Can I breed my crossbeak?

[lildinkem]

I'd say IF you have no other replacement for this birds line, and there are traits you can not get anywhere else. And you don't plan on selling these eggs/chicks till you know for sure. Go for it. What harm are you causing? It is your flock. Your time to feed the two generations, till you know for sure. And like one person said, you take the the chicks back to each other, and grow them out. IF this gene is recessive it will show it's face by then, hopefully. Then you should know with a fair degree of certainty that your bird did not have this trait due to genetics. Go for it.

 

[Krys109uk]

Something I read suggested that these types of defects are often incubation related.

Cross beaks have been investigated by quite a few people.
Apparently the one which is not genetic (for crossed beaks) is associated with unilateral Microphthalmia & Anophthalmia (abnormal development of the eye). I wasn't familiar with this so I looked it up....here is the link
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Microphthalmia+and+Anophthalmia
This type, the chick appears normal at hatch & it starts to become apparent at about 1-2 months, fully developing by 3-4 months.
Apparently this type of condition is infuenced by incubation conditions. To me that does not say caused by....but I could be wrong?

Other causes of cross beak have been investigated & are said to be hereditory one as a simple recessive, another as comlpex recessive.
The simple recessive was found not to breed true & sometimes showed in 'split' birds. Another was able to breed a bit more reliably but doesn't seem conclusive from what I'm reading here.
One was said to be apparent at hatch the works do not appear to say.

Lots of people have given you their opinion.
As Lildinkem says she's your bird so it's up to you whether you breed her or not.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
The only way to know would be test breeding, and as stated, if it's recessive, then it wouldn't likely show in a first generation cross. There's also the possibility that it is the result of a combination of genes, not just one. I read somewhere awhile back that the genetic defect for crossbeak is very common, but only a very few who are genetically predisposed actually develop crossbeaks--wish I knew the source of that information--I should have bookmarked it.

Anyways, the toes are probably nutritional, and you certainly wouldn't want to breed from a bird who is not nutritionally sound--think of all the things that can go wrong in humans when the mother is missing various nutrients during pregnancy--you could/would run into similar issues if the hen is not nutritionally sound as she creates the egg.

I think she would be fine as a broody, fine as part of your egg layer flock, but I don't think you should breed her. Either one of these issues would be enough for me to say that, but with both it simply reinforces my opinion.

 

[chsfairy2007]

I, personally, would not use use for breeding. As someone else already said, if it is hereditary, it may not show up in her initial offspring, but it could later down the line... and that would be a big disappointment. Just like now, you could get a great bird, but with crossbeak again. However, I also agree with lildinkem - they are your birds! It seems like you really want to, and you can do whatever you want to with our own birds. I'm sure that if the crossbeak did turn out to be a problem, you'd be responsible, so I don't see the harm.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
oh its GENETIC allright...

Not necessarily--crossbeaks can result from injury, incubation and hatching issues as well as from flawed genetics. There are a LOT of studies out there.

 

[Kezzie]

Quote:
The only way to know would be test breeding, and as stated, if it's recessive, then it wouldn't likely show in a first generation cross. There's also the possibility that it is the result of a combination of genes, not just one. I read somewhere awhile back that the genetic defect for crossbeak is very common, but only a very few who are genetically predisposed actually develop crossbeaks--wish I knew the source of that information--I should have bookmarked it.

Anyways, the toes are probably nutritional, and you certainly wouldn't want to breed from a bird who is not nutritionally sound--think of all the things that can go wrong in humans when the mother is missing various nutrients during pregnancy--you could/would run into similar issues if the hen is not nutritionally sound as she creates the egg.

I think she would be fine as a broody, fine as part of your egg layer flock, but I don't think you should breed her. Either one of these issues would be enough for me to say that, but with both it simply reinforces my opinion.

Could you please explain what you mean by nutritional? I've had her since she was 3 days old and fed her on starter/grower since then along with clover and other greens. She's had the exact same diet as the others and is eating well. Is there something else I should have given her?

 

[Krys109uk]

Apart from what the chick eats, what the mother was fed also has an effect.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Why is the crest a defect if they're called "Crested ducks"?... Or were your crests just defective?

Well, it was on here that I learned that the crested area is actually a hole in their skulls that doesn't close properly giving them the pom pom effect on the top of their skulls. Sometimes, the little ducklings will hatch out with holes in their skulls and their brains exposed.

Their brains are not exposed, unless you mean they are not fully inside their skull. They are covered with all the regular muscle and tissue and skin and feathers. My expertise is with crested chickens, not ducks, but I have to say that not all chickens with crests, even large crests have the vaulted skull indicative of the hole in the skull. Even the breeders who breed away from vaulted skulls are unlikely to call it a defect.

 

[blackclownfish16]

I personally have used a crossbeak silkie (lavender) in my flock before. Like yours it wasn't apparent until she got older and since she was perfect as a chick, I only kept her and 4 others. That was last year and not one of her chicks this year have any problems.

Also I know the person I got my stock from often has crossbeaks because of her incubator (she's hatched over 10 breeds and has had problems with 4 of them).

As long as she is able to get around and have a healthy life I don't see any reason not to breed her. You will know pretty quick if it's genetic unless it's reccessive in which case you will find out down the line.

Sometimes you have to start with what you have and improve from there.

And when it all boils down to it, she is your bird on your property so what you do with her is your choice.

 

[Krys109uk]

I wouldn't, personally, want to breed birds with cerebal hernia. It isn't crests per se, that I don't like those prone to cerebral hernia.
It is my personal opinion, that I shouldn't want to breed any animal with traits which come about because of deformity, or lethal genes where only the heterozygote is viable. But as they say one man's meat is another man's poison; it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things.