# photos of your show winning mice!



## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

Please can I have some photo's of your show winning mice? -any type/colours etc.

-Iv'e just got some supposed show mice and quite frankly I have bred bigger mice, with bigger ears etc. -some of the ones iv'e been given are great in regards to even colour/lack of tanning etc, but they lack in ears, are a little smaller than some of my best and one has major colour flaws (though I think she's old and past her best bless).

So I want to see some different show-winning mice to see the quality, and get a better idea of what I should be breeding for.

thanks


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Have you looked here
viewforum.php?f=77

It's not all about size and big ears.It's not especially difficult to produce large mice.To produce mice of good size,type ,intense colour is the challenge.If you haven't purchased your stock from a successful,active exhibitor they will fall short in many departments.Post pictures of them ,including the bellies if you want them better evaluated.If you look at the self fawn on that thread and then the argente you will see that the fawn doesn't have the huge ears.That quality has been sacrificed for intense colour.A fawn with enormous ears would never be a good enough colour to win anything.Unless they are for competing with I don't really see why it would matter unless you have been charge a high price for a pig in a poke so to speak.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

I think that the ones I've got might have been just brought from a show and the breeder is getting mixed up -I'm not sure but I can post photos of the ones I keep (me and 'kage' are splitting a job lot of mice from the person I got them from)


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I've just edited my post with more info.Do you want to compete with them?


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

nah turns out she just got them from someone brought at a show, are just show-line and they have never been shown. I doubt if they are good enough to show though some are good enough to breed/work on.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

what are they?


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

eh there's a champagne satin buck, a dove tan buck, a pretty chocolate doe and a really flawed black doe.

the champagne satin is the only one I know I'm keeping as I want it for satin breeding and selfs.

-we got a lot of "hobbyist" quality mice as well from the same person.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Heehee, my show winners have terrible type! :lol: But then I show Dutch mice 

With regards to the four varieties you have listed:

As SarahC said, it's not all about size. Showline blacks are not particularly big mice, they don't have the biggest ears, but they are insanely black. Size has been compromised in order that they have superb colour. These mice were never shown, but they came from a winning black breeder's stud:










Chocolates should be like blacks, except brown. The feet, ears, nose, toenails and tail should be as dark chocolate as the body, and a show chocolate should be the colour of dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. This is a showline chocolate buck, although he isn't perfect - but there aren't any perfect chocolates yet:










I had some dove tans that did fairly well:










Champagne self is the only one of those you have listed which you can expect to be hugely big and typey with enormous ears, but there is a lot more to a show champagne/silver/dove than lovely type. They must be perfectly even all over, with a belly the exact same colour as the top. The belly must also be thick and smooth with no lines. Tan hairs are a major fault. Ears too thin are a fault as they feather at the edge. And on and on it goes. Here are some of my silvers:










I'll finish by imparting my favourite saying: if they're not being actively shown, they aren't show mice. If you want to learn about show mice, I would suggest visiting some shows


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

I really need to get to a show next year or so -those blacks are lush!

Sent of my NMC from a few days ago :lol:

people seem to be getting confused between champagne and argente -I think some of the 'champaigns' we got are either really dark or poor argente's :/

This is a champagne buck (about 5 weeks old in the photo) I have bred, can I ask if it's too pale?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

He's not too pale (chams are very, very pale) but his colour is very uneven. He has white blotches all over him, which would be considered a serious fault as a self mouse is supposed to be one solid colour all over.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

thanks - I think the flash on the photo has bleached out some of his colour in places, - it's also the first champagne iv'e come across lol.

-Don't worry I know he's no good for showing :lol: (and he's for sale lol)


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

If the person who you got the mice from didn't know if they were argente or champagne then I'd worry. It's also uncommon to find a decent breeder who will give you one of each of many varieties like you have described. To start a new breeder off they would offer to supply at least a trio per variety, and recommend that you start with only one or two varieties.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

MouseBreeder said:


> If the person who you got the mice from didn't know if they were argente or champagne then I'd worry. It's also uncommon to find a decent breeder who will give you one of each of many varieties like you have described. To start a new breeder off they would offer to supply at least a trio per variety, and recommend that you start with only one or two varieties.


-they needed to sell up their mice so it was a really cheep lot, they have never shown or anything, we boxes we got of her are honestly a right shambles, with water bottles being placed to low and the wire being too large and not enough ventilation (all easily fixable though)

there's a white with a poor tan belly -that she swore was a silver because you cant get a tan pew?

I'm into self's mostly, but would love to breed satins and broken's as well.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

That's correct: PEW tan is genetically impossible. It will be a very, very pale silver tan.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

ok thanks it's very white -it's the same shade as my PEW so it's rather interesting. :lol:


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I did see a silver tan mouse once which was white with a soft peach belly. Despite being an horrendous example of its variety, it was very beautiful indeed.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

yeah - it's nice little pet type.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

morning-star said:


> they have never shown or anything


I think you've answered your own question there then 

And genetically, no you can't get a white tan - a pale silver tan could look almost white though.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

This one that I saw had lovely strong type and big ears. I really liked it.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

SarahY said:


> This one that I saw had lovely strong type and big ears. I really liked it.


May keep my eyes out for some in the future lol


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

anyone else got some photos to show off? :lol:


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