Advice please - spiral/ clan breeding programme

[lenadriver]

Thanks for the excellent descriptions!!!
There are two books that relate to breeding issues, from slightly different angles.
"The Mating and Breeding of Poultry" by Lamon and Slocum, and
"A Conservation Breeding Handbook" by Sponenberg and Christman.
Both very useful!
My problem is in being able to hatch and raise 200+ chicks each year! It's not happening here...
Besides obvious defects, what are your criteria for such early culling? Size?
Mary

Thanks for the references! And the great questions.

 

[lenadriver]

Not necessarily. Statistically speaking from the punnet square if each parent is heterozygous then mathematically the offspring only has a 25% chance of being homozygous for the recessive gene and expressing it. However that is the math on paper. In real life the genetic dice get rolled each time an egg is fertilized. When both parents carry the recessive gene in a heterozygous state it could take generations.

I raise LFW cornish. I had one chick with barred feathers. An obvious disqualification. 300+ chicks later it still has yet to show up again.

Yup. Same on the rooster pen. When the sire produces a superior son the father is displaced. But no switching between the 2 UNLESS it's the obvious thing to do. Both pens are related.

Thank you so much. How many years have you managed before needing new blood? I really appreciate your time.

 

[Fairview01]

Thank you so much. How many years have you managed before needing new blood? I really appreciate your time.

None as of yet but I've only have been working with my Cornish for 3 years. I did start out with excellent stock from 2 reputable breeders. LFW Cornish are a US creation. They are a hard variety to find outside the US. All of today's descendants come from one flock so its pretty easy to have surprises show up.