Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Ok so all of my breeding knowledge is rooted in horses and cattle, When it comes to breeding chickens it is all new territory. My question is how bad is it to use a rooster on hens that are from the same hatch? I have what I think is a very nice BC Maran rooster who is in all likelihood related to the hens I have, I want to put my three best looking hens in with him is this a bad idea? I also have a Buff orpington rooster and three hens left that I know are from the same hatch. I guess what I want to know is am I asking for trouble...will I get three legged two headed chicks? :question: :smiley-char026:

No it's not at all like cattle and horses, from what I have read and from what I have personally saw, chickens easily handle being bred to closely related mates. The draw back is if you keep doing it, the birds can start to get smaller and laying production starts to go down and immune system also becomes weaker. However this is after repeated matings.

Thanks Skinny rooster, I just want to increase my home flock and am happy with the birds I have, not very much selection down my way. I also have a handful of heritage girls that are coming up on the 6 year mark and one trusty old bantam EE rooster that I will put together just because...I like colour so will see what happens. I have an incubator that I haven't had much luck with...but two awesome call ducks that will sit on anything!

If they are healthy birds without any obvious faults, go right ahead
Keeping good records and knowing how your birds are related will help you make good decisions in the future.
Keep in mind that ALL standard bread birds are somewhat related and more so for show stock.
This from the "been there done that" department, if you are thrilled with results of that breeding, continue to breed this quad, until you find a superior replacement and then start getting away from the sibling breeding to cross generation breeding.
Good luck on your poultry adventure.

From an old British book I have on breeding bantams, they say to add a new rooster every 4 years, therefore you can breed siblings together for three generations.  where birds are closely related you get poor fertility in eggs; a common problem among certain breeds such as Sebrights and cornish.  the flip side is the vigour and strengths of hybrids or crossbreeds; many of which are
 "sex-links" where males and females can be determined at hatching from body colour such as rhodebars: rhode island red x barred rock, which are popular for eggs

There is always a possibility the parents and grandparents of your birds were also siblings so that should be taken in to account.
Luckily you can get off that roller coaster with your birds after the first mating and if you are happy with the results keep the same sire for 3or 4 years. plenty of time to decide on different strategies.
This article may offer more insight.
http://www.poultrytalkontario.net/forum ... ?f=17&t=72

Thanks everyone...I am going to grab the Buff Orpingtons tonight when they are sleeping and move them to a different pen, they are getting picked on anyway.