Even
BIS even bred by Mick Shutt
The even mouse is genetically the same as the broken, but with a different placement of spots. Instead of being arranged randomly, the spots must be arranged in an even pattern (usually in symmetrical pairs). Evens are not usually bred for specifically, but appear in litters by chance when breeding brokens. It has been said that specifically breeding for evens is difficult as they have a more exacting standard than the broken – there is more rigidity about where the spots must be placed.
Comments about the broken also apply to the even where outcrossing and selection is concerned. Spots should not be brindled around the edges. A double nose spot (see photo) is permitted, unlike in a broken, as are even ears, shoulder spots etc.
Tony Cooke, writing in Exhibition and Pet Mice, makes an interesting observation about outcrossing brokens/evens; "The formation and migration of skin pigment before birth tends to be from certain (symmetrically placed) areas of the body and so whilst a self outcross has a very adverse effect on spot location in brokens, it tends to be beneficial for evens. Of course, early pied litters will probably need a number of generations of careful selection before anything really showable starts to appear".
Comments about the broken also apply to the even where outcrossing and selection is concerned. Spots should not be brindled around the edges. A double nose spot (see photo) is permitted, unlike in a broken, as are even ears, shoulder spots etc.
Tony Cooke, writing in Exhibition and Pet Mice, makes an interesting observation about outcrossing brokens/evens; "The formation and migration of skin pigment before birth tends to be from certain (symmetrically placed) areas of the body and so whilst a self outcross has a very adverse effect on spot location in brokens, it tends to be beneficial for evens. Of course, early pied litters will probably need a number of generations of careful selection before anything really showable starts to appear".