Can you cross breed chicks

[lilshadow]

that came from the same hen. This may sound really stupid, but can you cross breed chickens that are brother/sister, mother/son, father/dughter?

 

[speckledhen]

Yes you can, however, it intensifies both good and bad traits. If they are wonderful examples of the breed, then you may get some great birds from pairing them up.

 

[Marlinchaser]

Quote:
The down side is if they are bad to begin with you may wind up with a 2 headed, 3 winged chick. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, Dennis, I did say it intensifies the good and the bad traits. If they both share a fault, then breeding them may make it worse. And just be ready to cull those two headed, three-winged chicks.

 

[Marlinchaser]

Quote:
Or wait for the circus to come to town, and sell them to the freak show.

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
The down side is if they are bad to begin with you may wind up with a 2 headed, 3 winged chick. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

But you could name it after Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster from the Godzilla movie!

 

[lilshadow]

Now ya'll are scaring me...

 

[hinkjc]

Mother to son and Father to daughter is more recommended than sister to brother. As others have said, watch for bad traits as this will enforce it in the flock and the goal should be to breed away from bad traits.

Jody

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

As Jody said, a lot of breeders will breed sons and daughters back to mothers and fathers. This is called line breeding. However, breeding brother and sister is not really recommended.

Very rarely does inbreeding cause mutations, contrary to popular belief. It can cause some health issues and may intensify some of the bad traits in a bird, but knowledgeable line breeding can be a wonderful thing in a breeding program. However, an accidental breeding between a brother and sister does not mean automatic death or mutation for the offspring. Typically, the offspring of such a breeding will be absolutely fine, but you may not want to continue breeding that specific animal because it's gene variation will be very limited.

 

[lilshadow]

what do you mean by bad traits? I have a banty that had chicks, I free range all of my chickens so it is a free for all out in the barn yard (not to be gross). When I do start breeding I will put like breeds together. RIR's, Wyandottes, EE's, Blue, Splash, Black Andalusians etc... Some of those are Bro/Sis because I hatched the eggs I bought. The banties are that much I know.