# Record-keeping



## meromar (Aug 27, 2016)

It seems this isn't the general opinion of most mouseries, but thorough individual records for my livestock are really important to me -- especially as I only breed on a small scale, no more than two does in kindle at a time (barring any as-of-yet avoided happy accidents :lol: )

As of now I'm thinking about keeping complete individual records in a file, giving me plenty of space to take notes over the entire duration of an animal's lifespan. For my current stock, I could have index cards for each individual with only the essential details, serving as a basic summary and index to the larger file. I think this system should serve me well as a small-scale hobby breeder. I will be avoiding digital options as much as possible, as I repel technology and trusting my records solely to a computer is a recipe for disaster :lol:

So I was wondering how those of you here, if applicable, ID your individual animals and/or litters, and what information you include within the records? I'm especially interested in what information you have in IDs (such as stud name, litter number, individual, and so on, such as ~MM-047-A for example), as I can't seem to settle on a format I'm completely happy with. Is there information in your IDs that you feel you absolutely need at a glance -- and is there anything you feel isn't necessary? Thank you


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## Lilly (Nov 21, 2015)

meromar said:


> It seems this isn't the general opinion of most mouseries, but thorough individual records for my livestock are really important to me)


Most of the show breeders I know (at least over in the US) keep very extensive records in general actually, although admittedly the more into a line they get the more the records slip because you know what to expect by that point and it all ends as small differences in the same thing. Even so whenever I have asked about d.o.b's of mice i've got or any such thing its always "let me look at my records" and some i know keep several notebooks of it.

I have a mix of digital and written, although working to move it part way over to digital because I can do things with it in a lot easier way than written in many respects. Mostly in the respect of family trees, where I can have it displayed as actual visual trees as well as easily be able to click through the generations a lot faster than shifting through pages, but my guy is a programmer so can help me do a lot of quite fun things in that respect that I would never be able to do on my own.

For ID's I will generally do a line identifier (for example my splash line is all Spl), after that whether its a doe or buck(D or B), then the number of the mouse, this will only be given when I have determined which I am keeping and my best will be the next number, second best the number after that. Doe and buck numbers go up separately. So it kind of ends up looking like SplD05 or SplB02 for example. Now that I am setting up different side lines for some of my lines (like splash having one focus on pattern and one on type and crossing them often but still keeping the best for that specific) then I will likely have a -1, -2 on the end so SplD05-1 to denote it is a side line 1 breeder focusing on pattern.

I also have a quick reference guide for when each mouse was born so I can quickly look that up and on my digital records I have a link to litter 1, litter 2 etc, this is not doe dependent but all the litters born in my mousery and in that will have detailed notes about everything to do with the litter, how many, how many culled, how good a parent, what all the babies are and any other important things about them.


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## meromar (Aug 27, 2016)

Lilly said:


> Most of the show breeders I know (at least over in the US) keep very extensive records in general actually, although admittedly the more into a line they get the more the records slip because you know what to expect by that point and it all ends as small differences in the same thing. Even so whenever I have asked about d.o.b's of mice i've got or any such thing its always "let me look at my records" and some i know keep several notebooks of it.


I stand corrected!  Perhaps the people I've seen saying that they and their peers don't bother much with records are mainly pet breeders? I'm not sure!

Thank you for sharing your methods -- I especially like including your stocks genders in their IDs, I will definitely be doing that in the future.


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

I use Kintraks/Animal Breeder. It costs a little, but is a one-time purchase. It's a really great programme. I'm in Denmark, and most of the breeders I know of (in Scandinavia in general) keep records in one way or another. The Danish Mice/Gerbil Club (DMG) has an online pedigree database too. Anyway, the good thing about Animal Breeder is that you choose exactly the amount of information you wish you store and keep track of. There's room for it all. There is a free trial, if you wish you check it out. I used to store a lot more extensive info, but I've limited it a little because as Lilly mentions, when you have bred mice for as long as some of us have, you realise which of it you actually need, and what becomes less important.


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## meromar (Aug 27, 2016)

Fantasia Mousery said:


> I use Kintraks/Animal Breeder. It costs a little, but is a one-time purchase. It's a really great programme. I'm in Denmark, and most of the breeders I know of (in Scandinavia in general) keep records in one way or another. The Danish Mice/Gerbil Club (DMG) has an online pedigree database too. Anyway, the good thing about Animal Breeder is that you choose exactly the amount of information you wish you store and keep track of. There's room for it all. There is a free trial, if you wish you check it out. I used to store a lot more extensive info, but I've limited it a little because as Lilly mentions, when you have bred mice for as long as some of us have, you realise which of it you actually need, and what becomes less important.


I have used Kintraks in the past, I agree, its a great program! I won't be able to use it anymore as I'm making the switch over to Chromebooks, but I may be able to draw some inspiration from it for my physical records. I just need to go dust off the old laptop. :lol:


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## Torin (May 18, 2016)

I have a big excel spreadsheet for now, and am currently also trying to work out a suitable ID system. The furthest I've got is to identify each litter, rather than labelling individual mice. Not least as my current litters are my first generation. What system do you currently have for IDing meromar?


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

Probably the least organized or efficient documentation technique but it works for me... folders and word documents...

I have a folder for all my major lines. So right now its 3... Siamese, Black, Roan.

Then, I have folders of strains within each line. Within the strains folder, I make a folder for each generation. Within the generations folder, I make a folder for each stud. Any information needed and females he breeds to, I put in that folder. Additionally, all my containers are labeled with the strain they hold. My main goal is to track inbreeding. Everything else, you can basically tell just from looking at a mouse.

Mind you, I breed on a massive scale. Working with about 200 mice as of now. I have a new generation developing about every 3 months, and at least one litter every 2 weeks. So detailed records would be way too time-consuming for me.

^ Because of this, if I ever have a really bad genetic problem appear, I just discard the majority of the strain. Example, a few years ago, one of my female mice got a mammary tumor. Since this, I have yet to have a disorder or illness arise. I did a test a year ago. 5 consecutive inbreeds (brother to sister)... I got a few runty mice but no disorders. So, all seems good!


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