Every chicken breed was developed by inbreeding. Champion show chickens are developed through inbreeding. Inbreeding itself is not a bad thing but you do have to watch for some things.
What was your source? If they were from a hatchery they are inbred but probably not that much. Most hatcheries use the pen breeding method (maybe 20 roosters with 200 hens) to keep the genetic diversity up. They are probably not that closely related.
A standard method for keeping chickens on small farms that has been used for thousands of years is to not bring in new stock for several generations, then bring in a new rooster. I grew up on one of those farms, Dad would bring in a fresh rooster every four of five generations.
LG gave good advice. Don't breed defective chickens. Sometimes when you start breeding you will see problems show up. As long as it's not very common you can handle that by selectively breeding your best. If it shows up in practically all the chickens it may mean your base stock does have problems and you need to start over.
What was your source? If they were from a hatchery they are inbred but probably not that much. Most hatcheries use the pen breeding method (maybe 20 roosters with 200 hens) to keep the genetic diversity up. They are probably not that closely related.
A standard method for keeping chickens on small farms that has been used for thousands of years is to not bring in new stock for several generations, then bring in a new rooster. I grew up on one of those farms, Dad would bring in a fresh rooster every four of five generations.
LG gave good advice. Don't breed defective chickens. Sometimes when you start breeding you will see problems show up. As long as it's not very common you can handle that by selectively breeding your best. If it shows up in practically all the chickens it may mean your base stock does have problems and you need to start over.
