Breeding (What) System

Hi All thought you might be interested, i got this from my friend George who lives in the northeast, i have his permission to put it on here


Breeding Systems
Cross-breeding, line-breeding, in-breeding? Which to use, that is the question. At one end of the spectrum of difficulty is cross-breeding, the easiest system, and at the other end is in-breeding, the most difficult.

Cross-breeding: the mating of birds with no relationship within the previous five generations. That is what the experts say, but we could say unrelated birds. This is the simplest system and the one used by a lot of fanciers. You avoid some of the hazards of in-breeding.

Line-breeding: somewhat the same as in-breeding but it takes longer to establish purity. For most fanciers it is less risky and less-expensive. It could involve the following matings: grandfather to granddaughter; grandmother to grandson; cousin to cousin.


In-breeding: a system used to concentrate desirable genes in a family. This system uses matings as follows: father to daughter, mother to son, brother to sister. Never start in-breeding with anything but the very best stock. Do not expect to take mediocre birds and improve their quality by using this system. In-breeding quickly shows up all the good qualities, by allowing the best association of genes, but it also shows up the faults.


Ken