Chooosing a Variety to Breed and Show

When you are starting out, it is best to start with either just one variety or two very compatible ones (like pink eyed white and ivory, dove and silver, or agouti and cinnamon). A small beginner stud with one variety would have at least 30 does of varying ages and 3 bucks. Running two seperate varieties turns that into 60 does and 6 bucks.

I can't stress enough how important it is to go to shows and actually see the varieties in the fur. Looking at photographs just doesn't compare. I trawled through thousands of pictures of fancy mice looking for the variety I'd like to breed and thought black eyed creams were the variety for me. I didn't even consider doves, they just didn't look anything special in photographs - just boring grey mice with red eyes. Then the first doves were born here in an argente litter and I fell in love, they look so much prettier in real life and now I think there isn't a variety that even comes close to them in terms of beauty. So, go to shows, talk to breeders, and see as many different varieties as possible before making a decision.

I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as an easy beginner variety. The pink eyed selfs, c-locus mice, tans etc, although it's easy to find really good starting stock, it only takes a couple of bad decisions and they're ruined and you have generations of work ahead of you to put it right. Every variety has it's easy and difficult points and I reckon they all balance out at the end.

For the pink eyed selfs you have issues such as tan vents, type, an even top colour of exactly the right shade, thick smooth belly fur with no lines, amongst other things. You are competing against some incredible mice bred by long-standing incredible breeders and your self mice really do have to be the absolute best they can be. Pink eyed selfs have a very short show life as they have a tendancy to go 'baggy' and the colour will change.

With the dark selfs, you have to take in to account the things for pink eyed selfs with the addition of making sure the toes and tail are fully coloured, there are no stray white hairs - but with blacks in particular you have the trade-off that they're not expected to be quite as big and typey as the pink eyed selfs.

With the c-locus selfs, namely PEW and BEC, although you can find fantastic starting stock very easily and you don't have to worry about tan hairs etc, but you are again competing against other mice with amazing type, colour, etc and the most teensy minor fault could put you down to the bottom of the class.

For the agouti-based mice, you have all the same concerns with the added fact that the two or more colours on each hair have to be the right shade, the right amount, and that the ticking is the right colour and evenly distributed. This is balanced by the fact that they don't seem to be as popular in shows and therefore (potentially) it would be easier to win an agouti/cinnamon class than a black eyed cream or champagne class (for example) - but you've still got to compete for BIS.

For the tans, you've got to keep in mind the top colour, throat spot, tan spreading too far and not being bright enough, but it is fairly easy to find good starting stock. I have also been told that a good tan has a longer show life than a lot of varieties, provided it is kept in good condition.

Shaded mice are prone to awful-looking moult lines and, according to the law of sod, these are guaranteed to show up the day before a show. Early selection is also difficult as points don't develop until at least six weeks. On top of this you still have considerations for type, overall colour etc etc.

With the marked varieties, you have to keep/breed a LOT more mice and they are more difficult than the selfs in that it takes more work to look after a larger number of mice - but I know from breeding marked animals that it is mostly down to luck with some selective breeding involved when that perfectly marked mouse turns up in a litter and goes on to wins everything for months on end.

I believe the absolute most important thing when choosing a variety to show is whether or not you can look at 30+ mice, all with the same colour/markings, day in day out, year after year. You have to be focused on making your chosen variety the absolute best it can be, which takes patience, persistance and passion over years. Breeding random varieties, too many varieties, or moving from one variety to another every few months will not bring success on the show bench in the long run. Choosing a variety you like less to start with because you've been told they're easier will not do you any good when you're cleaning your mice out, examining them, pairing them up, and the whole time you're thinking "I wish these were Dutch rather than ivories."

The second most important thing when choosing a variety is whether or not winning is important to you. There are varieties that are not as likely to win as others. Reds, for example, will not have as good a chance at best in show as a silver self because reds are naturally let down by the poor type inherent with the Ay gene. A superb example of a red will get it's due, but it's much harder and will take longer. But, there is still much satisfaction to be gained from varieties like reds, especially if you become known within the fancy as having the best mice of that variety. If you want to win, chooose a variety that has a good chance. Any of the pale selfs and satins have much success on the show bench, but black is the only dark self likely to make it to best in show. Chocolate and blue will never look as good as a good show black, and varieties like these are known as 'bridesmaids', as in 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride'. Black tans are more likely to win than, say, champagne tans, because with a black tan the whole mouse is bred to be as dark and rich as possible, whereas on the cham tan you need to keep the top colour delicate and pale whilst trying to make the tan dark and rich. Breeding marked mice will rarely result in BIS winners - but when you have a 'flyer', it will keep on winning for as long as it's kept in show condition. If you're in it to win, keep an eye on the top twenty and the show reports, see which varieties are consistantly winning and which fanciers are doing well with them, and go to them for advice and stock.

There is no right or wrong. For some fanciers it's all about the competition, and others delight in working on rare, difficult or unstandardised varieties. How you pursue your interest in the fancy is up to you.

You can find some more information about varieties on these pages.

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