The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: sabrina on April 03, 2012, 08:55:05 am
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I have 4 girls who were inbred by accident. Father to daughter. We culled all the males but left the girls as they were such pretty colours. Now in their 2nd year I wonder if they lay. We have 13 hens, one very old. i get 7/8 eggs a day. although we now have a new cockerel I get eggs to hatch if we want more chickens from a friend down the road just to be on the safe side as he came from a hatching that we did and he has 4 sisters. he looks after the girls so we like having him around.
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Our farmyard hens are ridiculously inbred - I think the current cock is father, uncle, brother and cousin to most of the girls now! And they all lay great, go broody an appropriate number of times a year, chicks hatch and are fine. Can't tell you how the next generation perform though - hedgehog gets them all >:(
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I think inbreeding doesn't apply to chickens ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Some of the flock where I live are so imbred they are their own fathers! The last pet cockerel is called banjo ;D
I sneak the males away now and claim they dissapeared, but don't tell on me ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ;D
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Takes 10 generations before you get serious deformities I read. Quite normal to breed son to mother or father to daughters. That's how you establish your breeding lines in the first place. If you do get deformities its more likely the diet.
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Well you learn something every day on this site. they are fed a good diet and all look very well, I do find eggs in the oddest of places. Most of the time I dump them as have no idea how long they have been hidden. do not want any more chickens just now so keep checking to make sure no girl is going broody.
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Don't you have nay other animals? My dogs love their 'lost ' eggs - they find them too! I'm sure your neighbours might like them for their dogs too.