breeding

[OEGB Beginner]

when breeding I hear people say this is from a rooster line or from a hen line , what do these terms mean and how do you make good use of it ?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

A lot of the varieties are sexually dimorphous (different plumage in each sex). It's hard to improve both at once so you focus on one sex, hence male lines or female lines.

 

[OEGB Beginner]

so if you were to purchase lets say a Ginger red from one breeder who has focused on the hen line and the a rooster from a different breeder who has focused on the rooster line , and you were to mate these two together what would you expect ?

 

[varidgerunner]

so if you were to purchase lets say a Ginger red from one breeder who has focused on the hen line and the a rooster from a different breeder who has focused on the rooster line , and you were to mate these two together what would you expect ?

From my understanding, you could expect to get birds that you could cross the cockerels back to the hen to get good exhibition females and pullets back to the cock for good male exhibition projects.

 

[OEGB Beginner]

hard to understand for a beginner like me , but I will catch on soon , ( I HOPE ) !!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I think for that you'd want a hen from a male line and a cockbird from a female line... But it depends if the characteristics in question are sex linked I think. You might just end up with "decent but not great" birds of both sexes which you could just pair up accordingly, but unless you have unlimited time and space it would be better to focus on one line. Think of how many chicks have to be hatched and grown out for each project. It's a lot.