the effects of the gene spreading and they grow out of it!


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Maybe this:









Or this:










Is what Abbys with long hair look like. :lol:


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> Here's hoping for you that its just something wierd with the effects of the gene spreading and they grow out of it!


Thanks, I'm keeping my own fingers very tightly crossed :lol: I want to get them standardised and short hair is definitely the way to go for that goal!



> Long haired Abbys must look ridiculous


Actually, a good one is very pretty indeed. The ridges all look like wispy fans and the rosettes are still very clear. But just as with short hair you can get poor longhair Abys that look a bit like the pictures you posted.

Sarah xxx


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Oooooh really?  
I'd love to see one that is considered a good example. It does sound dreamy the way you describe it.


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## mousemad (Jun 7, 2010)

I have joined you Sarah with the Abys. Mine are no where as good as yours yet but you are not alone x


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## shadowmouse (Sep 17, 2010)

Wow. The Abyssinians remind me of my pigeon days. Anyone seen one of these before?










Gorgeous, huh?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Yep, seen them at the shows we share with birds/rabbits/cavies etc. There are some *strange* looking pigeons :lol:

Mousemad, breeding Abyssinian will drive you insane but they are so pretty it's worth it 

Sarah xxx


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I thought I had seen those pics before! It would appear that long hair and aby intersect somewhat. The abys appear to have long hair where the rosettes occur. I am I just imagining this?


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

I don't think its that the coat is any longer, its just htat it stands on end, which makes it much "taller" than where the coat is normal and lays flat.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Yep, that's right 

Sarah xxx


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

There is a very large following in other livestock fancies for animals with "hair doos" The peruvian cavy, texels, etc, angora Rabbits. Any fancier who pursues these coated animals in mice is, in my opinion on the eve of something good. I see no reason why there should not be a sixth section. It is true that Coated animals attract lady members, and we in the fancy are probably missing out on potentially lots more members because hair doos havent got a high profile. I would say to Sara Y Go Sara Go !!! I personally think you would be of great benefit to the fancy in an influential position (exec. com ) You are going through the problems that the early Tan fanciers had to go through etc, Septic Peg has you marked for great things in the fancy. If you have odds turning up, form a seperate line of them and see what happens.
Its no secret that hair doos are responsible for the very top honours in other fancies, you may actually have a huge chunk of the future of the fancy in your hands.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I misunderstood was Rhasputin was saying along with the pix she showed; you may remember that those same photos were put up when I had a question about some long haired tris that had weird distributions of fur looking like hair skirts or baggy pants. And I have had at least one mousie that looked to have rosettes while quite young. Long haired curly angora abys would indeed be quite a sight!


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

The abbys are looking great sarah  
I cant belive you are getting the swirls up so high on the body! I must be doing something totally wrong :?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Thanks so much Gary, that's really encouraging 

Laoshu, they pretty much pop out by chance, just keep breeding the mice with the biggest rosettes together and some will turn up. I'll have to take a step backwards in the rosette coverage anyway as I'm breeding in Aby carrier does from a show ivory outcross next generation, but that's just the way it goes, isn't it :lol:

Sarah xxx


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

More pictures, taken whilst cleaning out yesterday:














































They are now two and a half week old and I'm still uncertain as to whether they are longhaired mice. The ridges do seem higher and softer than usual... Can any longhair breeders please tell me how long the hair takes to grow through to the point where it is visibly, definitely longhair?

Sarah xxx


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

They look lovely sarah.

from my experiance with long haired I find that the long hair is always best (longest whispyest *if that word even exist's*) at this age your's are at the moment! I personally would say they are not long haired.

Also (not sure if it helps) I have never ever had a long haired pop out the abby lines and I am guessing your mice to mixed into them have not ether


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Oh I'd be so relieved if they're not longhaired after all! That's great news! 

Sarah xxx


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Look at the whiskers. That's the easiest way to tell the coat type when you are un-sure.


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## thickgiraffe (Nov 3, 2010)

from my abby cavy breeding days i find little babies to look slightly long haired then they seem to grow into the hair so to speak. it usually looks longest at the edges of the rosettes where the two rosettes meet and make a ridge as they push against each other. so far i see nothing to worry about extra gene wise.


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