This article is from the WSSF 2017 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Karen Robbins

Lani Lyman-Henley, Texas A & M, Dallas, TX, Facebook
Q Anybody familiar with rosette or Abyssinian coats in mice? I seem to have a new trait in my own mice that looks most like this. I’m about to start breeding trials in-house to figure it out, but I believe it’s a new mutation as I have had no access to pre-existing mice of this type, and it doesn’t exactly match the photos I’ve seen. I’ve asked several groups, and so far all the info I’ve found supports this. Hopefully I’ll have something to share after a few generations of trials.

A We haven’t seen the Abyssinian mice here in California. You can contact breeders in Europe or the N.M.C. in England. There are several pages with info and photos on them:

• Cait Walgate in England
• Finnmouse site
• The Fancy Mice Breeders Forum

Hanabi a European Black Self Rosette/Aby mouse owned by and photo ©2014 Lucie Lathuillere, France.

In 2012 they were imported to the East Coast. Christina Beckerman (CSBeck Rodentry) in PA has photos of some from 2013. You can try the Fancy Mouse Breeders Association (FMBA) to see if they have any breeders back there that have stock available.

Yours do look similar but different. Looks like yours have a rosette on the head that I haven’t seen in the European ones. The European ones normally just have a rosette on each hip though I’ve seen some with more on the body from selective breeding. Your second one looks like a long haired or long haired curly version. The colors on the first one looks like a true Tri-color with the black, orange/tan, and white.

Please keep us updated as we’d love to hear how they develop.

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