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Inbreeding, trading for new blood

akaangela

akaangela

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I was doing some research about inbreeding. Someone suggested to trade what you had for the same thing someone else had just to get new blood in your lines so you don't do inbreeding. How many have done this? I have a stunning super mojave and want to breed him back to mom (a mojave) next year if he is up to it. I am a little worried about inbreeding but from what I have read it is not that big of deal.

My question to you is would you trade your BEL (super mojo) for someone else BEL just to get new blood in your lines?
 
I should have added that I might trade an older male with a friend or partner but I would have a really hard time trading with someone I didn't know well.
 
I raise and show rabbits as a second hobby and it is common for us to take parent to child. It is called line breeding. There is a difference between inbreeding and line breeding. Inbreeding consists of continuously using siblings to siblings, parents to offspring, offspring of the siblings back to a grandparent, etc. That is when you run into genetic issues. Line breeding, however, is done to bring out the best or the worst qualities in a specimen and is a common thing in all species. That offspring could then be bred to an outside bloodline. I do a lot of line breeding with my rabbits and because of that I produce very nice, show quality rabbits that are consistent in color, type, and condition.

In summary, I would not hesitate to breed a parent to offspring, but would then use an outside bloodline for that offspring.
 
Thank you for the information. The only ones I am keeping out of the clutch is the male BEL and a mojo female. By the time the female is up to breeding I am sure I will have something different I want to breed her to.

What about breeding half siblings (one parent the same)? Right now I am extreamly short of males. The only breeding males I have are a male mojo (the dad) and a pastel male. My pastel male won't lock up with any of the girls I put him with. I don't understand why.
 
I had a pastel male that wouldn't breed until he was 4 yrs old, though he'd been "of size" since his second winter (approx 18 months). Nothing to do but keep trying, or look for better one (no sense replacing, just for the sake of replacing).

As far as the inbreeding/line breeding thing - it has it's places - specifically, it is almost a required part of the process for proving out a new morph (including determining it's transmission); and, as mentioned, an occasional pairing to emphasize a certain trait. Unfortunately, too large a portion of the people utilizing the practice aren't really doing it for either of those purposes...they're doing it because they are too lazy, cheap, or short sighted to acquire unrelated animals.
Sure, it's convenient to pick up a pair of sibling hets to start a project, but why start out that way? Because getting an unrelated pair usually means a little more effort and money. Of course, the fact that some sellers won't release single females doesn't help...and the offering of the male for free seems (to some) too good a deal to pass.
Am I going to say that I have never purchased a pair of siblings - no. But I can say that I have never knowingly bred a sibling pair (buying from two separate sellers does not necessarily mean unrelated animals). If I buy sibling pairs, it is usually because the seller won't part with the single that I want...or because the one I don't "need" has a look that I particularly like; but, such a purchase inevitably leads to me acquiring another pair, or selling, trading, or giving the extra single away.

Can snakes endure a few generations of close breedings without physical manifestations? In most cases, yes...but that doesn't mean the practice should be the norm.
 
Great post, Harald.

I swap offspring as much as I can, but I'm really lucky to have a close friend near by that produces a large variety of morphs to be able to swap with. Some morphs already appear genetically weak (Caramels) and I like to think I'm avoiding contributing to the problem by out-crossing. I don't think I've ever knowingly bred related animals.
 
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