Is it bad to interbreed chickens? I mean, if I had two chickens, that were different colors, like one blue and one white. Their babies would be all blue I guess, since blue dominates, and white is recessive.
Their babies would all have one blue and one white gene. All blue.
If that generation was bred, some would again be white, wouldn't they? Like a 1/4 ratio.
Is that bad, to breed chickens that are related?
I know it's bad with dogs, because the poodles have epileptic seizures because of it. The vet said it is from interbreeding, breeding brother and sister dogs, or father to daughter. Sounds disgusting. Sorry.
I just wondered about chickens..
Interbreeding chickens
Inbreeding is always risky as you intensify whatever traits your animals possess - good and bad. Starting with an out-cross as you suggest would reduce the risk as you have a larger initial gene pool - presumably.
Breeding of closely related animals is called "line breeding" and it is not, in itself, a bad thing. It can "fix" superior traits as well undesirable ones. You just need to be careful.
The odd thing with chickens is that colour breeding is not the same as it is in most mammals. And it is very complex. Here is an example of someone asking a similar question about crossing a lavender roo with different coloured hens (the answer is a bit down in the thread):
http://www.thepoultrygarden.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=2079
Wow I went to look at that link and got lost elsewhere reading.. missed my Cold Case Tv Program... Dang i hate when that happens.. Thanks Catscan.
You are funny MissJestr. Most likely that show is online. Yes, I found it, on cbs.com go to the video section. lol We don't want you in distress!
Thanks Catscan, yes, that is what I meant.
If you can find the English this calculator is nice. http://kippenjungle.nl/Overzicht.htm#kipcalculator
Wow, that is a fun calculator!
Do roosters pick a hen that looks like themselves to breed with? I ask because where I used to work we had a big aviery filled with tiny birds called finches. There were all kinds of finches. They would only breed with the ones that looked like them. They never crossed the line and mated with another colored finch. Even though they were all finches they stuck with their own breed. Are chickens like that?
In my experience, chickens don't care what color they are! Most roos will mate with any hen that's willing, and some that are not! LOL!!