[Herby]

Hi, Can anyone tell me if it is ok for the rooster to mate with his own offspring or will I get deformed chucks, they are all free range so it will be hard to stop him 'jumping' them (when they are old enough, still babies), or should I sell them on?  :?

[Lost in France]

I would guess that he can and will mate with any female but you probably shouldn't hatch the eggs...not sure how you'd tell who's is whose though!  :?  Interestingly, my cockerel actually seems to prefer the unrelated hens to his sisters and mum!

My doves seem to mate with brothers, sisters, parents etc even though I've introduced new stock. I suppose nature finds a way of sorting it all out! I have a brother and sister peafowl free and know I ought to swap with an unrelated female I have in the aviary but they're so used to being free and are always together, so I may just pinch some eggs from the aviary birds though and substitute them at the last moment

Nature usually finds a way though!

Judi

[Foxy]

It is quite common to mate a cockerel to unrelated hen then put the cockerel back to his offspring which will be 50% his genes anyway. This is done to preserve the "strain" particulary if its a good one and you are trying to maintain the integrity. Unrelated mates are also an "unknown" in terms of genetics and history and that is not always considered a good thing. Saying that at some point you have to introduce new blood to ensure vigour in the breeds. For example I will be breeding one of my cockerels back to his offspring next year because he has a good colouring and is a large healthy bird and I want those characteristics in the second generation. So I have looked around to find a reliable "strain" from another breeder who has a reputable stock and now have 2 hens in the breeding pen with him.
Hope this helps!