Genetics question

[Winchester94]

In the next few months here I'll be taking my first shot at hatching chicks and have found myself wondering about genetics and specifically inbreeding. If I were to keep some chicks for my own flock would I need to keep them separate from the rooster they spawned from so he does not try to breed them, thus leading to inbred chicks? I know I'm getting ahead of myself here but I'm very curious on this one. Would I need to get a new rooster for each generation of chicks? I understand the basics of genetics but thinking about it for too long can sure make your head spin.
Thanks yall

 

[duluthralphie]

You are talking inbreeding and line breeding.

Both are good tools to use when looking for traits in your birds. There is a small risk with both. However, the risk is pretty small.

Many of us actually breed to parents (Line breeding) to get a desired trait. We do this on purpose.

We also breed to siblings (inbreeding) to cement that trait in the offspring. As long as you are aware you can bring in or have genetic problems arise, it should be no problem.

It does not take many generations before you can spread out and bring in new genes.

I have white legbars, they have a very small gene pool here in the USA. We are all working with and developing some pretty nice birds that are healthy and lay well, despite the small gene pool..

Have fun with the hatching..

 

[Winchester94]

Thanks for the info. Great stuff

 

[Folly's place]

Chickens are fun! That's the most important thing! In breeding, you want to select individuals who have always been healthy (injuries may not count), have no temperament or structural flaws, and then have traits that you are looking for in your flock. That's true in raising purebreds, or mutts, because health, good temperments, and usefulness are what matters, IMO. It will most likely be necessary to bring in outside birds occasionally, unless you have the space to have at least three breeding lines, and do some kind of rotational breeding. If you want to show partridge colored birds, separate male and female lines are done (way too much work for me!). Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

Raising chicks from your own flock is a lot of fun. It's kind of like a box of chocolates. (most of the time) you don't know what you're gonna get. If you want to play around with the genetics a bit more, check out "the Sex Linked Information" thread. Several great charts there that might help you along.