inbreeding

junebuggena said:

A general rule for close line breeding is about 8 generations. But there are other factors to consider, like how closely related foundation stock is, and how many unrelated hens you start with. A line developed from a single hen and rooster won't be able to withstand line breeding as well as a line founded by 6 different hens and an unrelated rooster. The more genetic diversity you have in your foundation birds, the longer you can 'safely' line breed before you start encountering serious issues.

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Thank you, you've been very helpful!!

Oh This Thread is filled with so many misconceptions and mistakes. JeanR's post is a good one. honestly you can inbreed 10 generations with no problem .the solution is selection
if you know how to select you can keep breeding pretty much forever with with the birds you start with
. you just have to know how to select

And no siblings don't have identical genes. they just come from the same parents siblings can vary widely in their genotype.

3riverschick said:

And no siblings don't have identical genes. they just come from the same parents siblings can vary widely in their genotype.

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I know the odds are way against it but in theory siblings could have all identical genes. And an offspring will have 1/2 the same genes as one of its parents.
Thats the simple idea of breeding parent to offspring but not siblings together. Siblings can share more of the same genes then a parent and an offspring can.

A basic point is....how healthy is your parent stock? If you start with birds that have issues---they had to be assisted to hatch, they developed poorly, they're not especially productive, they're finicky and frail and need coddling.....doesn't really matter if it's one generation or 20, those birds aren't going to do well. Start with good, healthy stock and you'll have good healthy offspring, for the most part.

I think that's the misconception with comparing to human royal families. Their issues weren't necessarily from inbreeding for generations, it was because they were wonky to start with.


The inbreeding/linebreding just emphasizes whatever is present, be it good or bad. The more generations, the more emphasis you'll see. Good or bad.

3riverschick said:

Oh This Thread is filled with so many misconceptions and mistakes. JeanR's post is a good one. honestly you can inbreed 10 generations with no problem .the solution is selection
if you know how to select you can keep breeding pretty much forever with with the birds you start with
. you just have to know how to select

Click to expand...

Hi and thank you for having responded What kind of selection you mean (vigour, etc)? Are there some tricks to make a good selection?

Whether line breeding, inbreeding or cross breeding, IMO vigor should always be the first criteria in selection. Nothing else really matters if they aren't vigorous.

Read your breed standard .
make a list of the major Hallmarks and minor Hallmark's .
build the barn first then paint it.

Talk to experienced breeders in your breed .
find out from them how to prioritize these Hallmarks.
which are the most important in the breed on down to the least important.

Study your breed history . Get to know the breed . what did breeders do to bring the breed to its level of Excellence today ? what makes this breed special ? once you understand the breed, you will understand why people are telling you to prioritize the Hallmarks the way they do.

ChickenCanoe said:

Whether line breeding, inbreeding or cross breeding, IMO vigor should always be the first criteria in selection. Nothing else really matters if they aren't vigorous.

Click to expand...

3riverschick said:

Read your breed standard .
make a list of the major Hallmarks and minor Hallmark's .
build the barn first then paint it.

Talk to experienced breeders in your breed .
find out from them how to prioritize these Hallmarks.
which are the most important in the breed on down to the least important.

Study your breed history . Get to know the breed . what did breeders do to bring the breed to its level of Excellence today ? what makes this breed special ? once you understand the breed, you will understand why people are telling you to prioritize the Hallmarks the way they do.

Click to expand...

thanks for all the advices