SoftMouse.NET Family Tree: How to Trace an Animal's Ancestry and Breeding History

Every Animal Record in SoftMouse.NET allows you to view the historical information that animal's parents, siblings, and progeny from a lineage point of view, but what if you want to trace back more than just one generation or get a better visualization of the animal's lineage (eg. for crossback, multi-strain breeding, etc.)?

The Family Tree lets you trace backward or forward multiple generations and creates a family tree of your animals to give you a better understanding and visual confirmation of breeding history and familial ancestry.

There are two ways to access an Animal’s Family Tree:

1. From the Animal Record. 

   On the Animal Record, you will see the button “Generate Family Tree”. Clicking on this button will take you directly to the Family Tree application.

2. From the Family Tree Tab in the Colony Module:
   1. Select the user who owns the mice you wish to review in the Owner drop-down.
   2. Input the starting Animal Tag or SID
   3. Choose how many generations to display for in both the Ancestors and Progeny drop-downs
   4. From here, click on the green "Generate Tree" button -- this takes you to the Family Tree application

On the "Generate a Family Tree" Page:

1. Click the blue "Display Tree" button
2. This will display your starting Animal, showing the Animal Tag or SID, Gender, Genotype, Strain, and State.
   Note: If the animal has any Ancestors or Progeny, there will be a numbered circle on the top or bottom of the Animal Record.
3. Click the numbered circle on the top of the Animal Record to display the Ancestry of the Animal.
4. Click the numbered circle below the Animal Record to display the animal's Progeny.
   Note:
   • Each litter/clutch is represented by a Green Triangle.
   • Each litter/clutch will have its own numbered circle which represents each offspring born from that particular litter/clutch.
   • Clicking the green triangle will populate each offspring's information.