question about silkie run

[kasey08]

i have 1 blue roo 2 blue 2 black 2 splash hens(if they all turn out to be hens) in a 6ft by 6ft run 4ft tall. is that a good size? and the roo is the dad to the 4 chicks can i breed them back to him or do i need a new roo?

 

[BooBear]

6 ft by 6ft run should be ok for them. How big is the coop too?
Not sure on the breed question. I will leave that one for the experienced breeders to chime in on.

 

[kasey08]

oh found out its an 8X8. the coop is prolly 4X3

 

[averytds]

Yes, you can breed them back to him. It's linebreeding.

 

[Cargo]

Just don't breed brother and sister.

 

[kasey08]

Quote:
why would that matter?

 

[Big Dreamer]

I know someone else will say something, but all i know is its kinda like when people get jiggey with their siblings its inbreeding and their babies get all messed up...

Or something close to that??

 

[Cargo]

Inbreeding depression

Inbreeding depression is a decline in reproductive performance, ability to survive and other characteristics associated with fitness as a result of inbreeding. It occurs as a result of "uncovering" deleterious recessive genes by making them homozygous and is a consequence of the evolution of dominance of loci concerned with fitness characters. The direction of the change is towards the value of the more recessive alleles (Falconer 1981).

 

[kasey08]

but kids can mate with parents? thats odd

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Chickens don't care. Even if a cockerel was raised by his genetic-mother, both will eventually 'pull apart' on their family ties and the cockerel will most likely become interested in mating any hen around him, even the hen who raised him. If bred too closely for a number of years, (I'm under the impression) there can be genetic defects present in offspring. To us, it seems odd and to many, a little gross, but it is what it is.

When a rooster is old enough to start mating, it's not a 'kid' anymore.

Chickens don't usually have the heirarchy set up as 'mommy, daddy, and babies'. Brother to sister mating is more frowned upon, but parent to sibling is supposedly better. Moreso, the lesser of two evils.

This is my understanding, anyway...