Himalayan + ??

1777 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by bethmccallister, Jan 17, 2011

Bella

Discussion Starter · Jan 15, 2011

I want to focus on a few different colors in my breeding, one of which is Himalayan.

I now have my original Himalayan doe, and two of her offspring (both female).

While the young ones won't be ready to breed for several more weeks, I am trying to decide what my options are with them.

I do not have any Himalayan males. Nor do I know of anyone who does - so at the moment I have no access to them.

The original doe is currently bred back to the same buck that produced two more Himalayan's.

Should I wait and see if she has a male in her next litter, that I could then breed back to them, or should I go ahead and breed to a PEW?

Or should I scrap the idea of breeding them altogether at the moment, unless I can find a Himalayan male?

Sorry if that was confusing.

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SiamMeece

· #2 · Jan 15, 2011

Do you have any black mice available? They're a good outcross. Pew can be a good outcross as well if you know what it carries.

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Bella

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 15, 2011

I have a black tan male (poor), but no pure blacks.

And all of my PEW's are out of a pet store marked black, by a blue agouti.

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m137b

· #4 · Jan 15, 2011

I'd avoid pew's out of agouti, marked mice, and black tans. You'll end up with agouti based himis, marked himis, and himi fox.

If it were me I'd wait for a self black buck to avoid those problems early on, it's easier to start out with the right colors/genes than it is to try and select against them once you've got them in there. I'm working on getting the fox out of my siamese and himis now, and it is a process I'd rather have avoided if possible.

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Bella

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 15, 2011

Thank you.

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bethmccallister

· #6 · Jan 16, 2011

I started a line with only one himi male and now I have a solid color-bred Siamese line but it look a long while. You'll also end up with Siamese if you continue on without an out-cross to PEW (a real PEW too meaning a/a c/c only) Himalayan is a/a c(h)/c and Siamese are a/a c(h)/c(h). Definitely avoid agouti and tan/fox, I also had fox popping up in this line which is very annoying to breed out. I find having a color-bred line of good type blacks available for most of my new line projects very beneficial. At first I wasn't breeding the blacks but since I'm breeding Siamese, Chocolates and Blues I'm finding blacks tremendously useful for their genetic make up is so simple a/a!

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Bella

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 16, 2011

So, while I know their quality is very poor - are most feeders pure PEW? I would imagine they come from generations of whites.

Would that be an okay way to get started with them? Go buy a male feeder and use him as a breeder, for at least one or two breedings?

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bethmccallister

· #8 · Jan 16, 2011

So, while I know their quality is very poor - are most feeders pure PEW?

You wouldn't really know actually until after you bred them if they are in fact a/a c/c. The reason being is that anything, including Agouti or Brindle could be behind the mouse, basically any mouse with c/c ends up being PEW. From my understanding c/c dominates everything.

If you get a feeder be sure to keep it in a separate air space (like at a friends house with no animals) for at least 3 weeks to observe any issues with disease before introducing it to your stock. I would also treat him with diluted Iver-on spray once each week for 3 weeks to kill any mites or parasites. If you can't keep the new mouse at a friends house you should at least keep him in a separate room of the house and when you go between visiting him to visiting your stock be sure to wash and use hand sanitizer. I know this sounds like overkill but one little bug and it could wipe out all the progress you've made so far.

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Bella

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jan 17, 2011

bethmccallister said:
I would also treat him with diluted Iver-on spray once each week for 3 weeks to kill any mites or parasites.

Click to expand...

I don't have any other house to keep him at, but could easily keep him in another room and be sure to wash between rooms.

But could you explain this to me? Where can I get this, and is it something that I have to dilute myself? I am clueless!

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bethmccallister

· #10 · Jan 17, 2011

You can get a nice size bottom of Iver-on from your local Tractor Supply or $15. It's for cattle so you need to dilute it 1 part solution to 5 parts water. I just mix it in a spray bottle and then when I change the bedding I spray the cage down and then spray the mouse. They don't like it because it scares them but it's harmless even if they eat it. I treat all my mice as a precaution about once every 3 months. I have an old house and wild mice get in often.

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