Cockatiel Linebreeding/Inbreeding Practices & Programs
By Don Mertes, TopTiels.com
The successful breeding of exhibition quality Cockatiels depends on quite a few
variables and for this article; we will be discussing one major factor:
Linebreeding/Inbreeding practices. Different schools of thought abound on this
topic. Many breeders believe that breeding closely related birds cause their flock’s
offspring to become weaker with each breeding, while others still swear by these
practices and attribute the quality of their birds to these breeding techniques. I would
have to stand with the latter group, as I feel careful LB/IB practices with quality-bred
pedigreed birds yield better breeding results than someone consistently using
outcrosses. In fact, I will go so far as to say that most Champion and Grand
Champion Cockatiels have past linebreeding/inbreeding techniques to thank for his
or her win.
There are many different reasons and methods used by successful breeders
around the world and these methods produce different results depending on which is
used. I will be discussing two different techniques in this article, Breeding for a new
Line and Breeding for a Stud Line. Both of these techniques have their place in
each of our aviaries, but they each serve two different end results. Let’s take a look
at each:
Breeding for a new Line
Whether you’re just beginning to get involved in Cockatiels or you’ve been
showing/breeding these wonderful birds for years, a new line of birds is something we
all consider adding to our aviaries every now and then. Maybe you’ve attended a
show and purchased an outstanding bird or pair of birds from a successful show line.
Maybe you’ve already bred a wonderful tiel and wish all of your future breedings
were as successful. Whatever the reason behind developing a new line of birds for
your aviary, linebreeding can and will concentrate the genetic pool in your flock and
give your birds their own set of features.
In my aviary, exceptional lines of birds are sometimes added to the current flock
with the idea of incorporating a certain feature of the new arrivals to the existing
flock. In this case, I first attempt to purchase a son and a daughter from a pair of
birds that represent what it is in this line I am after. This purchase gives me a
“completed genetic makeup” for the desired line, since attributes are passed on
differently depending on the sex of the chicks. These two birds are then set up with
two of my birds that exhibit the positive traits already existing in my aviary. Let’s call
the new cock with the existing hen pair #1 and the new hen with the existing
cock pair #2. The subsequent clutches from pair#1 and pair #2 are raised and set
aside to grade at a year old.
At a year old, these birds are judged on what has been accomplished in this
breeding attempt. Are there certain individuals that exhibit the desired blending of
these two lines? Are there prime individuals in pair #1, but not in pair #2? Are the
cocks exhibiting more of the look I’m after over the hens? All of this information must
be gathered and recorded to determine what these pairings have accomplished in
the first generation of offspring. It may well be that pair #1 has been more successful
in blending the new and old features than pair #2 or visa versa. This doesn’t
necessarily mean that the new hen’s breeding (pair #2) was unsuccessful. Genetics
are inherited a variety of ways, and the chicks from the new hen may be carrying
wonderful traits recessively and need only be bred with the offspring of pair #1 to
“bloom” genetically.
The best hen from pair #1 should now be bred to the best cock from pair #2 (let’s
call this pair #3). Why? Because in pair #1, the new cock is represented. He throws
all of his sex-linked genes into his daughters and only half of his SL genes into his
sons. Since we’re looking for a combination of the two lines, we need to plan ahead
a bit and figure that a 50/50 blended cock (from pair #2) will give his future daughters
a better representation of the combined genetic makeup. This cock will be chosen
from pair #2’s offspring, because the hen will have given her sons half of her genetic
makeup including sex-linked genes and we need the genes from the new birds to be
represented well in our next generation. At this point, we’ll have a hen that has all of
her father’s sex-linked genes and a cock that has half of his mother’s sex-linked
genes. Our original line is still represented well, and can be more fully expressed
(genetically) in future pairings.
Four additional pairs can also be made using the original cock from pair #1 and a
daughter from pair #2 (which is a niece). The original hen from pair #1 can now be
bred with a pair #2 offspring cock (a nephew), and so on. What we end up with is a
new “family” of birds who are crossing in and out from one family to another. A
genetically blended family is the desire, so we pair one bird to another by assessing
its influence in either line and pairing it to another who exhibits more of the other line.
At this point, I must state the obvious; meticulous record keeping is instrumental in
this program. It’s of no use to the breeder to produce outstanding individual
specimens when no regard has been paid to how this was accomplished. What we
begin to notice over time is that a sort of fusion has taken place between our two
original lines. I would begin to seek out only the very best of these blended
specimens and sell the rest. Examine pedigrees and pair these desirable birds
together making sure (at this point) that no brother/sister pairings are allowed.
Breeding For A Stud Line
Every once and awhile we, as breeders, are fortunate enough to either breed or
purchase a cock that exemplifies everything we want our line to be. Beautiful crest,
full & long body, incredible deportment, etc… This outstanding bird is rarely an
accident, but is more likely a result of some kind of linebreeding practice such as the
plan outlined above. When this occurs, we wish that we could fill our aviary with his
clones and begin new programs based around this single bird. Often times, if this
bird has been purchased, we marvel not only at the bird itself, but at the breeder’s
accomplishments and we want only to be able to achieve similar results in our own
aviaries. Well, we can. In this case, we begin breeding for a stud line.
A stud line is a line of birds bred around one single cockbird. This program
ultimately produces “clones” that exemplify all of the traits originally contained in this
single “key” bird. We begin by selecting the one and only outcross that will be
introduced to this cock. This hen should ideally match (as equally as possible) the
cock in traits but this is not absolutely necessary as we will be concentrating ONLY
on his genetic makeup. The hen will be represented equally in the initial breedings,
but her genetic influences will decrease with each generation and will ultimately
disappear with time. Using a pedigreed quality hen will serve to make the extra
offspring (which will be plentiful) more saleable. This hen will be bred to our stud
cockbird during one season only and after, returned to the original programs already
set in place. It is not necessary to dedicate multiple breedings to this pair. In fact,
after the first season we can’t since we will be breeding this cockbird’s future
daughters back to him.
The hen is bred to the cockbird and the chicks are set aside to reach adulthood as
in our previous program. At maturity, the best hen (that most resembles the
cockbird) from this breeding is bred back to her father. All other young from this
pairing are either used in additional programs or sold. The process is repeated with
breeding and grading this second generation and a hen is, once again, chosen to
breed back to her father. This continues until the offspring begin to resemble in
every way their father. When both hens and cocks born from this program become
(for all practical purposes) clones of their father, a cock and hen (brother and sister)
are paired. The genetic influences to this point are heterozygous, having different
alleles at one or more corresponding chromosomal loci. Each pairing decreases the
heterozygousity of the chicks and increases the homozygousity. When brother and
sister are paired, these genes become homozygous, having the same alleles at a
particular gene locus on homologous chromosomes, and the resulting offspring ARE
by all intensive purposes, clones of their father.
These programs, along with similar breeding systems, are not without their
problems. Undesirable recessive genes may have been masked up to this point by
dominant genes. Through linebreeding/inbreeding practices, a recessive gene can
be passed from either the cock or hen’s side and subsequent breeding of relatives
can create a homozygous recessive offspring. The resulting chick displays a trait
neither of their parents displayed. These breeding practices did not create this
abnormality; they simply increased the chance that traits (which were already present
in a recessive state within either initial parent) will “bloom”.
Many breeders opt to end the line or outcross as soon as an undesirable trait
appears, citing the problem as “breeding too close". Nothing could be further from
the truth. In fact, out-crossing insures that the undesirable trait will be carried
generation after generation in a recessive state only to bloom again during another
attempt. They are simply passing a known problem on to succeeding generations.
When an undesirable trait blooms, the breeder who does his program a real service
is the one that stays with his line long enough to rid it of the offending genes. By
controlling which specimens within their line are used for breeding in succeeding
generations they can eliminate the undesirable trait. Once the recessive gene is
removed it can never again affect the breeder's line. Inbreeding doesn't cause good
genes to mutate into bad genes; it merely increases the likelihood that the bad
genes, already present, will bloom.
I’ve heard linebreeding/inbreeding practices described as “short cuts” in the past. I’
ve also heard many other “less than favorable” opinions on the subject. My belief is
that people still equate these programs to the results we’ve all heard of with human
beings. These programs are by no means designed to instantly transform your
aviary into row after row of top bench grand champions. But, with time, patience,
good record keeping and sound judgment, they can become a pivotal reason to
purchase more show cages!
Don Mertes
http://www.toptiels.com
By Don Mertes, TopTiels.com
The successful breeding of exhibition quality Cockatiels depends on quite a few
variables and for this article; we will be discussing one major factor:
Linebreeding/Inbreeding practices. Different schools of thought abound on this
topic. Many breeders believe that breeding closely related birds cause their flock’s
offspring to become weaker with each breeding, while others still swear by these
practices and attribute the quality of their birds to these breeding techniques. I would
have to stand with the latter group, as I feel careful LB/IB practices with quality-bred
pedigreed birds yield better breeding results than someone consistently using
outcrosses. In fact, I will go so far as to say that most Champion and Grand
Champion Cockatiels have past linebreeding/inbreeding techniques to thank for his
or her win.
There are many different reasons and methods used by successful breeders
around the world and these methods produce different results depending on which is
used. I will be discussing two different techniques in this article, Breeding for a new
Line and Breeding for a Stud Line. Both of these techniques have their place in
each of our aviaries, but they each serve two different end results. Let’s take a look
at each:
Breeding for a new Line
Whether you’re just beginning to get involved in Cockatiels or you’ve been
showing/breeding these wonderful birds for years, a new line of birds is something we
all consider adding to our aviaries every now and then. Maybe you’ve attended a
show and purchased an outstanding bird or pair of birds from a successful show line.
Maybe you’ve already bred a wonderful tiel and wish all of your future breedings
were as successful. Whatever the reason behind developing a new line of birds for
your aviary, linebreeding can and will concentrate the genetic pool in your flock and
give your birds their own set of features.
In my aviary, exceptional lines of birds are sometimes added to the current flock
with the idea of incorporating a certain feature of the new arrivals to the existing
flock. In this case, I first attempt to purchase a son and a daughter from a pair of
birds that represent what it is in this line I am after. This purchase gives me a
“completed genetic makeup” for the desired line, since attributes are passed on
differently depending on the sex of the chicks. These two birds are then set up with
two of my birds that exhibit the positive traits already existing in my aviary. Let’s call
the new cock with the existing hen pair #1 and the new hen with the existing
cock pair #2. The subsequent clutches from pair#1 and pair #2 are raised and set
aside to grade at a year old.
At a year old, these birds are judged on what has been accomplished in this
breeding attempt. Are there certain individuals that exhibit the desired blending of
these two lines? Are there prime individuals in pair #1, but not in pair #2? Are the
cocks exhibiting more of the look I’m after over the hens? All of this information must
be gathered and recorded to determine what these pairings have accomplished in
the first generation of offspring. It may well be that pair #1 has been more successful
in blending the new and old features than pair #2 or visa versa. This doesn’t
necessarily mean that the new hen’s breeding (pair #2) was unsuccessful. Genetics
are inherited a variety of ways, and the chicks from the new hen may be carrying
wonderful traits recessively and need only be bred with the offspring of pair #1 to
“bloom” genetically.
The best hen from pair #1 should now be bred to the best cock from pair #2 (let’s
call this pair #3). Why? Because in pair #1, the new cock is represented. He throws
all of his sex-linked genes into his daughters and only half of his SL genes into his
sons. Since we’re looking for a combination of the two lines, we need to plan ahead
a bit and figure that a 50/50 blended cock (from pair #2) will give his future daughters
a better representation of the combined genetic makeup. This cock will be chosen
from pair #2’s offspring, because the hen will have given her sons half of her genetic
makeup including sex-linked genes and we need the genes from the new birds to be
represented well in our next generation. At this point, we’ll have a hen that has all of
her father’s sex-linked genes and a cock that has half of his mother’s sex-linked
genes. Our original line is still represented well, and can be more fully expressed
(genetically) in future pairings.
Four additional pairs can also be made using the original cock from pair #1 and a
daughter from pair #2 (which is a niece). The original hen from pair #1 can now be
bred with a pair #2 offspring cock (a nephew), and so on. What we end up with is a
new “family” of birds who are crossing in and out from one family to another. A
genetically blended family is the desire, so we pair one bird to another by assessing
its influence in either line and pairing it to another who exhibits more of the other line.
At this point, I must state the obvious; meticulous record keeping is instrumental in
this program. It’s of no use to the breeder to produce outstanding individual
specimens when no regard has been paid to how this was accomplished. What we
begin to notice over time is that a sort of fusion has taken place between our two
original lines. I would begin to seek out only the very best of these blended
specimens and sell the rest. Examine pedigrees and pair these desirable birds
together making sure (at this point) that no brother/sister pairings are allowed.
Breeding For A Stud Line
Every once and awhile we, as breeders, are fortunate enough to either breed or
purchase a cock that exemplifies everything we want our line to be. Beautiful crest,
full & long body, incredible deportment, etc… This outstanding bird is rarely an
accident, but is more likely a result of some kind of linebreeding practice such as the
plan outlined above. When this occurs, we wish that we could fill our aviary with his
clones and begin new programs based around this single bird. Often times, if this
bird has been purchased, we marvel not only at the bird itself, but at the breeder’s
accomplishments and we want only to be able to achieve similar results in our own
aviaries. Well, we can. In this case, we begin breeding for a stud line.
A stud line is a line of birds bred around one single cockbird. This program
ultimately produces “clones” that exemplify all of the traits originally contained in this
single “key” bird. We begin by selecting the one and only outcross that will be
introduced to this cock. This hen should ideally match (as equally as possible) the
cock in traits but this is not absolutely necessary as we will be concentrating ONLY
on his genetic makeup. The hen will be represented equally in the initial breedings,
but her genetic influences will decrease with each generation and will ultimately
disappear with time. Using a pedigreed quality hen will serve to make the extra
offspring (which will be plentiful) more saleable. This hen will be bred to our stud
cockbird during one season only and after, returned to the original programs already
set in place. It is not necessary to dedicate multiple breedings to this pair. In fact,
after the first season we can’t since we will be breeding this cockbird’s future
daughters back to him.
The hen is bred to the cockbird and the chicks are set aside to reach adulthood as
in our previous program. At maturity, the best hen (that most resembles the
cockbird) from this breeding is bred back to her father. All other young from this
pairing are either used in additional programs or sold. The process is repeated with
breeding and grading this second generation and a hen is, once again, chosen to
breed back to her father. This continues until the offspring begin to resemble in
every way their father. When both hens and cocks born from this program become
(for all practical purposes) clones of their father, a cock and hen (brother and sister)
are paired. The genetic influences to this point are heterozygous, having different
alleles at one or more corresponding chromosomal loci. Each pairing decreases the
heterozygousity of the chicks and increases the homozygousity. When brother and
sister are paired, these genes become homozygous, having the same alleles at a
particular gene locus on homologous chromosomes, and the resulting offspring ARE
by all intensive purposes, clones of their father.
These programs, along with similar breeding systems, are not without their
problems. Undesirable recessive genes may have been masked up to this point by
dominant genes. Through linebreeding/inbreeding practices, a recessive gene can
be passed from either the cock or hen’s side and subsequent breeding of relatives
can create a homozygous recessive offspring. The resulting chick displays a trait
neither of their parents displayed. These breeding practices did not create this
abnormality; they simply increased the chance that traits (which were already present
in a recessive state within either initial parent) will “bloom”.
Many breeders opt to end the line or outcross as soon as an undesirable trait
appears, citing the problem as “breeding too close". Nothing could be further from
the truth. In fact, out-crossing insures that the undesirable trait will be carried
generation after generation in a recessive state only to bloom again during another
attempt. They are simply passing a known problem on to succeeding generations.
When an undesirable trait blooms, the breeder who does his program a real service
is the one that stays with his line long enough to rid it of the offending genes. By
controlling which specimens within their line are used for breeding in succeeding
generations they can eliminate the undesirable trait. Once the recessive gene is
removed it can never again affect the breeder's line. Inbreeding doesn't cause good
genes to mutate into bad genes; it merely increases the likelihood that the bad
genes, already present, will bloom.
I’ve heard linebreeding/inbreeding practices described as “short cuts” in the past. I’
ve also heard many other “less than favorable” opinions on the subject. My belief is
that people still equate these programs to the results we’ve all heard of with human
beings. These programs are by no means designed to instantly transform your
aviary into row after row of top bench grand champions. But, with time, patience,
good record keeping and sound judgment, they can become a pivotal reason to
purchase more show cages!
Don Mertes
http://www.toptiels.com
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
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