Breeding for superior bloodline type
The most important thing is to breed for superior bloodline type
This is one aspect in true breeding that is often neglected in gamefowl breeding. Setting specific characteristic for bloodlines is not high in priorities of gamefowl breeders. Most so-called gamefowl breeders are only concerned with bloodline names. They want a pure roundhead, a pure hatch a sweater-hatch and other bloodline names. They don’t mind bloodline type.
In true breeding, a bloodline must have bloodline characteristics. Individuals belonging to a particular bloodline must breed true-to-type. Type refers to many things such as body conformation, station, size, plumage and leg color, comb shape, and fighting ability. Each breed or bloodline must have a specific type. Bloodline types differentiates an Asil from a Peruvian from an American Game. This is also why a hatch should be different from a roundhead.
It is not however easy to set type. Moreover in gamefowl breeding wherein fighting ability is most important. Most of these traits are not controlled by Mendelian law of simple inheritance. Most of these traits that constitute bloodline characteristics are polygenic and, thus, quantitative inheritance. Types are controlled by several genes, each combination creating a subtle but quantifiable progression of given characteristics. Therefore, bloodline types are bred through selection. Breeding your best to your best toward the respective types.
When extremes of polygenic types are bred together, such as a small and a big chicken, offspring can be intermediate in size or variants closer to either of the parents. The F2s if bred together may show even more variability.
This becomes more complex in setting bloodline type for fighting ability. Producing gamefowl with excellent fighting ability is maybe difficult, maybe easy. It depends on many variables. First it depends on the breeding materials that you have. It also depends on your knowledge in genetics and practical breeding. It also depends on the breaks or luck of genetic draw.
Some are lucky that even without ample knowledge in genetics or enough experience in practical breeding, they still manage to get hold of first-class breeding materials to start with. With these materials they can produce good first generation offspring. Their problem will start when the original materials are lost. Or, when they start to venture breeding from the F1s. These F1s may produce a variety of F2s—bad or good.
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