Questions from a newbie

[ChickPrincess]

Thanks ahead of time... some of these might seem dumb.
I am new to chickens and the whole incubation thing. I am, however, familiar with breeding reptile (leopard gecko) eggs, so I'm not going in to this completely blind.

#1 With geckos, cross breeding certain types is frowned upon because you end up damaging the purebred gene pool. Are there ever any chicken breeds that should NOT be mixed with others?

#2 With geckos, there is a limit to breeding back-to-back generations (mother to child, grandchild, etc). 2 to 3 generations is considered okay. What are the general guidelines for chickens? Or is it never okay?

Just want to do things right!

 

[nicalandia]

Thanks ahead of time... some of these might seem dumb.
I am new to chickens and the whole incubation thing. I am, however, familiar with breeding reptile (leopard gecko) eggs, so I'm not going in to this completely blind.

#1 With geckos, cross breeding certain types is frowned upon because you end up damaging the purebred gene pool. Are there ever any chicken breeds that should NOT be mixed with others?

#2 With geckos, there is a limit to breeding back-to-back generations (mother to child, grandchild, etc). 2 to 3 generations is considered okay. What are the general guidelines for chickens? Or is it never okay?

Just want to do things right!

it depends what you want! do you want just to have chickens as friends? or will you be showing them?

as for crossing, the best show lines are line breeding and have beend doing it for many generations

 

[4hchickmama]

Thanks ahead of time... some of these might seem dumb.
I am new to chickens and the whole incubation thing. I am, however, familiar with breeding reptile (leopard gecko) eggs, so I'm not going in to this completely blind.

#1 With geckos, cross breeding certain types is frowned upon because you end up damaging the purebred gene pool. Are there ever any chicken breeds that should NOT be mixed with others?

#2 With geckos, there is a limit to breeding back-to-back generations (mother to child, grandchild, etc). 2 to 3 generations is considered okay. What are the general guidelines for chickens? Or is it never okay?

Just want to do things right!

#1- Not necessarily. There are some breeds or color strains that are very rare...and you pay a lot more for these, and people might frown at you if you allowed these birds to crossbreed, but at the end of the day...its up to you. Your average breeds? Not an issue.

#2- I am not 100% positive on the answer to this one.

If you want a nice variety in your backyard flock and you aren't raising for show/breeding, then there is no reason you need to keep them separate. Many people who DO show also have project pens. Where they are working on different crosses and mixes or color varieties. Good luck with your new flock!

 

[ChickPrincess]

Thanks for the replies! Wasn't sure if I was overthinking all this!
Next spring I would like to incubate my own eggs and sell day old Black Australorps. They would be in a separate coop and run from my original flock.
I suppose I could add in a new roo when needed and rotate out an older one.
Around our area, it's tough to find an adult Black Australorp. They are in high demand. So far, I have only been able to find one pullet.

 

[3riverschick]

Thanks for the replies! Wasn't sure if I was overthinking all this!
Next spring I would like to incubate my own eggs and sell day old Black Australorps. They would be in a separate coop and run from my original flock.
I suppose I could add in a new roo when needed and rotate out an older one.
Around our area, it's tough to find an adult Black Australorp. They are in high demand. So far, I have only been able to find one pullet.

Join the APA and get this year's yearbook. It is full of names of breeders winning with Black Australops and with them for sale. I was reading my yearbook last night.
Karen
Here's a classic book on breeding laws by Judge Card, a renowned poultry breeder and judge.
Laws governing the breeding of standard fowls; a book covering
outbreeding [!] inbreeding and line breeding of all recognized
breeds of domestic fowls, with chart, 1912 , 64 Pages .
Card, Wetherell Henry, Manchester, Conn., The Herald printing company
Excellent info on color breeding! http://tinyurl.com/2ek3ugl

 

[ChickPrincess]

What's the APA?

 

[4hchickmama]

What's the APA?

American Poultry Association. http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/index.htm

 

[ChickPrincess]

Thank you! Off to research...