BREEDING SYSTEMS

LINEBREEDING
Line-breeding - this is the breeding of animals that share common ancestors but are not
closely related. For examle the birds may share a common great-grandarent. Line-breeding
is another !ay to hel "set" or "fix" desirable traits. #ith line-breeding you breed animals that
are related$ but you are also routinely introducing genes from other lines into the genetic mix.
It ta%es longer to fix the desirable traits this !ay$ but doing so lo!ers the ris% of those
roblems associated !ith reeated in-breeding. #ith a tight line-breeding you might find the
same &$ ' or more males(females sho!ing u numerous times in a ) generation edigree.
Loose line-breeding o*er successi*e generations !ill result in more *ariations of hysical
aearance than !ould in-breeding or tight line-breeding$ but !ill %ee the hysical loo% and
structure !ithin the same general si+e and shae$ it also carries fe!er long term ris%s.
,ccording to geneticists. Line-breeding can be carried on for many many generations !ithout
deleterious effects on the line or breed as long as the indi*iduals in*ol*ed ha*e fe! hidden
genetic disorders.
INBREEDING
In-breeding - -his is the breeding of closely related animals. Brother-.ister$ /arent-0ffsring$
1 brother - 1 .ister. In-breeding is more li%ely to hel "set" or "fix" a articular trait !ithin a
breed or a line by narro!ing the gene ool to fa*or those traits. .o if a breeder is loo%ing to set
a articular desirable feature of their line then in-breeding and choosing the offsring most
strongly ossessing that trait can be beneficial. In-breeding can also hel identify those bad
genes that exist !ithin a line. Birds ossessing the bad genes can be eliminated from a
breeding rogram and carriers also identified. Intermittent in-breeding !ithin a line or breed
is not damaging to the long term health of the animals. 2o!e*er$ in-breeding o*er successi*e
generations can lead to reduced fitness and fertility roblems among the offsring$ resulting
in a henomena %no!n as In-breeding Deression. It can ta%e many generations to sho! u
deending on the traits in*ol*ed. -o use this method resonsibly a breeder !ould not !ant to
in-breed on animals !ith %no!n genetic disorders$ temeraments not in %eeing !ith it3s
gi*en breed$ or %no!n serious structural faults$ or to in-breed fre4uently e*en on healthy-
suerior secimens.
05-6R0..ING
0ut-crossing in terms of ure-bred birds is the breeding of unrelated birds. -his tye of
breeding has both ad*antages and disad*antages. #hich as it turns out are fli sides of the
same argument. #ith out-crossing you are maintaining the greatest genetic di*ersity$ but this
also leads to the least consistency in terms of hysical aearance and other traits. 0ut-
crossing does not guarantee that the animals !on3t de*elo genetic disorders$ but it does tend
to reduce the numbers of affected offsring. 7our best chance of getting an animal that is less
rone to de*eloing a genetic disorder comes more from finding a conscientious breeder that
screens their animals for hereditary disorders and breeds for the betterment of the breed.
Examle8 !hen male 9:; is bred !ith female 9<; then the baby chic%ens out of this
combination is 9&;. -hese are half-bloods. If you bred bac% the best female out of this grou to
her father 9:; you get a ne! generation 9';. -he same !hen the best male out of this grou is
bred bac% to his mother 9<;. By reeating this system you can build u a male and a female
bloodline. .o generation 9'; bac% to 9:; gi*es generation 9=; or generation 9); to 9<; gi*es
generation 9>;. 7ou al!ays breed bac% to original coc% and hen. If one of these is death you
ta%e the best male or female from the next generation. For examle 9&; again.