Inbreeding

[Lu King]

Is it okay to mate turkeys from the same litter? I know "litter" is not the correct word, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

 

[saddina]

Short answer: yes

Long answer, yes, but you'll want to keep records as to flock mortality, deformities, hatch rates etc. If you notice a decline in the flock from 1 year to another, you'll want to swap in fresh DNA so that you aren't concentrating lethal or crippling genes.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

If you want to keep viable breeding stock there are basicly two way to do it.

If you pen breed - have them all running together and uncontrolled mating you will have to add new blood every few years to get over the inbreeding - If you are breeding for a specific goal bringing in new blood will often undo what you have been working for.

Line breeding is the controlled mating within your flock. Just a quick example. say you start with 2 unrealted pairs

hen tom hen tom
A B C D

breed them and you get
50% 50%
AB CD

Breed hen AB back to tom B, breed tom AB back to hen A
that offspring will be ABB and AAB
or a 75% mix - one side being 75% from the tom side - the other being 75% from the hen side. Clear as mud right?

You can breed to a 7/8 ratio and not run into any problems with poultry. Some people breed closer to 15/16 but you will start to see fertility problems. That is the first sign of inbreeding to close - you don't see the 3 headed 6 legged turkeys until much much later. lol By having two lines going you can breed to 7/8's and then start mixing the two lines together

There are several good books out there on line breeding, just do a google on linebreeding. We rotate our breeders every 3 years so just to get the 7/8s you are looking at 12 years of breeding per pair - then by mixing in the other line you could go another 12 or more, you can have a lifetime of breeding without keeping a million birds or the need to bring in new blood.

Careful record keeping is very important for a complex breeding program.

One last note is you want to avoid brother to sister mating. You can use it to "fix" a trait you want in the birds but you don't want to use it often.

Steve in NC

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

it is only called inbreeding when something goes wrong !!!

In a good breeding program records are your best friend and keep them air tight. It will make all the differences in your program.

Best of luck too you

 

[Lu King]

Thanks to all the great responses. They helped to understand things better.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

it is only called inbreeding when something goes wrong

Line breeding is controlled inbreeding

Lu - If you want more details let me know. Once you understand the mechanics it's very easy to accomplish. It's harder to expain it that it is to do it.

Steve in NC​

 

[Lu King]

Quote:
Line breeding is controlled inbreeding

Lu - If you want more details let me know. Once you understand the mechanics it's very easy to accomplish. It's harder to expain it that it is to do it.

Steve in NC

Will do.

Another question..............

At what age do the turkeys become interested in breeding? I believe my turkeys are about five or six weeks.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

toms - 7 months old and the hens about 8 months old

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

It depends on the type of turkeys you are breeding, the smaller breeds will mature sooner than a larger one and the time of the year they mature. If they are mature in late late fall they won't breed until the following spring. age wise that could be a year old.

With turkeys breeding is hens choice, she will lay down for the hens when she is ready.

Steve inNC