Tans
BIS chocolate tan bred by John Mackerill
The first tan bred in the UK was exhibited by Mr J. W. Biggs in 1896. This black tan led to the development of blue and chocolate tans shortly afterwards, the first examples being shown around 1904. According to Tony Cooke's Exhibition and Pet Mice "By the early 1920s the tan group were recognised in any existing colour, though they did not become a section on their own until well into the 1930s, previous to which they were classified as AOVs."
Tan mice can currently be exhibited in "any standard colour", though it is not genetically possible to create a tan in every available variety. Each type of tan has its own problems. For example, pale tans such as silver and champagne tend to have too dark a top colour when the tan is the desired strength, and too pale a tan when they attain the correct top colour, so a balance between the two is sought. The effect of blue dilution changes not only the top colour (from black to blue) but also dilutes the tan. For this reason blue and lilac tans suffer when they compete with other tans on the show bench.
Tan mice can currently be exhibited in "any standard colour", though it is not genetically possible to create a tan in every available variety. Each type of tan has its own problems. For example, pale tans such as silver and champagne tend to have too dark a top colour when the tan is the desired strength, and too pale a tan when they attain the correct top colour, so a balance between the two is sought. The effect of blue dilution changes not only the top colour (from black to blue) but also dilutes the tan. For this reason blue and lilac tans suffer when they compete with other tans on the show bench.
Silver tan
One problem that affects all colours of tan is tan feet. Ideally the feet should be tan on the inside and the same as the top colour on the outside. In reality a lot of mice have feet that are wholly tan, and this is considered a fault. As with their self equivalent, a tan's toes should ideally be coloured and not white, including the nails. Tan can also 'creep' so that it ends up behind the ears and higher up the jawline and flanks than desired. Darker tans in particular tend to suffer from throat spots, which are an obvious fault when the under of the mouse is examined. Paler varieties also have these but they are not as obvious.
Breeders should aim for a tan that when viewed from above, could be mistaken for a self. This means that there should be no tan behind the ears, around the tail root or on the legs and feet. Selection is key when striving for this ideal.
Breeders should aim for a tan that when viewed from above, could be mistaken for a self. This means that there should be no tan behind the ears, around the tail root or on the legs and feet. Selection is key when striving for this ideal.
Blue tan
Breeders should be wary of any tan or white guard hairs along the mouse's flanks; these are undesirable and should be eliminated from the stud. Tans with this fault will be penalised during judging. However, tans with such a fault are good for creating silver foxes, where white ticking along the sides and rump is desirable (the chinchilla gene will turn the tan hairs white).
Tan improves with age, so breeders must be careful not to select too early. Babies who appear to have good strength of tan at a young age may develop into overtanned adults, so don't automatically discard lightly tanned youngsters. For this reason it may be necessary to grow on young tans for a little while before making your final selection.
The most commonly shown tans in the UK at the time of writing (2014) are black and chocolate tans. These colours seem to have remained popular since their introduction and it isn't normally difficult to locate a breeder or two if this is the variety for you. Blue tans of exhibition standard are practically non-existant at present, though there are a few NMC members working with silver/dove tans and champagne tans.
Non-self tans, such as agouti, cinnamon, silver grey and pearl are generally not as popular as the self tans but are being bred within the NMC or could be made from scratch if desired.
Tan improves with age, so breeders must be careful not to select too early. Babies who appear to have good strength of tan at a young age may develop into overtanned adults, so don't automatically discard lightly tanned youngsters. For this reason it may be necessary to grow on young tans for a little while before making your final selection.
The most commonly shown tans in the UK at the time of writing (2014) are black and chocolate tans. These colours seem to have remained popular since their introduction and it isn't normally difficult to locate a breeder or two if this is the variety for you. Blue tans of exhibition standard are practically non-existant at present, though there are a few NMC members working with silver/dove tans and champagne tans.
Non-self tans, such as agouti, cinnamon, silver grey and pearl are generally not as popular as the self tans but are being bred within the NMC or could be made from scratch if desired.
BIS chocolate tan bred by John Mackerill
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Dove tan
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Champagne tan
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