I was surprised when Stephan asked me to write about Brokens. Apparently, he saw several of my mice at the Summer Cup Show and thought they looked good. Most fanciers who show will know that my primary variety is dutch in several colours. I have done well with them over the years, gaining ten champions in five years in the early 1970s. Brokens have always been my second string.

At the moment I do not have many mice. I have reduced numbers because [log in to see names], who used to take my mice to shows, has had to get rid of his mice due to health issues. He now only goes to a show if he is judging, so the opportunity for me to show is reduced. I may only be able to show about twice a year.

Black Broken

As far as brokens are concerned, I have never had a champion, but have had several best marked and three BIS awards. The dutch standard is very precise and demanding, covering all aspects of their markings, and I have often thought the standard for brokens could be more defined. I think the nose spot with an opposite ear spot should be required, and there should be a minimum of six spots, all a similar size. I remember Eric Kitchen bred a mouse in the 1970s that became famous. This broken was large and had thirteen spots/patches and won a lot of awards. It became a supreme champion, which equates to winning five champion awards. For me, however, this mouse was not aesthetically pleasing. The spots and patches varied in size and I know it proved controversial at the time.

Chocolate Broken

I have never had a large number of brokens. One issue I have seen in brokens is the area around the tail. This is often heavily marked and spoils what is otherwise a decent mouse. As with most improvements in fancy mice, selection is the way forward. I have proved this with dutch. Many dutch have saddles that almost ’slip off’ the back of the rump. I have always tried to breed for high saddles. This takes time and you need to be patient and focused. Some of my dutch now have saddles that are half way up the back, where they need to be. I have always kept a high number/percentage of stud bucks. I have about 25 boxes in use at present, containing 12 dutch stud bucks and 5 broken stud bucks. People may think this is excessive, but I have always done it. It gives me a good selection of bucks (most are showable) to choose from when adding does to them for breeding. One example is a large buck, over a year old, which I have been using extensively. He only has four spots – a good nose spot and opposite ear spot plus two spread out spots on his body. All the spots are a similar size and shape. He has not been shown as I think a judge would feel he needs more spots, which I would agree with. However, he has produced some good offspring.

I am aware of the tendency for heavy markings to appear around the tail and rear rump, so this is something I have been focusing on improving. Much like improving the height of saddles in dutch, these things take time and you need to accept this and persevere. Brokens, like most marked varieties, are a challenge. You may be lucky and breed a ‘flier’ early on, but realistically this is unlikely. People often start with a marked variety, but become disillusioned if the offspring are mis-marked and need to be selected against. You need to be patient and select breeding stock carefully to reach the goals you have set yourself. I have been able to supply stock to many fellow fanciers. Many have had success, including breeding BIS winners. This gives me a great deal of pleasure, especially as I am unable to show very often.

Brokens are a great variety; they are a challenge, but definitely easier than dutch. If you breed a good one you deserve all the acclaim you get. Most marked varieties also ‘last’ longer than varieties like Selfs and AOVs and can be shown (condition permitting) for months, rather than a few weeks.