Is it OK to breed a Speckled Sussex that has some siblings with possible eye problems?

[NinjaGamer2022]

I would do 1 generation of the healthy birds to see how it goes first. If they all grow to adulthoid with no problems then go for it. But I would cull all birds with genetic defects (including the ones you have now) to avoid passing these traits for multiple generations

Thank you very much for this info @Dean126 . I plan to keep the defective hens but will NOT breed them. They will be egg laying pets exclusively. Thank you for your helpful info, haev a good night.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I'm sorry I think I asked the question incorrectly. None of my Speckled Sussex that I have now is lame, out of 7 (4 roos and 3 hens) 2 hens of the show possible eye site problems. If I breed the healthy ones to a good quality unrelated stock would it be a bad idea to sell the offspring as pet quality birds? The only possible problem that I know about in a few is possibly eye site issues, I won't breed those ones but possibly their healthy siblings to a good unrelated stock. Thank you for you help and patience.

The problem with this is that the gene for poor eyesight could be recessive. This means that the healthy siblings could potentially carry it and pass it on to their offspring. If whoever buys the offspring then breeds them together or with another carrier, they’re suddenly getting birds with poor eyesight in their flock.

 

[3KillerBs]

You definitely need to monitor your presumed healthy birds to adulthood. To know for sure they have zero issues. Then it would be safe to cross them with unrelated birds.

I would do 1 generation of the healthy birds to see how it goes first. If they all grow to adulthoid with no problems then go for it.

The problem with this is that the gene for poor eyesight could be recessive. This means that the healthy siblings could potentially carry it and pass it on to their offspring. If whoever buys the offspring then breeds them together or with another carrier, they’re suddenly getting birds with poor eyesight in their flock.

This is EXACTLY what I was going to say.

If the theoretically healthy birds are close relatives of the ones with the problem then there is a strong likelihood that they're carrying a recessive problem and anyone you sell them to would be in the same situation you're in now -- having paid good money for healthy birds and gotten defective ones.

If you're interested in breeding and selling birds -- even "pet quality" birds, who should at least be healthy and vigorous even if not matching their breed's Standard of Perfection -- first get good, strong stock from a reliable source.

Also, have you contacted the source of your defective birds to inform them that there is a problem?