Yellow tri pairings and litters
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colours are wonderful...wish we had something like that here, gorgeous!!
Vi x
Vi x
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Thank you all very much. I worked hard getting the A^vy line clear of brindling for the buck, Royal.I was thrilled to see I could get tri markings even with the beautiful red eyes. I just love the red-eyed dilutes. Rosegold is a recessive yellow ee, and that gene gives a slightly different color of red/yellow; it's got a touch of pink, especially when in satin. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out on a tri.
First the babies, then waiting for them to get fur, and then waiting, waiting, waiting for them to get big enough to see the colors of the markings. I don;t know about you others, but it keeps me awake at night sometimes, thinking about what pairings I'm going to make, and wondering when it will all come to fruition. Or not; I lost a litter of yellow tris to a first time doe who just couldn't resist the yummy little piggie sausages. But I have about five pairings set up, so I know I'll have some nice furry little kittens in the next month or so!
First the babies, then waiting for them to get fur, and then waiting, waiting, waiting for them to get big enough to see the colors of the markings. I don;t know about you others, but it keeps me awake at night sometimes, thinking about what pairings I'm going to make, and wondering when it will all come to fruition. Or not; I lost a litter of yellow tris to a first time doe who just couldn't resist the yummy little piggie sausages. But I have about five pairings set up, so I know I'll have some nice furry little kittens in the next month or so!
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Rosegold should have them now. She is starting to look painfully huge, and with the solid color on her back in satin, you can see the lumps move. the doe in the other pair I posted about, Lux, the cream tri looks even more painfully huge. I don't know how they stand it cuz I can barely stand it.
Thanks for the sympathy re the lost litter. First time mousie moms are the most likely to do this; if she does it to a second litter she'll be taken out of the breeding program. This sort of thing isn't nearly as shocking to me as the first few times ten years ago, but it's always a bit demoralizing.
Thanks for the sympathy re the lost litter. First time mousie moms are the most likely to do this; if she does it to a second litter she'll be taken out of the breeding program. This sort of thing isn't nearly as shocking to me as the first few times ten years ago, but it's always a bit demoralizing.
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Here they are; these are some of the most wiggly babies I've ever seen! At two days old I can just barely make out the shadows of markings in the skin. I like to blow of pix of tiny meeces to see things better; I'm always impatient to know what I've got.
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Rosegold threw her litter! She and Royal were both curled up all snug in the nest with them. I lured them out with a treat so I could count the tiny darlings there are eight very nicely developed wigglers with good skin color (not too red- a sign of prematurity) with full milk bellies. I didn't look too extensively, first time moms can be unpredictable, so I don't know about eh eye colors yet. I'm pretty sure Rosegold doesn't carry red eyes, but I will be thrilled if a couple of them are red-eyed.
I also took note of Diamond Stud, a PEW caracul satin buck, has done his work, and April, his standard chinchilla tri mate, is showing. Diamond is over two years old, and is a direct descendant of Pudge, the satin buck I got out of a feeder bin that was the founder of my current satin lines. He wasn't much to look at, but he had all the qualities I want in a stud: good health, sweet disposition, decent size, clean ears and nice eyes. Also, as far as his disposition goes, he never fought with his boys, and I was able to put him back in the tank with his boys after he was bred, on two or three occassions.
I know some of you may not believe that males can be kept together in the same tank, but I have worked very hard to only breed bucks that lack that sort of aggression. Some of it probably just conditioning, i.e.the boys are housed with their father and learn to live without fighting and grow up to be like their dad, behaviorally at least. Pudge's male offspring are also very good fathers and mates in that they do not rough up the doe and try to mount when she's not ready, and they assist in caring for the babies. Part of my fascination with meeces is this kind of behavior, and I love to see mousie families getting along like Royal and Rosegold are with their babies. Rosegold may have a second litter in three weeks, but I've noted that my satin does often don't get pregnant until weeks after their first litter is born. My breeding does get extra dietary support, and two litters back to back is the limit. the buck is removed when she begins to show for the second batch.
I would caution folks to be careful trying to do as I have done; it takes years and a lot of extra attention to be able to affect these behaviors in the way I have done with my satins.
I also took note of Diamond Stud, a PEW caracul satin buck, has done his work, and April, his standard chinchilla tri mate, is showing. Diamond is over two years old, and is a direct descendant of Pudge, the satin buck I got out of a feeder bin that was the founder of my current satin lines. He wasn't much to look at, but he had all the qualities I want in a stud: good health, sweet disposition, decent size, clean ears and nice eyes. Also, as far as his disposition goes, he never fought with his boys, and I was able to put him back in the tank with his boys after he was bred, on two or three occassions.
I know some of you may not believe that males can be kept together in the same tank, but I have worked very hard to only breed bucks that lack that sort of aggression. Some of it probably just conditioning, i.e.the boys are housed with their father and learn to live without fighting and grow up to be like their dad, behaviorally at least. Pudge's male offspring are also very good fathers and mates in that they do not rough up the doe and try to mount when she's not ready, and they assist in caring for the babies. Part of my fascination with meeces is this kind of behavior, and I love to see mousie families getting along like Royal and Rosegold are with their babies. Rosegold may have a second litter in three weeks, but I've noted that my satin does often don't get pregnant until weeks after their first litter is born. My breeding does get extra dietary support, and two litters back to back is the limit. the buck is removed when she begins to show for the second batch.
I would caution folks to be careful trying to do as I have done; it takes years and a lot of extra attention to be able to affect these behaviors in the way I have done with my satins.
)
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Black eyes were all I was expecting. the only tri lines that carry red eyes are the yellow tris. Speaking of which, Royal and Rosegold's babies are looking good, and better yet, three of them have red eyes.
Sarah, I don't think that is the case. In the lines that I've been doing the most breeding, like the yellow tris, I've had no problem whatsoever. And My Diamond Stud, the PEW that has a litter in the works of one of my young tri does, comes from a line that has always bred well, and yet the boys been friendly to one another after maturity, as well as being good fathers, and also still friendly when placed back with their brother/sons after being put out for stud.
Like I said before, it may be a conditioned response, where the boys are kept with the parents through the birth of the next litter, and they therefore find themselves with a different experience that conditions them to accept their father and brothers as cagemates later in life. While I do breed for colors and markings, I am equally interested in mousie behavior, and have found myself doing a fair amount of social engineering, which relies on providing experiences in which the animal is raised in different ways, expeosed to their fellow mice in different contexts, and therefore show different behavior later in life.
And it's true that I have done an awful lot of reading in the natural sciences and social sciences especially (I do keep up on other areas in the sciences as well), having been a science nerd since the age of 8 (I'm now 57). I don't expect any other breeders to necessarily change the way they do things based on my experiences, but I do claim the validity of my ideas based on my state of knowledge. It works for me! ( I do enjoy writing, too, as you probably figured out by now.)
Sarah, I don't think that is the case. In the lines that I've been doing the most breeding, like the yellow tris, I've had no problem whatsoever. And My Diamond Stud, the PEW that has a litter in the works of one of my young tri does, comes from a line that has always bred well, and yet the boys been friendly to one another after maturity, as well as being good fathers, and also still friendly when placed back with their brother/sons after being put out for stud.
Like I said before, it may be a conditioned response, where the boys are kept with the parents through the birth of the next litter, and they therefore find themselves with a different experience that conditions them to accept their father and brothers as cagemates later in life. While I do breed for colors and markings, I am equally interested in mousie behavior, and have found myself doing a fair amount of social engineering, which relies on providing experiences in which the animal is raised in different ways, expeosed to their fellow mice in different contexts, and therefore show different behavior later in life.
And it's true that I have done an awful lot of reading in the natural sciences and social sciences especially (I do keep up on other areas in the sciences as well), having been a science nerd since the age of 8 (I'm now 57). I don't expect any other breeders to necessarily change the way they do things based on my experiences, but I do claim the validity of my ideas based on my state of knowledge. It works for me! ( I do enjoy writing, too, as you probably figured out by now.)
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Hey, Sarah, I have a hard time believing I'm 50+ myself, pushing 60...unbelievable.
Anywho, here's some new pictures of a group of young bucks. They are about six weeks old, and they are off of Golden Boy, my first and best stud of all the marked yellow tri meeces, and Argyle, a fiery red-eyed marked brindled doe. BTW, I had just figured out for myself, looking at her, what happens when you produce a red eyed brindle, when I read the same online somewhere....the stripes become argente!)
At least two of these youngsters show nice markings in different shades of fawn/yellow/cream. The colors on this typoe of mousie seem to darken as they age.
Waiting for the photo host...what's the preferred format for pix in this Forum? I've usually put up thumbnails, but I've had complaints about all the ads on the hosts page. Hokay, here we go...thumbnails...
(wouldn't it be nice it meeces always lined up and posed like this all the time?)
This is what it usually looks like when I try to get a nice picture; a mad scramble! Then they figure out that the bright light isn't going to get them, and The Hand is the same Hand That Feeds Them.
Anywho, here's some new pictures of a group of young bucks. They are about six weeks old, and they are off of Golden Boy, my first and best stud of all the marked yellow tri meeces, and Argyle, a fiery red-eyed marked brindled doe. BTW, I had just figured out for myself, looking at her, what happens when you produce a red eyed brindle, when I read the same online somewhere....the stripes become argente!)
At least two of these youngsters show nice markings in different shades of fawn/yellow/cream. The colors on this typoe of mousie seem to darken as they age.
Waiting for the photo host...what's the preferred format for pix in this Forum? I've usually put up thumbnails, but I've had complaints about all the ads on the hosts page. Hokay, here we go...thumbnails...
(wouldn't it be nice it meeces always lined up and posed like this all the time?)
This is what it usually looks like when I try to get a nice picture; a mad scramble! Then they figure out that the bright light isn't going to get them, and The Hand is the same Hand That Feeds Them.
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Here's the first pix of Rosegold's and Royal's litter. It gives a hint of what might be in a few weeks. a few of them have very promising marking patterns, and I can see two different tones on a couple of the little darlings already. They are six days old now.
Argyle had a litter two days ago off of Golden Boy; nice big babies!
I think my next round of pairings will include stand coats; I've used all satins thus far because of the deepening of colors that makes it easier to see with the lighter tones of yellow. Now that I've got some good contrast on a few babies, I can go back to mixed standard and satin litters. Because of the nature of the satin lines we have here in the US, I want to avoid those nasty recessives that can so seriously affect the health of the meeces.
Argyle had a litter two days ago off of Golden Boy; nice big babies!
I think my next round of pairings will include stand coats; I've used all satins thus far because of the deepening of colors that makes it easier to see with the lighter tones of yellow. Now that I've got some good contrast on a few babies, I can go back to mixed standard and satin litters. Because of the nature of the satin lines we have here in the US, I want to avoid those nasty recessives that can so seriously affect the health of the meeces.
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Rosegold's and Royal's babies are fully furred, showing a wide variety of shades. They are nine days old now.
I had a busy weekend in the mousery as two litters of satin red-eyed dilutes were born for a total of twenty little eekers. Most of them will be fawn, with a smattering of champagne and argent, possibly a silver or two as well. There's also two litters of tris with three and four babies respectively.
I had a busy weekend in the mousery as two litters of satin red-eyed dilutes were born for a total of twenty little eekers. Most of them will be fawn, with a smattering of champagne and argent, possibly a silver or two as well. There's also two litters of tris with three and four babies respectively.
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