too-many-mice

[too-many-mice]

@malicious-code-103

Popping this in a new post cause I want to add a photo.

I am self taught, animal genetics as a whole is something of a special intrest of mine.

You could even say I'm autistic about mice..

I've been breeding mice for just under 20 years at this point , tho the lines I'm working with now are not my original lines.

I've had to move long distances and had to sell everything and then re start only once.

Both times set up my mousery I did in the same manner. Brought an assorted bulk lot of mixed feeder mice and selected out , and isolated the colours thru selective breeding.

It's been a 2 phase process , first seperate pied from self, then. Seperate out colours

If other genes are present like manx or long coats they also get seperated thru selection .

Manx still pops up from time to time but it's not a gene I want in my stock so they get culled out as they occur.

If starting from mixed stock of un known origins it can take a bit or time and a few generations to work out what is in there but it's a good way to learn how different gens interact with one another.

Temperament is also influenced by genetics so keep that in mind when selecting what to keep and breed and what to cull out.

I don't work with anything that bites, thumps it's tail,jumps or squeaks when I open a tub to check them

Hope that helps I know its a lot of words 😅

Small selection from my library as tax.

[too-many-mice]

How large are your litter sizes, and where did you get your founder stock? Do you ever add in new mice for diversity? Sorry for questions I find mouse breeding fascinating and have only participated in a lab setting before 🙏

Ask away!, I'm enjoying the engagement and happy to share.

Litter sizes, on average for my lines it's 8 to 14 but some lines are much more prolific than others.

I recently add some tan mice as a new line and some c locus lines for dramatic outcoss to 2 tubs that were showing early inbreeding depression.

I also have some lines that I have not outcrossed at all , I've been breeding them for a good 20 years now without introducing new genes , those are the hereford lines as. I don't want to introduce random pied modifiers and mess up the markings.

Those lines are stable and still produce large litters

[too-many-mice]

Enrichment in lab tubs.

Due to the size of the tubs it can be hard to find things that fit nicly for our mice.

One product I've found that is exclent for its low profile and open desgin are these flying saucer wheels.

The shape prevents "wheel tail" and dose not put strain on their spines like traditional wheels do.

[too-many-mice]

Hello! Love the blog and the cute header :) what do you do with all your breeding mice? I know some hobby breeders have "culls", just wondering how you deal with those! I work with mice and they have. So many pups at once ...

Good question!. Not everyone is going to like my answer but as a responsible breeder over %80 of my litters are culled for reptile food

Live feeders in Australia is strongly frowned upon so everything that is food goes out as frozen.

I use a combination of Co2 gass and cervical dislocation for the culling.

Of the remaining %20 of litters they are grown out to replace the aging breeding stock and a select few do go out as pets or to other breeders.

I consider my self a "closed" operation as I'm not breeding FOR the pet trade, rather I am breeding for my own goal of improving genetic stock.

Some might call this cruel, but it's a far better outcome than having weak, sickly, bad natured and stressed animals in over crowded conditions.

[too-many-mice]

Australian pearl

I've been working on this mutation since 2016 when it spontaneously popped up in a group of pied feeder mice. Since then I've learnt alot about it.

It's a recessive , typically it has ruby eyes but can present as pink eye.

The pearling varies from light to dark and can be seletivly bred for.

It expresses on black, blue, chocolate and viable yellow.

The next step is to see how it reacts with havana

As well as testing it on tan ,*(I need better tans to test this as I want to see what it dose on the belly)

There are no health issues associated with this gene.

[too-many-mice]

A couple of the Siamese.

[too-many-mice]

Little creme doe

[too-many-mice]

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Blue self and pearl blue

These pearls are a little dark the shade should be as close to silver ad possible.

Jump over to my instgram for more mu content

[too-many-mice]

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Hereford has to be my favourite type.

They are the cornerstone of my mousery.

Pop over to my instgram for more mu content

And some other critters too

[too-many-mice]

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Some of the siamease mice

Colour and type looking good for Australian stock.

Pop on over to my instgram for more mu content and some other animals top

[too-many-mice]

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Something I've been working on on the back burner, sepia mice!

Jump om over to my instgram for more mu content and other animals too!

[too-many-mice]

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Why not pop on over to my instgram for the latest mu content and meet some of my other critters too!

#Mousemonday

#mousebreeding

[too-many-mice]

Hey so I'm sorta knew to mouse owning and I need some help if you have some so my uncle bought a fancy mouse and just dumped it on me I had to take it in Bec no one will take it and I'm on a budget I currently have a two story cage with 2 inches of bedding but I don't know the proper care do you have any tips I could use to give the poor baby the best life (I also can't buy a second one and am not to sure what to do about it being lonely)

If its a boy mouse you dont need to worry about getting a firend as 2 males will fight especially if they are from different sources.

Pet care for mice is relatively simple and budget friendly.

Most important thing is to make sure he or she has round the clock acess to water and a quality dry diet not sure on your country so i cant recommend a brand but your local pet supplies store should have a few options available.

Next give your little friend something to make a nest out of, it can be tissue papper, dry grass, straw etc.

Mice love to have some place cosy to sleep.

Finally. Make sure your small friend is shielded from extreme temperatures.

They dont do too well when its too hot or too cold.

I find the ideal temp range to be between 18 and 25 celcus .

One other thing mice have delicate lungs so be mindful of using any arisols near them , burning candles or insence and never smoke or vape near them.

Hopefully that helps , if you have any other questions let me know 😊

[too-many-mice]

This weeks #Mousemonday is a flash back to 2019

Beautiful saturation in the pigment of this fawn pied and a lovly little wheat *(fawn , blue )

[too-many-mice]

What kind of bins or cages do you use? 👀

I use these lab cagese for my breeders.

( 47 x 31 x 16 )

My grow outs are 90L storage toats with mesh windows. In 2 sides and a mesh lid.

Grow outs sorted by sex

[too-many-mice]

Its time for another #Mousemonday.

This weeks highlights are our Siamese and chocolate tans.

Cleaning day pics they live in bigger tubs

I just didnt feel like doing fence post pics today as it was too hot outside.

[too-many-mice]

Just a few Hereford pups.

I've been breeding Hereford mice since 2016

Developed from scratch / zero *( selectivly bred from mixed pied animals of feeder origin). as there were previously no established lines in Australia

If you are dedicated to your causes and know what to look for you can achieve almost anything ✨️