can be humanely culled to 10-12 mice at the very most. Males can mate with the female as soon as the litter is born, which means that a female could become pregnant with another litter within three days of giving birth. Female mice should not be bred before 12 weeks or after eight months; doing so can be very dangerous, and some mice can die while giving birth. Females come into heat around every three to five days, so the pair can be kept together for up to 10 days. Baby mice, called pinkies or pups, are born blind, deaf, and naked. Their eyes are closed and their ears are stuck to the sides of their heads. Mothers may eat any dead or sickly offspring. Pups begin to grow hair at 2 to 4 days. Ears open at 3 to 5 days, and the pups will start vocalising. Eyes open at 14 days, and the pups will start exploring the world around them. At 3 weeks old, they look like miniature versions of adult mice. At 4 weeks the males in the litter should be removed, lest they impregnate their mother and sisters, while the females can be left with the mother. Showing There are several clubs all over the world who host shows for mice, similar to rat shows. Shows are most commonly held in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. Clubs include the FMBA (Fancy Mouse Breeders' Association) and AFRMA (American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association) in the United States and NMC (National Mouse Club) in the United Kingdom. A quote from the NMC describes the ideal mouse body type for showing: "The mouse must be long on body with long clean head, not too fine or pointed at the nose, the eyes should be large, bold and prominent. The ears large and tulip shaped, free from creases, carried erect with plenty of width between them. The body should be long and slim, a trifle arched over the loin and racy in appearance; the tail, which must be free from kinks should come well out of the back and be thick at the root or set-on, gradually tapering like a whip lash to a fine end, the length being about equal to that of the mouse's body. Unless the variety standard states otherwise, the coat should be short perfectly smooth, glossy and sleek to the hand. The mouse