Inbred ducks?

[TheDuckWoman]

Hey just a quick one - my duck has gone broody and is sitting on her eggs, I checked them today and they all have veins etc. We were going to boil them and put them back under her until we could get some other fertile eggs from a lady who supplies us with some of our birds (for her to sit on instead), because her brother is the father. I was away all weekend and by the time I got back and candled them they were all developing, is it cruel to boil them at this stage? (5 ish days) or would they be fine if they hatched? Because of the brother being the father. I don't know if they'd have horrible diseases or disfigurements.

Would it be crueler to boil them at this stage or let them develop and die slowly of a genetic disease? argh!

Thanks!

 

[Nsampsel]

I don't think it hurts to in-breed a generation here & there with ducks (or chickens). They don't have those same issues humans do (more taboo than a genetic issue). Now constant in-breeding can potentially cause problems because there is a lack of new genetic material & mutations keep getting passed along with no way to breed them out or compensate with un-mutated DNA.

 

[TheDuckWoman]

I don't think it hurts to in-breed a generation here & there with ducks (or chickens). They don't have those same issues humans do (more taboo than a genetic issue). Now constant in-breeding can potentially cause problems because there is a lack of new genetic material & mutations keep getting passed along with no way to breed them out or compensate with un-mutated DNA.

ah right, thanks I thought it's worse if it's brother/sister rather than mother/son or father/daughter. There's not a lot on google and noone seems to know much about it!

 

[Tahai]

Brother to sister magnifies both the worst and the best of the genetics, often allowing recessive buried genes to come to the front. It is not (generally) desirable, but is more of an issue when inbreeding or line-breeding have been occurring for several generations. Unless your ducks are harboring some strange health mutation (a possibility, but unlikely), they should all be good.

 

[TheDuckWoman]

Brother to sister magnifies both the worst and the best of the genetics, often allowing recessive buried genes to come to the front. It is not (generally) desirable, but is more of an issue when inbreeding or line-breeding have been occurring for several generations. Unless your ducks are harboring some strange health mutation (a possibility, but unlikely), they should all be good.

hmm so would you say it's better to replace these with some different eggs and let her hatch those?

 

[sourland]

I would let her hatch those eggs. First generation inbred it is very unlikely, although not impossible, that significant genetic problems would surface. I once had a friend who had a line of show quality WCB Polish that were 20 generations inbred.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I really don't think there would be a problem.

 

[TheDuckWoman]

I would let her hatch those eggs. First generation inbred it is very unlikely, although not impossible, that significant genetic problems would surface. I once had a friend who had a line of show quality WCB Polish that were 20 generations inbred.

phew, that's such a relief! thank you.

 

[TheDuckWoman]

I really don't think there would be a problem.

Thank you - I'm going to let her hatch them!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you - I'm going to let her hatch them!

Don't forget to post pics.