[violet1991]

a real good friend of mine (Jan Alston) has very kindly let me have a couple of brindle does to breed. I gave her the buck she used, and he produced her 6 brindles in 3 litters! Which is a high percentage! Anyway, I am thrilled, I will be getting these on the 14th June hopefully at a cavy show I'm going to judge pets and Juvs at. I really can't wait. Pics taken by Jan...

#1

#2

A very happy Vi xxx

 

[dangermouse]

they are so stunning ...... im very pleased for you.....

 

[julieszoo]

Very attractive markings - good luck breeding more

 

[NaomiR]

they're really beautiful Vi they look like my favourite cavy colour - strawberry roan

 

[Rissy]

gosh they are delicious.

 

[Maplewood Stud]

wow theyre really pretty, how the hell do u get brindles though? x

 

[SarahC]

you have to introduce the gene,you can't make it.Only brindle does can be reared all brindle bucks die at around 10 days,best to cull immediately so that they don't suffer.Any non brindle bucks and does in the litter won't be carrying the brindle gene so are also useless for creating more.Therefore you are always on a knife edge with them.You get litters with only brindle bucks or no brindles at all.It is quite exciting waiting to see what you get,good luck with them.

 

[Maplewood Stud]

so how come all the brindle bucks die - i dont understand that bit? x

 

[sommy]

me too....

 

[Cait]

It's genetic that the bucks die, there is no way to save them. Occasionally one may survive but they are weak and infertile. On a related note, the reason for the brindle pattern is to do with malabsorption of copper. I have often wondered whether feeding more copper would have any effect on the pattern but I don't have enough does to experiment with really.

 

[julieszoo]

That's really interesting, so do the brindle does always survive, or can they have problems too?

 

[Cait]

Brindle does have the same survival rate as any other mouse - they don't suffer any ill effects due to being a brindle.

 

[sommy]

The brindle bucks that may survive, are they always infertile?

 

[Cait]

Yes, they are. And 99% die anyway.

 

[sommy]

sarahC said if you get non-brindles in a litter they don't carry the brindle gene, would those bucks die?

 

[julieszoo]

http://www.hiiret.fi/eng/breeding/varie ... indle.html

Having just read this article, I wish anyone breeding these the very best of luck!

 

[Cait]

The non brindle bucks are just normal mice as they don't have the brindle gene. However if you're breeding for brindles clearly you don't need to keep any bucks at all so personally I cull all bucks as soon as possible. I believe sarahc does the same but of course she would have to confirm. They are a difficult variety to breed as of course you can quite easily end up with no brindles in a litter. Statistically 25% of a litter should be brindle females, but in my experience it's usually 1 or if you're lucky 2 per litter, regardless of litter size. I've also had a few with no brindles at all, which is really disappointing.

 

[sommy]

On the link it says when holding from the tail the legs clasp inwards, why is that?

 

[julieszoo]

Mousebreeder, do you see any of the neurological problems that article mentions? I appreciate that site is not a UK one, which is why I ask if the problems have been bred out here.

 

[julieszoo]

With such low numbers produced it must be a challenge to even maintain the gene.