Genetic diversity within a small population of poultry

[S Hughes]

I wounder if there is someone out ther who would be kind enough to help me : I am an amateur breader of ( la bresse ) and think I have 3 unrelated lines of my breed , I have a cock and a few hens for each line , my problem is how do I make the next two generations of brood stock from what I have and keep as broader unrelated stock as possible ?

 

[chooks4life]

When you say '3 unrelated lines' do you mean each cock is unrelated to each hen group they're with, but the hens are related to each other?

We'd have to know if any of those hens or cocks is related to any others. I'm assuming your hens are related and your cocks unrelated to the hens but perhaps related to each other...? If you're not sure it's hard to help guess.

If you have a good idea of how every single hen is related to every single other hen and how the cocks are related to every other bird, you can start to deduce how to avoid inbreeding. (When I say 'related' there it also covers lack of relation, so to speak, i.e. being unrelated).

Best wishes.

 

[Arielle]

YOu are on the right track for a rotational breeding system. You will find great detail on the ALBC website on this method as used by Don Schrider to deveop a new line of BUckeyes. Basically Hens fom family A live in penA; hens from faimily B linve in pen B, and hens from family C linve in Pen C. Select males from Pen A a re move to Pen B; Select males from Pen C are moved to Pen A. THe idea is that it is not just the best males, but only the best males from each of the pens. WHen I talked to Chris McCarthy, he said that I should be good for a lifetime of breeding if I follow this system.

Lots more detail on the American LIvestock Breed Conservancy website. Rotational breeding has other names too like spiral.

 

[S Hughes]

I am most gratefull for the advice I will look the system up . Kind regards Simon hughes.

 

[Arielle]

Good luck!!