[Jack Garcia]

Here is a mouse I bred. She is 7 weeks old. Obviously, she's PEW. For those of you who have experience in breeding for show, what are your thoughts on her overall type and her face/muzzle in particular? That's my biggest concern with her. If you think it should be something else, by all means let me know!

(this is blurry but it gives you an idea of her ear set)

I find it difficult to improve one area because then another suffers. Her ears are too-small as well but what do you think about their placement?

Her tail is too thin, but this is as well-set as I've been able to get the tails in these mice, so far.

I can judge other people's mice much more easily than I can take a step back and look at my own.

I would appreciate objective, direct, honest criticism since that's the only way I can improve.

 

[WillowDragon]

Ear set and tail set to me look very good. Her body shape is nice aswell.

Though her ears are not large enough and her tail is too thin, and her face is too sharp looking I think.

Overall though, a lovely looking mouse. See how she turns out at full growth!

W xx

 

[moustress]

Is it just me, or is her head a bit small overall for her body.

 

[Cait]

From those photos it looks to me as though she has a short face. By this I mean that her skull should be a bit longer as her nose finishes bluntly too soon. It's hard to explain! Looks to have nice bold eyes

 

[Jack Garcia]

I think I understand what you mean, Cait. Is that something she'll grow into as she becomes an adult, do you think? She has a half-brother who also has the weird face. I will probably not breed from him although I probably will from her.

 

[Cait]

I'm afraid not, a short face remains for life. I've never seen one that has miraculously corrected itself.

 

[Jack Garcia]

Thanks, Cait.

You mean this right (where the red arrow indicates that the face should be longer)?

I knew there was something "off" about her face but couldn't figure it out. I appreciate the help! Since I stare at my own mice all the time, it's harder for me to "see" them.

 

[Wight Isle Stud]

Hi Jack,
Its a high quality mouse- first thing to do is look at the overall quality of all your other PEWS- if she is better then aim to bring them all up to her standard, when doing so you will have some worse and some better.If she is your best doe then concentrate on getting her in the breeding pen- dont waste her on shows.
She may have a few minor faults-does anyone possess a perfect mouse?
My appraisal of her is she looks cold- a bit hunched up, her muzzle may be a bit roman and therfore short keep an eye on it but ignore this in the breeding pen.
One to watch out for though is all those guard hairs, to many can give the impression of being not in good condition, however as said she looks cold and this will cause them to stick up-in real life she maybe good in this respect.dont forget that condition has a huge influence on a red card, more so than minor type failings. I appreciate that type is important in selfs, however so is condition .Regards Gary

 

[Cait]

I agree that she's a nice mouse - it can't hurt to try a litter from her and see if her offspring have this feature or not. As you have said before, I wouldn't breed from a short faced buck since you risk spreading throughout your stud, but the doe won't have this effect because you can evaluate the offspring before deciding whether to continue/use them for breeding. I've had 2 of these short faced mice before, both creams and both bucks - I wonder if it is related to being a large pale self.

 

[Jack Garcia]

Hmm...thanks again, y'all. She probably was cold, now that I think about it. It was warm but rainy and windy that morning and I'd taken her out of her house to photograph her.

She is descended from large pale selfs (dove and PEW).