# Culling A^y Red Mice Necessary?



## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

A^y is lethal homozygous. If two Red mice are bred together, the resulting litter will be approximately 25% less pinkies. In result, isn't there enough milk production available and culling is not necessary, except for health deformities?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

depends on how many you cull your litters down to and why.I cull to 6 and they produce litters bigger than that fairly often.I cull all the agouti/sable/cinnamon bucks that mine produce as I have no purpose for them.Would you have a reason to keep them?


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

It's all just technicalities and fake numbers anyway. Some lines will produce a large amount of young, whilst other lines will produce fewer so 25% less in litters is kind of irrelevant. A high producing red can produce as many as a low producing pew....
Also, there is "enough" milk to feed as many babies as any mouse can produce, it is only in the interest of the fancier to cull to a more managable number for the dam and produce larger babies.
In essence, I'm saying treat the red x red litter as you would treat any other litter with the same objectives.


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

Hm. Ok, thank you both.

I really do not like culling. I understand and acknowledge it as a necessary practice but it does somewhat bother me personally. I feel bad for the pinkies.

I have a Marten Sable buck and was hoping that maybe I would not have to cull Reds due to homozygous lethal. I am going to begin breeding Reds for the next 6 months. If it is very successful and has high potential for color and health and I do not have to cull, I may stop breeding all my other lines and just focus upon Red A^y.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I find the very large mice to be the varieties that need the least culling.They are slow breeders and have small litters of big babies.For me, that is cream(bone)and silver tans, dove tans and champagne tans.All their energy seems to have gone into growing.They don't fight either, even after breeding.The downside is it's easy to hit a period of no breeding at all and come close to them dying out.If it wasn't for that they would be fantastic for non-cullers.


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## Amtma Mousery (Jan 29, 2015)

Oh ok. Thank you for sharing.


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