# Random Mice at Blackthorn Stud



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

My lovely husband bought a me new camera as a 'souvenir' from his friend's stag weekend in Amsterdam, so some mice came out for a photoshoot. The warm tint on the doves is because the sun was shining in and reflecting the wood on to their coats 

The two current dove studs and their wives:






















































My best argente creme Abyssinian:


























I have more argente creme Abyssinians than any other colour, so I guess I'm doing argente creme abys, not argente :lol: I'm thrilled about that really, because I love argente creams!

My best argente creme Abyssinian with her smooth coat blue agouti and chinchilla sisters:









Smooth coat PE cream (a/a c(ch)/c(ch) p/p), blue agouti and chinchilla does:


























I'm so pleased to have a blue agouti. I love the colour, so I've kept her even though she's pretty useless. But one pet doe won't take up much room, will she? 

Sarah xxx


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

I love their big ears and thick tails!
They doves have such nice coloring


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

The argent creme and the blue agouti are fabulous. That argente creme aby is really cool too. Do your abys have belly twists?


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

I think your argente cremes have been at the Shockwaves


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## Jemma (Mar 11, 2010)

Ooh, I've never seen photos of a blue agouti, other than the really brown one on Finnmouse. She's really quite pretty!

I'm loving the aby too - are they quite a new variety here? 
They don't seem to be as popular as I would have thought they'd be.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I love argente creme, too. I'm the only person in the US who keeps them. They're so beautiful.

Your doves are excellent as well. All your mice are obviously very well-bred. I'm impressed (and jealous)!


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Thanks everyone 

Yes, my abyssinians do have belly rosettes. They look like a zip running along the underneath. Even the really poor abys, the ones that don't show much on top, have belly zippers.

I can see how some people wouldn't like the colour combination of blue agouti, but I think it is a gorgeous variety, all soft bluey grey ticked with muted gold. I may take some pictures of her on her own and email them to the person in charge of the Finnmouse website. The mouse on that website looks absolutely nothing like a blue agouti!

I feel so fortunate to have accidently made argente creme. Some people try for years to cross over those C and P genes and make argente creme, and here it happens randomly! Every one of my non-argente creme abys carries both chinchilla and pink eye dilute. Yay!

Sarah xxx


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

You are very fortunate, Sarah!

I took the easy route and got my argente cremes from Europe "ready made." Otherwise I never would have had them even though I have argente and chinchilla all over the place.

In improving type on the argente creme, have you found that either argente or chinchilla works better as an outcross or that it doesn't matter?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I've been using my doves as that's all I have! I didn't really see the point in getting in mice specially to improve my abyssinians because it doesn't really matter what colour they are at this stage. If I had to choose an outcross, I'd choose argente though, I've seen more typey argentes than chinchillas.

They still look like pet-type mice, but I can see a big difference between this generation and the originals - the overall size is bigger, the faces are more 'sculpted', the ears are bigger and better placed, and the tail thickness is improving. Still a very long way to go, but I'm pleased with the progress so far.

Sarah xxx


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## Onyx (May 2, 2010)

They are absolutely gorgeous! I've not seen the cream abys before, they are beautiful


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Thanks, Sarah. That's how I was leaning, too.

Have you noticed with your argente cremes that they vary in shade a lot? Mine tend to range from dark, almost argente to almost white, all with that peculiar yellowy cast to them. Sorry to de-rail your post! I don't know anybody else with them!


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> Sorry to de-rail your post!


Not at all!  Yes, I have argente cremes that are like a soft, pastel version of argente, and some that I thought were pink eyed white until the undercoat was fully visible! Like most agouti/argente based mice, they seem to get darker and more saturated as they age.

Sarah xxx


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

Blue Agouti is actually my favourite colour, in rats. For some reason I tend to prefer the ticked varieties in rat form hehe I dunno why, maybe because the coat is coarser than on mice.

Totally loving your doves! Seriously, its LOVE!

W xx


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I like ticked, marked rats; variegated, russian blue agouti and silver fawn are my favourite rat varieties, and I dislike siamese and pale self rats. I like pale self and siamese mice best of all, and dislike all marked mice but dutch. Weird, innit? :lol:

Sarah xxx


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Sarah, I'm with you. I dislike marked mice. They're so small!


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

They just don't look _right_ to me, I can't explain it. I think I look at Dutch like they are a completely different species of fancy mouse, which is why I like them. I don't expect them to compare to the self varieties because they are a TOTALLY different shape and size and I just like them for what they are.

I think rumpwhites look like some Frankenstein creation comprising of a PEW bottom sewn to the top of a coloured mouse :lol: :lol:

Sarah xxx


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Hahaha! Now I'll never see rumpwhites the same again! :lol:


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

SarahY said:


> rumpwhites look like some Frankenstein creation comprising of a PEW bottom sewn to the top of a coloured mouse :lol: :lol:


Oh no, you've discovered my secret!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Shh! Cait, you're gonna get disqualified! :lol:


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sarah xxx


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

HAHAHA! Now that just made me spit out my diet coke! lol

W xx


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