Inbreeding

[Entrnrer]

Can a rooster breed with chicks he is the father of?
Will they produce deformed chicks?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Inbreeding is not as much of an issue with fowl as it is for humans and other species.... deformities should not pop up until several generations of close inbreeding like brother to sister, then breeding those sibling to sibling and their offspring sibling to sibling and so on.

Breeding fathers back to daughters and mothers back to son is an accepted practice and it is called line breeding.

You can also breed brother to sister to set certain characteristics is my understanding but I don't have my genetics where I want them to try messing around like that yet.

Even with zero inbreeding... if you hatch enough chicks you can still see deformities pop up. And you might see certain traits that are hidden in the parents come out in the offspring.

Hope this is helpful without too much talking in circles!

 

[lomine]

x2 what @EggSighted4Life said

Will just add that inbreeding and line breeding are more likely to increase the chances of good characteristics you want to keep being passed to the next generation. On the flip side, it is also more likely to increase the chances of bad characteristics popping up. This is because there is an increased chance of the offspring inheriting the gene(s) required to express the characteristic.

There are also certain traits that remain hidden in recessive genes. When you breed related birds the offspring can inherit the recessive gene from both parents, then the trait will be expressed in the offspring. This can be either good or bad, depending on the trait and your goals.

 

[Entrnrer]

Thank you guys for the in put.