Starting a flock with just one hen?

[Miami Leghorn]

I'm sure he does.
I just didn't want to inject that question on his thread and hijack his thread.I was thinking about sending him a private message earlier.

 

[The Moonshiner]

It all depends on the birds.
Line breeding can work for generations but it can also go nowhere.
Like someone said it locks in genes quickly but that means it locks in the good and/or the bad.
If your starter birds have issues it will lock those in and you won't be going generation after generation.
Ive had more success then failuras but it can happen. Ive scrapped whole projects because with the limited birds I couldn't get away from issues.
Ive always seen it as a juggling act as to just how far you can go until you have to bring in new blood.
You'll just have to run with it and see what results and adjust accordingly.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

It all depends on the birds.
Line breeding can work for generations but it can also go nowhere.
Like someone said it locks in genes quickly but that means it locks in the good and/or the bad.
If your starter birds have issues it will lock those in and you won't be going generation after generation.
Ive had more success then failuras but it can happen. Ive scrapped whole projects because with the limited birds I couldn't get away from issues.
Ive always seen it as a juggling act as to just how far you can go until you have to bring in new blood.
You'll just have to run with it and see what results and adjust accordingly.

Thank you!
I guess the key point is,pick your best.
I read a book on Canine Genetics years ago,and the breeding and planning Chapter began with the statement,
"Like begets like".

 

[The Moonshiner]

Lol don't get me started on dog breeding/breeders.
Been there done that.
For a while I raised show harlequin danes. Amazing the things I heard breeders say to never do while at the same time they were doing. When asked they would say well it should only be done by an experienced breeder that knows what theyre doing. Oh OK, whatever you say.
AKC is just as stupid about some things.
In harlequins to be harlequin a dog has to have a merle gene and a harlequin gene. Many know about the merle gene and you don't want to produce double merle because of the health factors. Don't breed merle to merle.
AKC is all about that. They not only recommend not to breed merles together they won't accept merles as a recognised color because of the health issues.
BUT.....harlequin is accepted and approved to breed together. Duh every harlequin carries a merle gene so breeding those together is breeding two merles. And to make things worse the harlequin gene is lethal. If a dog gets two copies of it they die as embryos.
Interesting huh?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Lol don't get me started on dog breeding/breeders.
Been there done that.
For a while I raised show harlequin danes. Amazing the things I heard breeders say to never do while at the same time they were doing. When asked they would say well it should only be done by an experienced breeder that knows what theyre doing. Oh OK, whatever you say.
AKC is just as stupid about some things.
In harlequins to be harlequin a dog has to have a merle gene and a harlequin gene. Many know about the merle gene and you don't want to produce double merle because of the health factors. Don't breed merle to merle.
AKC is all about that. They not only recommend not to breed merles together they won't accept merles as a recognised color because of the health issues.
BUT.....harlequin is accepted and approved to breed together. Duh every harlequin carries a merle gene so breeding those together is breeding two merles. And to make things worse the harlequin gene is lethal. If a dog gets two copies of it they die as embryos.
Interesting huh?

I knew about the merle gene, but I didn't know there even was a Harlequin gene. Interesting

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Lol don't get me started on dog breeding/breeders.
Been there done that.
For a while I raised show harlequin danes. Amazing the things I heard breeders say to never do while at the same time they were doing. When asked they would say well it should only be done by an experienced breeder that knows what theyre doing. Oh OK, whatever you say.
AKC is just as stupid about some things.
In harlequins to be harlequin a dog has to have a merle gene and a harlequin gene. Many know about the merle gene and you don't want to produce double merle because of the health factors. Don't breed merle to merle.
AKC is all about that. They not only recommend not to breed merles together they won't accept merles as a recognised color because of the health issues.
BUT.....harlequin is accepted and approved to breed together. Duh every harlequin carries a merle gene so breeding those together is breeding two merles. And to make things worse the harlequin gene is lethal. If a dog gets two copies of it they die as embryos.
Interesting huh?

Yes and I've also read that back in the day,when a certain color was desired,many a puppy had met the water bucket at birth when some of these breeders set out to breed for a certain color. Something that was deemed "good for the breed"by the very breeders that were dipping the dog in the bucket.

Yeah.
When I was breeding terriers for hog hunting, not much need for AKC or any other group. Just bred for smarts, temperament,power,gameness.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yep. With harlequin breeding merles were a unwanted by product and I heard the term "bucketing" for their disposal.
10 years ago and maybe still some harlequin breeders still produce and dispose of double merle harlequins.
I also raised aussie not long ago. I know a breeder that produces double merles for breeding because they throw 100% merles when bred to a non merle.
Way back in my youth I raised hunting beagles. Ya lot more straight forward breeding then when what counted was a functional dog.

 

[NJClucker]

It really depends on the quality of the hen in question as well as the rooster you pick.

Line breeding from a poor quality hen or rooster will give you lots of poor quality pullets. You are always breeding back to the original quality of the seed fowl. You use line breeding when you want to keep a line where it's at not when you're looking to improve it which you most certainly want to do unless the hen you have is exceptional.