# Mouse Breeding and Pet Shops



## LadyVictorian (Nov 23, 2011)

Like any other animal you don't want to get your breeding stock from a petshop, not fish, not rats, and certainly not mice. However short of importing bucks from France I really want to start planning out my mousery's breeding program. Lately at petco I have found a few beautiful satin and angora bucks and one or two beautiful satin does, far from perfect conformation and coloration as there are FEW selfs in the right colors I want to breed (blue, chocolate, and tans). However I have found a few who would be decent for starting stock. However going this route means at LEAST 10 years of breeding and watching your bloodlines and destroying bloodlines with bad genes, also it can mean massive culling of pups (since petshop mice can have up to 20 pups and idea litter sizes should never be over 6). And thought it would be twice the work to breed with petshop mice it would also be twice the benefit once I start getting usable breeding stock that can get up to show standard (obviously helped with with actual good stock when I can get to France and get the bucks I want). Still it leaves to question, what would you guys do? I don't intend to ever breed show mice, mostly pet variety meaning they still need to have good conformation and GREAT health (no cancer, allergies, longer life span, and low aggression and friendlier personalities.) So being they would be higher quality pets over show mice what would you go with? Start petshop and work for years on bloodlines that I would have well documented histories of over the years, or buy total show quality animals someone else had bred and start there? I'm still a good six years away from my breeding program at least before I have perfected genetics and dietary for mice. I have just been rereading my books on mouse genetics and ethical breeding lately and really thinking about how I'll go about this. I use to know local mouse breeders with GREAT quality mice but unfortunately they stopped breeding. My own breeding program isn't going to be a cake walk either from the coats and colors I picked.


----------



## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Personally I say go for quality. The pet store ones are the same ones as the feeders - just sold for a silly higher price than the feeders. I know this, since the one store I worked at had feeders and "pet" mice, all were the same :roll:

I would skip the painful culling, and trial and error with the pet store ones, and search for a good breeder.


----------

