# is this a good idea?



## rosanna (Dec 1, 2010)

once i get some mice to show, i would like to breed. my idea for breeding is that i only ever have 1 personally choose pair breeding at a time.

any way, one babies are born, i would like to give them all birth certificates. when i sell any mice they will have a birth certificate ( stating name, colour, DOB, parents names and colours) , show record (stating what shows the mouse had been to and where it came in the classes), breeding record (stating if the mouse has been bred, colour of mouse it was bred with, how may young were born, X amount of boys, X amount of girls, and colours of babies) and a pedgiree record (stating all the mouses parents names and colours).

also any mouse that i sell, will be sold on a sale/ return, meaning that if all the docs that the mouse comes with are kept save, i will take the mouse back at any time in its life and refund the money paid

do you think all this sounds a good idea. i would like to become a well known and reputable breeding


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

It's an honourable idea in principle, but perhaps more suited to pet breeding than show breeding. I don't mean that to be in any way horrible, but to show mice regularly you need to breed a LOT. I have a relatively small stud myself, but I'll always have at least five litters at all times. A lot of those mice won't make it to being shown or bred though, simply because they aren't good enough and they will be culled. Unfortunately, it is not possible to breed good show mice without culling them.

For pet breeding your method is sound. With one litter at a time you'll be able to give them lots of attention and handling, which will make very tractable, friendly mice. You will be able to trace the health of the line.

So really, it completely depends on how important showing is to you compared with breeding friendly, healthy pets. A lot of potential mouse owners would be thrilled to be able to buy mice from a breeder that supplies family trees and can introduce them to the parents, grandparents, etc, but if you're serious about competing in shows it is likely that you will have to do things differently.

I have started a page on my website, detailing how different breeding to show is compared with breeding pets, you might like to take a look at it. You can find it here: http://www.blackthornmice.co.uk/novice10.html. I'll add more points when I think of them 

Sarah xxx


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## rosanna (Dec 1, 2010)

thank you so much, im just starting out. i dont have any fancy mice at the mo, only african pygmy dormice, so everyones opion is appreciated, its helping plan out how to do everything, the reason i only want to have 1 pair breeding at a time is because i dont want to be over run and i dont like killing animals, show what ever mice i breed that dont make the standard, i may just as pets


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## setterchick (Nov 19, 2010)

I wish I got more info on my mice!! I would love that as a buyer!


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## rosanna (Dec 1, 2010)

i was thinking about what i would like to get with my mice, 
a birth cert- so i know the right age of my mouse and what colour the parents were,
a show record- so you know what shows this mouse has been to before and how well it done,
a family tree- so you can see the what the parents, grand parents ect, were
and a breeding record- so you know if your mouse has bred before, if the babies were healthy and just general knowlege of your mouse, this will also tell you how many time your mouse has been bred as i have read that a mouse should only breed 2-3 times in its life, more times could cos problems and even death


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