Show Preparation

Shampooing/Washing and Powdering

NMC Rule 19 n) states that 'The preparation of mice for showing shall be limited to washing. No artificial aids or colouring agents shall be used'. Lighter coloured mice may benefit from washing but darker mice do not necessarily need it as long as they are kept in clean cages. Powdering of mice, for example, whites, is looked down upon by some exhibitors and recommended by others! I have never powdered my whites or creams and some of them have done very well. This is a decision that is up to the individual fancier as powdering is the only form of preparation other than washing that is allowed.

The rules also state that 'Once exhibits have been penned and judging has commenced no further grooming may take place'.

Mites

Before any mouse is put into its Maxey, it must be checked for many conditions. One of these is mites. Any mouse with mites will be disqualified immediately and cannot be taken to a show. To do so knowingly in the hopes that the judge will not notice is to risk the contamination of other mice, and is very unsportsmanlike. The same goes for mice that have respiratory illnesses or other communicable problems.

The best way I have found to prevent mites is to check the mice regularly when completing the regular feeding routine. If any mites are discovered the mouse and all co-habiting mice should be removed from the cage, which should be thoroughly disinfected. Before replacing the mice they can be bathed with rat and mouse shampoo and/or sprayed with an appropriate mite spray. Some colours seem to get mites more easily and more often than others. For example, creams and PEW mice seem to contract mites very easily, and it is not just the case that the mites can be seen more easily on these lighter mice. These mice may be sprayed with a mild mite repellent on the last cage change before a show as a precaution.

You will sometimes see judges holding their hand firmly over a mouse's back and then removing it and looking closely at the mouse. This is one way to check for mites, as the mites are attracted to the heat of the hand and will be seen more easily as they move towards the top of the coat.

Moult

Moult is when the animal begins to lose some of its old coat in order to replace it with new fur, and sometimes a mouse that is moulting is known as being 'in two coats'. If an animal has started to moult it is said that feeding boiled linseed can speed up the process so that the mouse is ready in time for the show. I have not tried this personally and so cannot offer my opinion. The best advice is not to show a mouse with serious moult as it will not do very well.

New Conditions - Chipped Ears, Wounds, Illness etc.

Before you enter your mice you should of course check that they are all in good shape and fit to be shown. Sometimes despite this you will remove the mice on show day to put them into Maxeys and discover a problem.

Some mice, most often bucks, will have chipped ears. This is where they have ripped (either by fighting or scratching) the ear and it appears to have a nick in it. This will not necessarily disqualify a mouse but it will prevent it getting top honours and winning its class. Unless the mouse excels on other points there is not much point entering a mouse with a chipped ear, unless it is entered into a class where this does not matter, like the Auction or Stud Buck class.

Although it sounds very obvious, mice with wounds or who are ill should not be entered. Sometimes a condition may not be noticeable to the breeder, and the mouse is disqualified by a judge. If this happens the exhibitor will be found and asked to remove the mouse to a different location to avoid contamination of other exhibits. Conditions that might go unnoticed but will disqualify a mouse include mites, respiratory illness, lumps (which could be abscesses or tumours etc), blindness and deafness. All reasonable efforts should be made to ensure a mouse with these conditions is not shown.

Kinked Tails

Having a kinked tail will mean a mouse is disqualified. Obviously one way to look for this is to do just that - look! But sometimes that is not enough, and to make doubly sure you must feel the mouse's tail. Place the mouse on your hand and starting at the base, gently grip the tail and run your fingers down it, feeling for any bumps that should not be there. Some mice may not have a visible kink but will have fused bones in their tails which a judge will feel if he inspects the tail. Others may have what is known as 'tip-tail'. Some mice may be missing a very tiny portion of the end of their tail for whatever reason, meaning that the tail does not finish in a 'whiplash' like point, but is rather blunt.

Whisker Chewing/Barberism

Sometimes a mouse will chew the whiskers and/or fur of itself and other mice. You must check that all mice you intend to exhibit have whiskers and no bald patches as this will mean a disqualification.

Age of Mice

Mice must be entered as either adults (over eight weeks) or u/8 (under eight weeks). Mice entered as the wrong age can be disqualified, so check carefully. NMC rules state that 'No Under 8 weeks mouse shall be eligible for competition unless of sufficient age to warrant travelling alone unaccompanied by its mother'.

Some people exhibit mice that are really far too young to be under so much stress and be away from their mother and littermates. These can be judged 'no award - too young', making it a waste of time bringing the mouse and possibly also stunting its growth by taking it away from its mother at too young an age. The youngest a mouse should be in the u/8 classes is 5 weeks old and the oldest is 7 weeks 6 days. Obviously the closer to the upper age limit the better in most cases in order to show off the mouse's potential (except in longhaired and astrex varieities perhaps, where the coat is better at a younger age). Of course younger mice CAN win top prizes - for example, I won Best In Show with a cream that was just over 6 weeks old.

Some people also may be tempted to enter an older mouse in the u/8 class in order to make it appear that it is a big and well developed mouse. Sometimes doubt can be cast by the mouse's features, for example a u/8 siamese with good dark points may be under suspicion since the points develop with age. On such occasions an exhibitor may be questioned by the show secretary about the mouse's age, or the judge has the option to disqualify it for being in the wrong class. This means that the judge risks controversy, as there is no real way to prove when the mouse was born!

Maxey Cages

All mice must be shown in a Maxey cage. These were invented by an early mouse fancier called Walter Maxey, who founded the NMC in 1895. The cages must be painted Middle Brunswick Green on the outside and Royal or Signal Red on the inside. There are both lidded and lidless designs of Maxey, both of which are acceptable. Only one mouse is allowed to be exhibited per cage except in classes where this is specially permitted (Pair, Team or Auction classes).

Labelling

All Maxey cages should be labelled on the bottom (out of view of the judges) with the fancier's name and address. This helps the fancier to find his mice after judging has finished and also prevents any 'stray' Maxeys remaining unclaimed.

When exhibiting a large number of mice the fancier may find themselves with a problem when attaching show pen labels. Taking each mouse out of its Maxey at the show is not only time consuming but added stress for mice which are to be handled a good amount during the day. To avoid this I label each Maxey with its contents as I put the mice in at home. Then all that remains to do at the show is to remove the home-made sticker and replace it with the official pen label provided by the show secretary. Some people also have a system for recording pen numbers of mice next to the cage number they came out of at home, to make sure every mouse is returned to its own home later in the day.

Substrate

The substrate you use in your Maxey should not be too dusty or it will stick to your mouse's coat, putting it at a disadvantage, and may also irritate its nasal passages, making it sneeze. Obviously the judge cannot assume the mouse is only sneezing due to dusty substrate and may have to disqualify it in case of illness.

If you use a distinctive substrate you may want to consider using a more uniform one for showing in order to preserve your anonimity during judging.

Bedding

The same goes for bedding. Something distinctive is probably best not used in order to keep the mouse's owner a secret. There are many types of bedding used in Maxeys. Some people use shredded paper, some use tissue type bedding and some use hay. There is no right answer to what you should use as it depends on individual preference. However, you must remember that hay can contain mites, although it does give the mouse something else to eat while in the Maxey. Hay is also said to be good for the coat as the mouse burrows through the hay, effectively 'polishing' its coat as it goes. Paper is plentiful as many people have access to waste paper shredding from the home or office. Care should be taken with paper shredding that there is no ink that can mark the coat (especially if the paper gets wet with mouse urine) and that inks are not harmful if ingested (many contain harmful preservatives). White tissue paper does not have this problem and is a popular bedding which is widely available.

When putting bedding into your Maxey you must make sure that you do not put in too much or too little. Too little bedding means that the mouse is likely to get cold and not show itself well as it will be unhappy. Too much bedding leaves little room for the mouse and also makes life difficult for the stewards.

Food/Moisture Provision

Rule 19 a) of the NMC Rules and Standards stipulates that 'All Maxey show cages should have sufficient food and moisture for the mouse during the show day. Food to be in the form of seeds such as oats, millet or sunflower etc. Moisture to be from a piece of carrot, potato or apple etc.'.

Personally I would advise against the use of carrot or potato. Carrot can stain the coat orangey yellow, especially in light coloured mice, and is therefore putting your mouse at a disadvantage. Potatoes, apart from being best eaten cooked, are high in starch. This can stick the coat together in hard patches, again putting your mouse at a disadvantage when being judged. I use cucumber as it has a high water content and does not stain. However, I always remove the skin from the cucumber before giving it to the mice, as they do not like the pesticides that are used and presumably contaminate the skin. Mice often refuse cucumber with skin on but will happily eat it without the skin.