The Poultry Keeper

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

Hi this is probably a stupid question, but.....

I have a broody hen, and we only have one cockerel, if the baby chicks grow up and then the cockerel, you know, is that incest.. I mean can they do that or does it affect the new chicks?

chicken_house_man · Joined: 15 Apr 2005 Posts: 109 Location: Brynmawr

yes, if it happens too much then it'll tend to increase the chance of heridity problems

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

So if he was breeding with his grandkids say, then they're more likely to have problems. So we'll need to get another cockerel. What if one of the new chicks is male, and breeds with his sister? How do you stop them?

By they way complete novice when it comes to breeding..... we've never had a broody chicken, just ate them in the past....

Diane · Joined: 05 Feb 2006 Posts: 271 Location: Dorset

The best thing to do is to take out all the baby cockerels and keep them separate - and also get rid of your original cockerel and bring in a newbie and that will solve all your problems.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1358 Location: Leicestershire

All hybrids chickens - layers and meat birds are highly inbred. It's also the only way to keep pure breeds of any type of animal, and the rarer the breed, then the more inbred they are.

It's unlikely in a domestic situation to just rear a few each year that any problems would arise.

Incest tends to be a human problem.

Itsybitsy

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

Thanks for that, never thought about it before.

Our chickens were actually abandoned, rescued by our local milkman, who passed them onto us. I'm not even sure what breed they are! Just so long as they don't start quacking I'm sure it will be fine.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cheryl

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1334 Location: Manchester

inbreeding is common when breeding for show - however brother/sister pairings hold more scope for genetic problems then mother/son or father/daughter and if you take another unrelated step in between so it's grandfather/grandaughter from unrelated mother then the genetics are diluted again and so there is less chance for recessive genetic disorders to raise their head.

It sounds complicated but once you get your head round it it's relatively logical.

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

We're not using them for show, just eggs. Well for now. Our cockerel is a Rhode Island bantam and our hens are Anconi's, so don't know if the chicks will come out pretty or not. If they hatch!

Woodburner · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:07 pm Post subject:

As long as you only breed from birds that have always been strong and healthy, you are unlikely to have any problems.
Problems are more likely if you breed from a bird chosen say, for its perfect feathering, ignoring the fact that it came from say a batch of eggs with low hatch rate, in fact that would be asking for trouble!

mojo · Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:03 pm Post subject:

breed up down ie dad daughter mum son rather than across ie son duaghter.................never breed from a bird with obvious problems ie twisted feet and you will be ok for a few years then choose your best hens and import a new coq to the flock and dispose of all old coqs

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

Thanks for all the advice.... This is all speculation of course, no sign of any chicks yet and she's on day 21!

mojo · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:00 pm Post subject:

dont panic she knows what she is doing she will get off and wander away if the eggs are duds

chezwoodcock · Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 14

Thanks mojo you're a font of knowledge. I hope they're not duds, she's been such a dedicated wee soul it would be such a shame. I'll post some photos if we get any chicks. Thanks again.

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1040 Location: Cornwall

We kept a lot of rare breed birds, bred them and showed them and ours weren't inbred. We went to great lengths to get unrelated birds when we were breeding.

surrey bird · Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 61 Location: SURREY

Sure I just saw a husky and a chick?????