Two questions, inbreeding chances and when can I incubate?

[Cyberous]

Hi All,

After loosing my entire flock (all hens) last year I started the process over. In February I hatched some Trader Joes Eggs (California Whites) and I purchased some Red Sex-linked chicks all in the same week.

After thinning out the group I’m left with 3 white hens, 4 red hens and one white rooster.

Last Tuesday we got our first egg, to my surprise it’s from one of the reds. The egg is small but getting larger every day. I would assume that the rest of the hens will start laying soon.

I want to incubate my own offspring, I think it would be neat to see what the mixed chicks would look like and the chickens in my neighborhood have been devastated by a predator so I have plenty of neighbors that are looking to replenish their stock.

With that I have two questions.

1. 1. What’s the chance of inbreeding with the whites? I can’t imagine any of the eggs were from the same parents coming from a factory farm? Yes/no?

2. 2. How long should the hen be laying before I gather eggs to incubate? I know the rooster is constantly getting “busy.”

Sorry if this has been talked about, I googled but didn't come up with much information.

Thanks,

Don

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

1. I can't tell you specifics, but no, you won't inbreed. Chickens take a long time to get inbred. Maybe change your rooster every 2-3 years, otherwise I see very little chance of inbreeding happening.

2. Up to you. I'd wait until their full sized. Crack open an egg and look for the 'bullseye'. After that, all eggs from that hen should be fertile.

I'd wait 2-3 weeks just to make sure everyone's laying consistently. But it's up to you. I just would wait for big healthy eggs, and get the most eggs I could that are the freshest.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Line breeding to prevent inbreeding:

 

[Lizz9311]

Line breeding to prevent inbreeding:

What exactly does this graph mean? How does one read it?

I may just be having a hard time since I'm usually never awake this early, but I am interested in having my own "renewing" flock and am also concerned about inbreeding down the line.

 

[dheltzel]

What exactly does this graph mean? How does one read it?

I may just be having a hard time since I'm usually never awake this early, but I am interested in having my own "renewing" flock and am also concerned about inbreeding down the line.

Unless your are really hard-core breeding for SOP and showing, I'd ignore the chart and just get a new roo every 3 - 5 years to bring in fresh blood.

This is a hobby (for most of us), is doesn't have to be that complicated. As mentioned, it's a long road to inbred birds that suffer from it. You almost have to be purposeful about it to get there. There are lots of stories about "closed flocks" (no outside genetics) being healthy for decades.

 

[Lizz9311]

Unless your are really hard-core breeding for SOP and showing, I'd ignore the chart and just get a new roo every 3 - 5 years to bring in fresh blood.

This is a hobby (for most of us), is doesn't have to be that complicated. As mentioned, it's a long road to inbred birds that suffer from it. You almost have to be purposeful about it to get there. There are lots of stories about "closed flocks" (no outside genetics) being healthy for decades.

Thank you! I currently have 2 roosters that have only just started getting their business on this year, so I should be good for a while!

 

[Cyberous]

Thanks everyone!

Great info.

Don