- Thread starter
- #11
Thank you. This is very helpful. I’ve always wondered how this works. I have all different breeds, so they I guess we’ll be okay for a bit. I like having a small flock and don’t intent to do a lot of breeding, but wanted to do it safely.I don't know where you got them or if they are even the same breed, but no, not for a few generations. Hatcheries use techniques to keep genetic diversity high and if they are different breeds genetic diversity could not be higher.
The way all breeds were developed is by inbreeding. The way championship show chickens lines are created is through inbreeding. After they are developed the breeders then use different techniques to maintain genetic diversity but initially they want to eliminate traits they don't want and enforce traits they do want.
One method used for thousands of years with small flocks on a farm is to keep replacement chickens from your flock for a few generations, then bring in an outside rooster to restart genetic diversity. How many generations you can go will depend on how many roosters and how many hens you have in the flock and the randomness of which replacements you keep. Don't keep any defective chickens and be kind of ruthless in selecting which chickens you keep as breeders but you should be good for several generations.