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Hello!
I keep dove self mice, and I breed them for exhibition. For me dove self are the most beautiful of all mice
They are a darker mouse than the other pale selfs. I started breeding them when three doves appeared in an argente litter. Until this, I had only seen doves in photographs and hadn't thought much to them, but after seeing them in the fur I was hooked. I've now been breeding dove self for 18 months and they do well in their class (AOC Self Adult and U/8), often winning first, but I have yet to advance to the Best Self and then Best in Show awards.
The most important thing I can impart to anyone starting a line of doves is never, ever breed champagne into them, or start a dove self line with champagne crossed to silver (which is the recommended starting point in most mousey texts). Yes, the type is awesome and show champagnes and silvers are fantastic mice, but the headache incurred by trying to breed out the dastardly chocolate gene is huge. Doves that carry the chocolate gene, or at least the modifiers that make champagne so warm, are muddy coloured, like a dirty puddle, and champagnes will appear in litters for generations. I regret using mice that carried champagne to start with, and I'd probably have started all over again if it weren't for the many other good points my line has (type, head shape, tail thickness).
Doves aren't very popular and currently no-one apart from myself focuses on doves for showing. So if starting dove stock can't be found, the best way to start breeding doves is to breed a good, solid show black does to a big, typey show silver buck, then cross the resulting blacks to each other or back to the silver.
Things to watch out for when breeding dove self for exhibition include:
* Type - they are pale selfs so must excel in conformation and size.
* Ear Size - needs to be as big as possible, but if they get too big the edge will feather and look untidy.
* Vents - The vents, ankles, nipples and ear bases of doves are prone to tan hairs, which is a major and ugly fault.
* Nose and Tail Set - These have a tendancy to be paler than the rest of the fur, and that must be avoided.
* Belly - Must be covered in thick hair the exact same colour as the top, and a 'line under' (a parting in the fur down the centre of the belly) must be avoided.
* Tail - Must be very thick, straight, and long, and pink in colour.
* Even colour all over - doves are very prone to ugly moults, and getting darker and very patchy as they age.
Tan vents and ear bases vs clean vents and ear bases:
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This mouse shows feathering on the edge of the ear:
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On this doe you can see a ring of tan around the base of the ears and a smudge of tan under the tail base:
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Two dove does with a silver buck. These doves are too pale:
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This doe has very nice type. She came 1st in a class of 10 mice:
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Another dove with good type, but she has a pale tail set. Lovely face though:
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This young dove is too dark and rather dirty looking:
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Two dove kittens and one silver kitten:
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Three rather matronly does displaying very patchy colour, which happens to doves as they age:
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Doves of differing shades:
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This is a pet type dove satin Abyssinian buck (the only pet-type I have):
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I hope someone finds all this useful! :lol:
Sarah xxx
I keep dove self mice, and I breed them for exhibition. For me dove self are the most beautiful of all mice
They are a darker mouse than the other pale selfs. I started breeding them when three doves appeared in an argente litter. Until this, I had only seen doves in photographs and hadn't thought much to them, but after seeing them in the fur I was hooked. I've now been breeding dove self for 18 months and they do well in their class (AOC Self Adult and U/8), often winning first, but I have yet to advance to the Best Self and then Best in Show awards.The most important thing I can impart to anyone starting a line of doves is never, ever breed champagne into them, or start a dove self line with champagne crossed to silver (which is the recommended starting point in most mousey texts). Yes, the type is awesome and show champagnes and silvers are fantastic mice, but the headache incurred by trying to breed out the dastardly chocolate gene is huge. Doves that carry the chocolate gene, or at least the modifiers that make champagne so warm, are muddy coloured, like a dirty puddle, and champagnes will appear in litters for generations. I regret using mice that carried champagne to start with, and I'd probably have started all over again if it weren't for the many other good points my line has (type, head shape, tail thickness).
Doves aren't very popular and currently no-one apart from myself focuses on doves for showing. So if starting dove stock can't be found, the best way to start breeding doves is to breed a good, solid show black does to a big, typey show silver buck, then cross the resulting blacks to each other or back to the silver.
Things to watch out for when breeding dove self for exhibition include:
* Type - they are pale selfs so must excel in conformation and size.
* Ear Size - needs to be as big as possible, but if they get too big the edge will feather and look untidy.
* Vents - The vents, ankles, nipples and ear bases of doves are prone to tan hairs, which is a major and ugly fault.
* Nose and Tail Set - These have a tendancy to be paler than the rest of the fur, and that must be avoided.
* Belly - Must be covered in thick hair the exact same colour as the top, and a 'line under' (a parting in the fur down the centre of the belly) must be avoided.
* Tail - Must be very thick, straight, and long, and pink in colour.
* Even colour all over - doves are very prone to ugly moults, and getting darker and very patchy as they age.
Tan vents and ear bases vs clean vents and ear bases:
This mouse shows feathering on the edge of the ear:
On this doe you can see a ring of tan around the base of the ears and a smudge of tan under the tail base:
Two dove does with a silver buck. These doves are too pale:
This doe has very nice type. She came 1st in a class of 10 mice:
Another dove with good type, but she has a pale tail set. Lovely face though:
This young dove is too dark and rather dirty looking:
Two dove kittens and one silver kitten:
Three rather matronly does displaying very patchy colour, which happens to doves as they age:
Doves of differing shades:
This is a pet type dove satin Abyssinian buck (the only pet-type I have):
I hope someone finds all this useful! :lol:
Sarah xxx
