A Guide to Practical Breeding A Guide to Practical Breeding First edition, 2012 | Page 26

26 the outstanding stag. If we believe in the theory stated in the discussion on the hen factor above, then the presumption is that in the original brother-sister mating the traits of the father would have been passed on to the daughters. By breeding back the daughters to the father then we could achieve the critical mating we have discussed earlier. In short our devised method of double locking involves the application of both inbreeding and line-breeding. Breeding is not simple Breeding is never simple. This is best underscored by the fact that breeders could not even agree on what the best methods of breeding are. Some breeders maintain that intense inbreeding is the only way to keep the integrity of a bloodline intact. Others said intense inbreeding is too risky and they advocate as better alternative milder form of inbreeding, mostly involving line breeding. Still others avoid any form of inbreeding, intense or mild. For them the only way is cross breeding. The role of a practical breeder is to learn the many methods but not to strictly adhere to any. A practical breeder will adopt any of the methods as long as it fits the requirements of practicality. All practices and systems might be bot