[Autumn2005]

I bred a black broken buck to a grey doe with a white belly, and got 8 black, 4 PEW, and 4 brindles. Does that mean either parent had to have the brindle? Which one? The grey sort of has these darker grey splotches on her back, like round spots sort of, big ones the size of your thumb nail. Is that a sign of brindling?

 

[Autumn2005]

I thought brindles were that reddish tan color with black markings. They come in grey too? I only have one picture of the doe, and it's not a very good one.

 

[Autumn2005]

Sorry to keep asking questions, but what would be considered a "good" brindle marking?

 

[Autumn2005]

I never knew brindles could have so many colors! So basically a good brindle would have tiger stripes? can there be a white brindle, like a white tiger?

 

[Autumn2005]

Do brindles have any special health problems? I kept one of the brindles from that grey doe, and she was fine, had a healthy litter of 7, and then a couple months later she started getting real thin, and lethargic, and a month later she died in my hand (it was very traumatic!). But she was in with two other does, and to this day those does, both older than her, are absolutely fine and healthy. Was it some genetic condition she was predisposed to? Why did it affect her and not the other mice?

 

[Autumn2005]

The doe's mother, the grey that I still have, she's very fat, and she doesn't use the wheel in her cage. I thought it was just her, but you're saying that it's a predisposition? So will she be good to breed again, or will her first litter be her last? I was hopping for another fawn brindle from her.

 

[Autumn2005]

I thought of something else, too. The doe has a white belly. Is that typical of brindles, or is that a sign of a different gene? Like a fox or white belly agouti? But agouti is dominant over brindle, right? So she can't be an agouti if she produced 4 brindles? The doe that died, her belly wasn't white but it was much lighter than her back. Also, she doesn't look like a fox. The grey fades gradually to white, not an abrupt line like the other foxes I've seen.

 

[Autumn2005]

Thanks for the help with brindles. I put her on a diet for a while, but I can only do it when she's by herself in a cage. I did get her weight down, but then she started getting scabs between her shoulders, and when I put her back in the big cage with other does and didn't worry about her weight, the scabs went away. This may sound funy, but is there a way for force her to exercise? She doesn't use the wheel, and won't use the ball. I think she'd be healthier if she ran around more, but she doesn't :? .

 

[Autumn2005]

If that's true, too bad. I usually leave my does with the buck for one week, and they start to show by 2 weeks, but maybe I'll try leaving her with the buck until I'm sure she's pregnant. If I don't get another brindle... . She was a really lucky find, and her daughter was beautiful.