Breeder Resources

We highly recommend keeping detailed records on your mousery and program. This will help you with tracking lineages/pedigrees, track issues & improvements, and honestly any other factor one deems important. We use a combination of pedigree software (Kintraks), google docs, google sheets, and hardcopy records to track our programs/projects. 

Below will be some links to materials we think are a solid starting point to figuring out how to set your records up and we may include some examples from our own setup soon. 

This is a link to a pdf from a 4H document, link here,  but in our opinion is a good foundation for someone new to this. 

Culling is the removal of an animal from a breeding program. Here at Swamp Witch Exotics we are pro-culling and view it as fundamental to ethical breeding as it helps prevent unwanted traits/faults/or genes from entering our lines. Culling can mean different things as there are different types, each having their own methods. aProper research is necessary and methods must always be humane, we highly recommend independent research.  Below is information on these types and methods:

Hard Cull:  Hard culling usually means euthanasia which is carried out using various methods. If a breeder chooses to hard cull, remaining ethical and humane are still necessary factors to keep in mind when determining which method they will employ.  

Soft Cull:  Soft culling an animal from a program allows a breeder with more "wiggle room" so to speak and can mean a few different things. A soft cull could mean pet placement if the animals simply is not suited for breeding overall, Placement in another program is an option for animals that don't fit within a breeder's personal needs as a breeder, or a number of things that don't involve euthanasia. It is important to practice extreme discernment when placing soft culls in pet homes to avoid issues for both yourself and your adopters.

Links: We've included a few links to aid in independent research! 

• https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4929555/

• https://www.hiiret.fi/eng/breeding/?pg=2&sub=7

• https://www.afrma.org/brdstf_cull.htm