About Mousykins Mousery

Mousykins Mousery was founded in August, 2006. Mousykins is currently located in Northeast Ohio - near Alliance, Ohio.

Mousykins is a proud member of the Midwest Mouse Club and actively participates in MMC events. I am also a member of the East Coast Mouse Association and participate in ECMA events whenever feasible.

Mousykins operates under the registered prefix of MM.

I specialize in several coat types, including angoras and texels. My texels utilize the rex gene for dominant curly. I also breed hairless, fuzzy, and fuzzy hairless using the true hairless and fuzzy genes.

My goals include improving type in all of these varieties and improving coat length and texture as well. The hairless mice should be as hairless as possible. Angoras and texels should have long thick hair. For this reason, I tend to avoid satin angoras and satin texels as the satin gene makes the hair thinner. I also wish to improve on the markings of my variegated mice, however, that project is secondary to type and coat.

 

Breeding Ethics at Mousykins

I believe that breeding is a serious responsibility. I also believe that most people are not ready for such a serious responsibility. If you are considering breeding, please consider all aspects -- the good and the bad.

Vet costs can and will accumulate very quickly. Breeding is a risk to the doe and sometimes even to the buck. Be very sure that you have a goal that is worth the risk to your animals. A good goal will benefit the species and will generally work towards a set of standards. I work towards the goals set forth by the Midwest Mouse Club.

Responsible breeding begins at the choice of whether or not to breed each pair. Breeding a mouse with an unknown background is a huge risk. Mice from other responsible breeders who have tracked their lines accordingly are much less of a risk. I do not breed (nor do I currently own) mice from pet stores for this reason. Does or bucks with behavioral problems, hereditary health problems, or severe conformational defects are not bred.

I firmly believe that a good grasp of the genetics of mice is a crucial part of breeding responsibly. There are several sites listed in the links section of this site that can help with genetics. Additionally, I have posted several articles on mouse genetics on this site.

 

Methods at Mousykins Mousery

I start breeding does at around 12 weeks old (or older, depending on the line). Bucks can be bred earlier, but generally I wait until they are older so that I can see how they develop. Sometimes it's obvious that a buck is going to be very special at a younger age, however.

Pregnant and nursing does, as well as young mice under 3 months of age, are fed a high-protein (27%) dog food with 12% fat in addition to the normal lab blocks (which have about 18% protein). All mice are given fresh fruits and vegetables occasionally.

Litters are reduced in size to 4-5 pups at a few days old for the benefit of the mother and remaining pups. You will hear this referred to as "culling" in the community. While it is emotionally difficult to do this, it greatly benefits the other pups in the litter. In some varieties, such as sex-linked or "English" brindles, some of the pups are "culled" in order to keep them from suffering. Bucks born with the brindling gene will die outside of laboratories. Thus they are humanely euthanized in order to prevent their own suffering and leave more milk for the others.

Bucks are removed from their mothers and sisters at 4 weeks old. Any time bucks are kept with their siblings or their mothers for more than 4 weeks, there is a risk of unwanted (and unhealthy) pregnancies.

Does are rarely bred more than once. If this is done, they are given about a month of rest after the first litter weans and before the doe is placed with a buck again. Does are never bred over 1 year of age, but the actual age of retirement depends greatly on the line.

Bucks can be, and generally are, bred multiple times.

If, after reading all of this information, you would like to adopt from Mousykins Mousery, please continue on to the
Adoption Page.