Father/daughter mating. Should I let them?

[Florida Bullfrog]

All domestic breeds off animals that have repeatable traits that define the breed have been inbred through parent x child mating to so create the breed. Doing it for several generations is about as close to natural cloning in animals through otherwise normal sexual reproduction.

This is moreso reinforced in chickens where the natural order of a chicken flock is for a dominant rooster to kill or drive off all of his rivals and keep his daughters, granddaughters, ect. for his breeding hens into the perpetuity of his rule over the flock. Chickens don’t disperse far in nature like some other galliformes do (like wild turkey). Every flock in the wild is often its own inbred unit for several yeaes.

So if father and daughter are healthy, they’ll be fine.

 

[BubbaBubbles]

Did both come from the same source?

Yes, same breeder. But I adopted them from my sister who could no longer care for them, so info is very limited.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Even if I allowed Mable to have a chick (she's been broody lately), it wouldn't have any defects would it? Just want to make sure.

There is no way to be sure. Real life doesn't work that way.

A model that has been used on small farms for thousands of years is that they keep a flock for several generations and hatch chicks. The rooster with his daughters or granddaughters. And they keep replacement roosters from the chicks too. Eventually you can develop problem: less fertility, poorer production, illness, or deformities. How long you can go with inbreeding depends on the genetic make-up. You don't know for sure how closely related those are other than that one is the father to the daughter. I have no idea what your risk is.

Would appreciate if anyone with experience in breeding father/daughter or mother/son chickens can share info, too

Dad kept a flock like that. About every four of five generations he'd bring in some new chicks and add them to the flock. He'd add some pullets and keep one rooster to be the new flock master. He did not have inbreeding problems.

I think your odds are pretty good that you would not have genetic problems but I sure cannot guarantee that.