# Breeding for good orange tan bellies



## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Recently, I've been trying to get better tan bellies by crossing to fawn, and then I read in this forum that you get a nice even color on the belly of a fawn but crossing to a tan. I take it the light belly is a typical problem with fawn. So my thinking was backwards, I guess. I have a satin marked champagne tan buck from the pairing of two fawns, so now I know that one of the parents must carry the tan gene. That young buck is the best tan belly I've produced in my mousery in several years.

"The tan-gene is actually a very interesting one. It is dominant over a, and partly dominant over A. With A it is dominant on the belly and recessive on the top." from the Finnmouse pages...I don't quite get it...is it possible to have an A^t or is it always a^t, and if so, why? And is it correct that a mousie homozygous for tan has a better color? Or is just based on the strength of the tan factor itself?


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Our fawns are not the kind of fawns they use in the UK.

Also, tans from the UK and Europe (a few of whom I've had the privilege of holding) are often also umbrous. You'll need Ay/* and/or U/* to achieve the dark tan bellies and fawns like they have in Europe.

Without Ay/* and U/* you can come close, but not really all the way.


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