Breeding back with same rooster

[ruthiesue]

Hi everyone:
We ended up with a flock of wild chickens that have now been here for about five years. My concern is that the rooster is still the same old guy that's been here for years and is now fertilizing eggs of very close relatives. We have not seen a problem yet, but what about the genetics of all the hens breeding with their brother/dad/uncle/whatever? Is it like people? Is it benign? Does anyone know? They always have beautiful chickens, but how creepy can this get? Should I not let the hens ever hatch these eggs? Or forget it and see what we end up with?

 

[NYREDS]

It's called line breeding & it's the way most serious breeders mate their birds.
I have bred a closed flock of Rhode Island Red Bantams for going on 25 years w/o bringing in any new blood. I have no plans/need to add new blood & if I did decide to do an outcross I'd do so on a very limited basis.
If you haven't seen a problem it's because there isn't one.
If it works don't fix it.

 

[speckledhen]

NYReds is right. Nothing to be creeped out about.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

I think its only a problem if you are breeding brother to sister. But mother to son, and father to daughter is commonly used.

 

[Feathered Wings]

Nothing creepy about it i breed Father/Daughter and Mother/Son on most of my breeds.
I only bring in new blood to improve on color or feathers.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Are you pen breeding them? just allowing them to breed each other? Pen breeding will run you into problems after awhile and you will need to add "new blood" over time. It's not the 3 headed chicken that alot of people vision, but over time you will see a loss of fertility and hatchability as they become more inbred.

Line breeding is much more systematic breeding, where you keep breeding records so you don't breed to "close". With varied blood lines to begin with you can go along time. With the varied blood lines to begin with you can actually create lines within your flock for breeding purposes. By line breeding each group and then crossing from one group to another you don't need new blood.

Breeding brother to sister isn't always a bad thing - it can be used to "set" a trait that you want within your flock, but not something to overuse.

There is soooooo much more, this is just a short overview.

Steve in NC

 

[Chik-N-Crazy]

I am so glad I checked this post. I have been wondering the same thing about breeding. I have been hatching eggs and thinking oh' my, what will I do with them b/c I thought it was strange to put them in the pens of thier parents!! Thanks guys!!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
For the benefit of anyone new to this discussion who may be reading this thread, THERE IS NO GENETIC DIFFERENCE between breeding brother to sister vs breeding parents to offspring. It is EXACTLY the same degree of inbreeding. Truly.

Yes, parent-offspring matings are used more often, but that's for other reasons. The inbreeding coefficient is identical.

Pat

 

[ruthiesue]

Thanks to everyone with all the great information on breeding back the chickens. My husband will be pleased to know that it's okay. We just didn't want the proverbial three-headed chicken.....
This is a great website and again, thanks to all of you! This flock is very small and, like I said, was a wild bunch that just moved in. They are great around our farm but tend to get bumped off periodically, so it's nice to have a few babies now and then.
Thanks!
Ruthiesue

 

[SpringChickens]

As long as everything is turning out well, it is line breeding. When things start going down the drain, it's inbreeding.