# 4 new does! maybe a dove dutch??



## hxcrubberduckie (Apr 23, 2012)

here are my new girls! all from the same litter. could the one with multi pics be a dutch?


























thats her, is she dutch or close?

other girls


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## mousery_girl (Nov 13, 2011)

her markings are "dutch like" but to be dutch the breeder would have to have been aiming for them and all the sisters would look dutch, just random, nice mice though


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

mousery_girl: I'd disagree with that statement; if it looks dutch it is dutch. The litter mates are more randomly marked, but not entirely without dutch-like characteristics. I've seen mismarked dutch from other breeders of dutch mousies that aren't too different from these.


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## hxcrubberduckie (Apr 23, 2012)

what I dont know is that the patches do not cover her eyes, id liike too get a better looking dutch, could I breed her to a certin color or marking to get closerr to dutch?mi


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

She's definitely a Dutch, congratulations! Dutch mice are the BEST mice! 

Dutch is merely a name for that particular pattern of colour on a piebald mouse, it's not a seperate marking gene. Dutch is 's', recessive spotting, the same as show winning brokens and pet shop piebalds. So, if you have a mouse which looks like a Dutch, then it is a Dutch. As moustress says, you get all kinds of rubbish almost-Dutch in Dutch litters, it doesn't 'breed true'.

Breeding Dutch isn't easy by any means, but good for you if you want to focus on them more!  Breed this mouse to either the parent or the Dutchiest looking sibling and just keep at it, selecting for Dutchier mice every generation. If you don't have a parent/sibling, then haunt the pet shops to find a piebald buck which exhibits cheek patches and a saddle. It doesn't matter if there are other markings, you can breed away from these over time.


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## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

Have you been breeding for Dutch for a while or just starting? Very sweet bubs, and the Dutch one has a lot of promise!


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## hxcrubberduckie (Apr 23, 2012)

I didnt even plan on any dutch mice, I just got these 4 girls, all sisters, from a friend who	didnt want them, but now that I have dutchy type mice I think ima work on them! I have a few males who are pied that might work, il post a few pics when I get on my computer of them, im on my phone right now lol


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

It'd be very cool if you do decide to work on Dutch, but I should warn you that you would be unlikely to get another Dutch for another couple of generations at least. With only one Dutch to work from it's not something you can duplicate in one mating. You'd get piebalds first time round and you would have to selectively breed them into Dutch. It's a long road to start from scratch but if you do it you'll find it very rewarding


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## hxcrubberduckie (Apr 23, 2012)

I will work super hard, just like with tris, but dont even have a splashed yet so the dutch will be my 1st task! im sso excited


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Just curious, would getting other minimally marked mice or breeding with the existing relatives be the better option in this scenario?


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'd guess that breeding to any mousie with dutch-like characteristics would work equally well. Breeding to typier meeces with dutch markings or markings close to dutch would be better if you w3antd to go to show with them. You have to breed dozens of meeces to get one that would be a contender, though.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> Just curious, would getting other minimally marked mice or breeding with the existing relatives be the better option in this scenario?


Breeding this mouse back to the sire would be optimum as he's known to have produced a Dutch marked mouse. This only gives a slightly higher chance of producing more Dutch though, it's not a guarantee. Using minimally marked mice for Dutch is not good as it's hard enough keeping enough pigment in the right place. Using a minimally marked mouse would produce mice with less colour; little eye circles and a tiny saddle at the base of the tail. It's a difficult balance, obviously breeding in mice with more pigment will produce better sized cheek patches and a higher, fuller saddle, but it will also bring mice with spots on the body as well.


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## hxcrubberduckie (Apr 23, 2012)

so i have decided on this male, he has 1 ear patch and a nice saddle but also body spots, but he is my best looking boy










should i breed him with all 4 does?? or just the female with no body spots?


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