Ive used this breeding approach with pigeons, chickens, guppies, bettas, and geckos.

Following such a program requires careful analysis and reflection. It is not a panacea. I hope you can use it, or adapt it, in your loft. Line Breeding Program by Shannon Hiatt This basic line breeding program will work when you desire to enhance a trait in your Thief Pouter flock. Let's say you want to enhance the performance traits in your TPs or color or type for exhibitions. You might try this simple, but elegant, line breeding system to accomplish those goals. Begin with the best four young cocks you have, or can find, that are strong in the traits you want to enhance whether performance or color or type. Select young hens that are of the same line as your cocks, not sisters, that carry the same traits or are bred from good performance cocks. You'll need at least two hens for each cock. Don't skimp on quality here. If you can only find three cocks, and three hens, this program will also work, but you need a minimum of three with which to begin, and the corresponding number of hens noted above (two per cock). If you can only rustle up (OK, I live in Texas) one hen per cock, then dont panic. That number will have to work for you wont it? A line breeding program is not additive. It will NOT "add" something to the gene pool that isn't already there. This is a point many breeders fail to take into consideration at the beginning of a program. If your cocks don't already have fairly good color or type, and that is the trait you want to enhance, then find cocks that already carry that trait in good quantity. Same for performance. If you want to improve performance on the wing or in seduction use cocks that have those traits at the onset. Maybe you dont want Pica zeal, but a more gentle, persistent seduction. The bottom line is this: begin with the BEST breeding stock you can afford that manifests the performance traits you want. Don't rely on guesswork. Know the stock and don't select Thief Pouters that "might" carry the trait. They must manifest the trait; you must be able to see the trait, even if it is not quite what you hope to produce several seasons down the road. To reiterate: if you want to produce Thief Pouters everyone wants in their breeding program, then begin with Thief Pouter cocks that show outstanding traits and hens that complement them. Label your cocks: #1, #2, #3, and #4. Select two top quality hens for each cock and begin your breeding program. Carefully monitor each youngster you produce; band them on time and in a distinctive mannerI separate my bands out for special breeding projects. All youngsters bred from cock #1 get bands that end with 1, which is placed on the left leg, #2 offspring get bands that end in 2 and on the right leg, and so on. For squabs out of #3, same thing but this time the band is placed on the left leg right side up (dont you normally band your

babies with the band upside down?) You get the idea. We'll call this generation the F1 generation, of course. When the young hens produced the first season are ready to breed, select two from line #1, two from line #2, etc. Hens from line #1 are bred with a young cock from line #4 that has been proven to manifest the trait you want to enhance; hens from line #2 are bred with a cock from line #1; hens from line #3 are bred with a cock from line #2; and hens from line #4 are bred with a cock from line #3. This is the F2 generation. Follow this same system when producing your F3 generation, but with a slight difference. Select the best two hens from each line; select the best cock from each line but ROTATE the males. Use these pairings: line #1 hens X cock from line #3; line #2 hens X cock from #4; line #3 hens X cock from #1; #4 hens X cock from #2. Keep rotating the males as you progress to the F4 and F5 generations, if you get that far. Or bring in an outcross at F4 but from a line that is as good as the one you produced at F3. Some breeders who have the space, time, and money begin a program similar to this but with TWO rotational line breeding programs seeking to produce the SAME trait or traits. These are the source of the outcross for BOTH programs at F4. Others use the original cock birds in the pens at the F3 generation. This F3 generation is four (at a minimum) years down the road from the beginning of the program. Do you have the patience and fortitude to see this program though to fruition? Most breeders don't, and that's why Thief Pouters from line breeding programs into the 3rd and 4th generation are often hard to find. Of course, the quality of the ensuing progeny will be of prime importance. Simply following a line breeding program without stringent SELECTION for the traits you desire is sheer folly. Select, select, select. Fly those young Thief Pouters or exhibit them if the shows are your goal. Let me leave you with a final thought, which is appropriate to the use of a line breeding program, from Royalair German Sheperds: what matters is the quality and qualities of the [Thief Pouters] in question; not the "formula" by which they are bred. Line breeding is often touted as some sort of special way to get good [pigeons]. Line breeding is simply weak inbreeding, so carries all the problems of both out crossing and inbreeding and simply gives people uncomfortable with the idea of inbreeding a way to comfortably inbreed to retain desired characteristics. I recommend the article at the Royalair site as one that best explains line breeding, even if the breed in question is a dog. http://royalair.org/libreeding.htm

INBREEDING, LINE BREEDING, OUT CROSSING-WHICH IS BEST? http://showcase.netins.net/web/royalair/libreeding.htm To paraphrase the great Laura Kialenaus, what matters is the quality and qualities of the dogs in question; not the "formula" by which they are bred. Line breeding is often touted as some sort of special way to get good dogs. Line breeding is simply weak inbreeding, so carries all the problems of both out crossing and inbreeding & simply gives people uncomfortable with the idea of inbreeding a way to comfortably inbreed to retain desired characteristics. The degree of relationship, in any case, does not necessarily indicate the amount of genetic material shared. Everyone has seen two "identical" cousins, as well as brother-sister pairs as unlike as night and day to illustrate this point. Again, sophisticated decisions, based on in depth knowledge of what those pedigrees mean, are needed. To breed two dogs together (wisely and for good results) you must have intimate knowledge of the dogs in their respective pedigrees & what characteristics they likely share. Out crossing: used to be (still is?) the time honored way to deal with a genetic problem. When your line shows a problem, breed out to "get rid of it." Except you don't --it is still there, now just hidden--along with whatever the sire's family also contributed "in secret". It may be back to haunt you (and your puppy buyers) later on. Document what you got & what you are getting. Outcross when you need a "hybrid state" for best expression. Outcross to bring things into your line you cannot find within it & know some unseen "travelers" will accompany the traits you desire. The best outcrosses may not really be outcrosses at all, as two separate families with similar styles & traits are merged together; different names, but maybe the same 'good' genes for good heads are present, for example, in both families. These trait or type breedings (assortive/assortative matings) are a strategy to get the "good" genes for a trait without doubling up on a specific individual. They have the extra added advantage to the breed (if not your specific breeding) of possibly helping to preserve diversity in the population. Of course, many "out crossings" wouldn't be that if extended pedigrees were viewed: many breeds & many major & successful bloodlines in a breed go back to a handful of the same relatives (& this is not necessarily a bad thing, if the dogs were good). Again, information on the dogs in question is so necessary. Inbreeding: brings skeletons out of the closet. They were already there, but now you have to face them. It can be a great tool for finding out what you didn't know about your bloodlines, but it takes a steely heart to face up to what you find. It also takes great dogs to breed close as you are fixing traits fast and hard. The closer the breeding, the better the two dogs must be to make it worth it. Call weak inbreeding line breeding if you like, but breeding dogs closely related is technically inbreeding (although there is a good argument to separate the two), as the point is to double-up on desired family characteristics by doubling up on the desired genes. But most everything recessive in the family eventually pops up, good & bad, when line-breeding over generations, so eventually blind line-

breeding leads to the same bottleneck as intense inbreeding; it just takes longer to get there. The bad news about inbreeding is that the homozygous sought may be found. In other words, you are trying to double up on genes for good heads or strong hearts, but also double up on the genes in the immune system & that can lead to inbreeding depression. So be careful what you wish for when inbreeding, especially repeatedly &/or tightly. Brackett's Formula: "Let the sire of the sire become the grandsire on the dam's side." Lloyd Brackett's prescription for line breeding has proven very effective WHEN the dog line bred on is a truly superior example of the breed_&_can correct the weaknesses in the bitch/pedigree in question. Pat Craige Trotter in her book "Born To Win" discusses some successful strategies & possible formulas for particular situations, but no "cookbook approach" to dogs will ever work: breeding dogs is an artful science or a scientific art and takes both talent and study to properly accomplish. Out crossing can be like sweeping problems under the rug (if it is really an outcross that is done). The pups from two such lines now carry some mishmash of what either or both parents brought down out of their families. KENNEL BLINDNESS. All breeders have their favored characteristics and pet peeves. All are willing to sacrifice the perfection of certain traits to consistently achieve others they feel more important. This "worldview" on their chosen breed(s) leads to a style and the emphasis of certain traits within the correct type that breeder will be known for (e.g. size, head type, longevity etc.). That many breeders have deliberate styles of dogs is good for the breed; it preserves the variety & strength of the breed. But many breeders fall foul of their own likes & dislikes, especially at the beginning when they know little about the breed and later on, as the years pass and they achieve some success, having now looked at the style they chose to breed so long they think of it often as the breed itself. If this quality is combined with an intolerance for one's rivals and/or for the faults least liked and virtues most admired, a good line of dogs will dwindle down to be more memory & reputation than a still truly vital line producing excellent dogs. Kennel blindness is also an almost universal trait of the "Sour Grapes Society;" those "wannabees" in a breed who have a thousand excuses for why their dogs don't succeed, all of them to due with the faults of other people and other people's dogs. It is also a major trait in so-called "pet breeders" who tend to not self-educate about the breed at all, so don't really know much about the breed they may well adore. They generally let their love for their pets blind them to their breeding worth...or lack thereof. BREEDING "UP." This usually means using a well-known dog on a poor quality bitch in the hopes her offspring will succeed where she failed. Stripped down to this raw definition it's obvious what a bad idea this is. Stud owners should not let themselves be talked into breeding to sub-standard bitches & novices shouldn't attempt to get better pups this way. However it happens all too often. But the outcome is nearly always the same: the proud owners of those new pups find

they are not enough better than their mother to be competitive & the stud owner finds the reputation of the sire is damaged by those who see these poor quality pups as typical of what he produces. Stud owners shouldn't allow themselves to become this kennel blind. Worse is the idea of starting out with admitting "pet" animals & hoping (?) to breed something better somehow. This falls under the old saw about silk purses & sows' ears, but incredibly is still attempted _&_ defended as a way to start in dogs. You just cannot "get there from here." Surely there are more than enough dogs in this world without starting out deliberately to make mediocre litters. Enough said. BREEDING PEDIGREES (& other records), POPULAR SIRE SYNDROME & MATADORS. Too many people breed "paper tigers:" they breed dogs who are relatives of a famous dog as if they were somehow magic or just as good, they breed to a dog's popularity, it's show record, it's fame, or even to their best friend's dog or the closest, most convenient dog. It's astounding as much as has been written in the last century about the perils of breeding "paper" that it is still done so often. A sire is only as good as his get & his get will equally reflect the bitches taken to him. It's no use to hope the one (or ten) good pup(s) you saw out of him will happen to you when your bitch isn't like the dams of those pups. It's even worse to think that his fame will arise in his litters; one cannot take the parents' show records into the ring to convince the judge of the merits of their offspring. Nor can you honestly think that a dog having "famous" grandparents gives you a reason to breed. Further, when certain sires are overused in a breed, these popular sires become a potential danger to the breed. If their influence is too widespread, then it becomes hard to breed away from them. Diversity of style as well as genes is lost in a breed. If said popular sire turns out to have a damaging genetic flaw, the Popular Sire Syndrome has now spawned a Matador--a dog whose late-recognized fault is now widespread enough in the breed to "kill" it. This is all bad practice. Selection is lost when a pedigree or fame is the deciding factor for the choice of breeding partner. It's ill-educated to breed to an ad or a reputation. It's a doomed effort (except for sales) to breed for convenience or to "see what happens." And terrible dogs are made by blind linebreeding: faults are fixed in & a good line is eroded over time. Each breeding musts be done seeing the sire and dam as crowded in by their respective families when it comes to flaws, but standing alone when it comes to what virtues they can even potentially offer. There is, again, no recipe for breeding dogs & no substitute for a well-trained eye. PRESERVING QUALITY & GENETIC DIVERSITY IN A BREED. As Dr. Jerome Bell so succinctly put it: "It is the varied opinion of breeders as to what constitutes the ideal dog, and their selection of breeding stock that maintains breed diversity." The current problem of erupting genetic disease, as far as it applies to pedigrees & breeding, reflects two trends. One is a problem of the "Matador," that is the "Popular Sire Syndrome." When all run to breed to a winning dog, or some dog or bloodline, (for whatever reason, be it convenience, ignorance or perceived value), genetic diversity can be lost. But indiscriminate universal

assortative matings is not the answer to this problem & can actually reduce genetic diversity in the breed by "homogenizing" gene pairs across the whole breed. Out crossing cannot solve the problem of genetic disease anymore than inbreeding is the cause of it. However "type" breeding, that is, the mating of two animals of similar looks, not similar pedigrees, CAN effect one particularly good thing which is the take-home message of "diversity breeding": since the number of genes involved with creating a certain "look" are much less than the likely number doubled up with line breeding (esp. "blind" line breeding, time and again, on some "famous" relative), the loss to the breed of heterozygousity is slowed and the individual dogs are arguably more safe from various line defects...while still having "type." The other major problems in dogs today as to disease has little to do with hobby ("show") breeders & is largely a problem of casual breeding. Casual breeding produces more than three-quarters of all registered dogs in the USA & assembly (nearly) 100% of mixed-breed litters. as a result of the low investment & high profitability (not just in money) that dog breeding brings to the average American household. There is a clear cultural support for anyone & everyone breeding their own pet, and this license runs counter to the serious study & self-education process necessary to breed dogs well enough to avoid bad temperaments and worse health problems. That so many pet buyers do not clearly see this means casual breeders are able to enjoy having litters, & be certain of sales, even if their only credentials are that they love their dogs. These litters, despite the buying public's perception & causal breeder's claims, suffer often from major genetic problems they continue to pass along _and_ they are often indiscriminately inbred, as they are usually exclusively local (or narrowly regional) breeding programs, often with the whole breeding population sustained by a couple of friends. What is needed is educated, dedicated, honest breeders & scrupulous selection. Breeders need to know the dogs they are using in their breeding programs & need to know them intimately. Each needs to have a clear priority of what they cannot live with & what they cannot live without. (And ideally each would clearly announce this somehow so others are clear on their priorities before they buy or breed from them.) A variety of styles, of lines, of subpopulations, criss-crossing, separating & then, again, coming together in a wonderful breed mosaic, is the best recipe for maintaining type, health, temperament _ &_ diversity in any breed. And for all that "diversity" is a buzzword of fashion right now, it isn't at all a new idea, just a new term for the notion of having a variety of bloodlines within a breed. (Note also that diversity does not necessarily equal outcross.) What is needed in most all breeds is for more good dogs to be rooted out & recognized, despite their lack of glamour & dazzling ads. (That & for America to get serious about dog breeding & treat it with the gravity it deserves.) It would also help if more folks would work together to preserve bloodlines and create new ones by judicious crosses, so that variety would be preserved. For this more people will have to get educated about the history and styles of their breed; too many today simply breed to some current

fashion )or market!), oblivious to the fact what they are seeing is simply fashion and not "the" standard for the breed. SPORTS do not generally produce good offspring. Sport is a term many breeders no longer use, but is a useful idea. A sport is the odd good dog in a litter that is otherwise uneven. It is traditionally the occasional decent dog found in a litter from an unlikely background and breeding. Usually such dogs are the fortuitous result of a mixed litter from a casual breeding, & the people who breed to the dog are the ones who pay the price for his mixed-up, casual pedigree & genetic background. But sports can come about from breeding "paper" not dogs; from trying to breed "up," from blind line-breeding, or any convenience or accidental breeding. A sport is a dog by definition, almost, who is unable to reproduce himself, for all his good looks. Very uneven litters & erratic littermate traits result and are certainly not helpful to a breeding program & make it hard to track both good and bad traits with any likely success. Sports can play another negative role in the breed if they become famous show dogs (or just popular sires for any reason). Not only are they breed despite the fact they are indifferent sires, their every mediocre relative is used with great enthusiasm as the family is all thought consistently "good" (instead of seen for the inconsistent lot they really are). Breeding "paper" instead of dogs has a consistently poor result, but breeding dogs who cannot reproduce themselves should be recognized as a poor practice as well. Great & consistent bloodlines have been built on good, consistent dogs bred by knowledgeable breeders. Purebred domestic species are based on concentrating family traits, so like dogs must somehow be bred together. Knowledge is the key here; knowing in depth what you are breeding. Buyers shouldn't reward those who breed casually, indifferently, or for superficial traits. And please don't condemn breeders who have the courage to acknowledge the faults in their dogs & their bloodlines (or who try to elicit information & public discussion of the same). All bloodlines carry along faults, not just the ones where the faults are seen & reported. Again, the situation now is too often one where people breed without knowledge, producing affecters and carriers & just not knowing it, as they don't keep adequate records, do enough homework, etc. Just ask yourself how this can be preferable to accumulating information than can only benefit the breed? Who exactly benefits from all this ignorance? Surely not the dogs, the potential breeding partners left in ignorance, or the potential puppy buyers. For the breeds to benefit from the control of genetic disease we need to do what most Code of Ethics demand: keep up with news in genetics & have an in-depth knowledge of the dogs we are using. This means understanding the basics of inheritance & knowing how to apply them for good results in your breeding practices. This means marking pedigrees with more than color and titles. This means accepting that most diseases we now struggle with have a genetic component & treating such situations conservatively AND rationally. We need to educate ourselves, to stop reacting violently to the notion of genetic disease & start treating it with a more sophisticated and realistic view. We need to not just

learn as we go, but read before we breed, & bone up on the basics before we start creating lives.

INBREEDING Matings involving parents and siblings.

LINEBREEDING Matings involving relatives other than parents and siblings. Cousins (have one or two E.g. of inbreeding Grandparents in common) Brother/Sister (closest most Nephew/Aunt (most rationale dangerous) Father/Daughter (useful for testing line breeding) Niece/Uncle (most rationale foundation and F1 genetic soundness or setting specific traits) line breeding) G. Granddaughter/G. Mother/Son (useful for testing Grandson foundation and F1 genetic soundness or setting specific traits) Grandchild/Grandparent Half-Brother/Half-Sister (most useful and considered linebreeding depending on the nonshared parents) NOTE: shared relatives past the 4th generation has little effect except in rare instances

BACKCROSSING Breeding an outcrossed animal back into one of its original lines.

OUTCROSSIN

The breeding o unrelated anim Only considere outcrossing if b inbred or linebr from separate l

This assumes the outcrossed animal was derived from two specific germ-lines

Line breeding is: A breeders tool used to develop, isolate and set specific desirable traits into succeeding generations. Line breeding can be seen in registered dogs by having specific high caliber or quality ancestors two or more times in the recent pedigree as noted in the table above. Line breeding often has more than one high quality ancestor multiple times in the same pedigree. However, from a purely scientific point of view, linebreeding can also be defined as breeding two individuals containing at least one common ancestor. This common ancestor may contribute a negligible amount to the descendants, or a great amount. This makes the scientific meaning lacking in true art and practice. You can do a line-breeding that has absolutely nothing to do with refining or setting specific traits or you can practice the art and craft of breeding better animals and make rational choices in your program. Ultimately, linebreeding is simple concept that is extremely complicated as a breeding tool. One must remember that linebreeding is a program that produces animals from a single line of descent from a common or a few common and outstanding ancestors. The goal is not to reproduce the quality of the ancestors but to try maintain as many of their good qualities as possible while improving their deficiencies by refining the genetics of the line. If you know a breeder that is producing the perfect animals then why the hell do you need to breed? Just

buy all your dogs from this breeder. If a breeder is producing superior dogs and you breed off their lines will you produce better dogs than that breeder? If not then do the breed a favor and do not breed. OK so to repeated using different words line breeding is a popular but often abused or misused tool for maintaining type but should only be used when attempting to refine phenotypic characteristics in the APBT. The hobby breeders make use of this tool often without knowing what they are doing, maybe because they prefer a certain look and will select foundation dogs from breeders whose lines have this specific look or color. Unknowingly, they then begin linebreeding. Others may be mentored by an established breeder and become an extension or tool of that breeders program goal. In my case I have established partnerships with other kennels and we have joined together with a common vision and defined the goals in our breeding program and work together to achieve these goals. I imagine that this may be a popular model in the future when the concept gets out there. It does require the partners to develop a consensus goal and contractual agreements that take into account all eventualities in the development of the program. In any case at some point a beginning breeder will become aware of the term linebreeding and choose to investigate what exactly it means. Here we will provide some additional information and even map out a line breeding plan for the beginner. Linebreeding in a short term sense is rather easy and in most cases the novice breeder that gets good lined dogs from a good breeder and matches them, will obtain a reasonable but probably not improved or refined version of the germ line. In most cases where hobby breeders are functioning solo within an established germ line there is a continual decrease in quality in their generations or at the very least a step sideways. You will see when comparing the quality of the original foundation dogs to the third generation that the quality has declined rather than improved. Under these conditions one must say what is the point? Remember this above all.

Line breeding is not a method used to improve a germ-line it is a method used to refine and set characteristics of a germ line. If you are trying to refine someone elses bloodline.. again what is the point? Can you do a better job than they did? If you are hoping to do more than fix a few characteristics that are already present in the line and you want to instead create a dramatic change in that line then you should not be line-breeding. To clarify the point here is one simplistic example of why one WOULD want to linebreed: You have an established germline with few health issues and a quality phenotype, high mental stability but there is very little working drive in most of the

individuals, You want to add working drive to your already superior quality dogs so you seek out those individuals in your line that have more drive and use these to refine and set this trait. Take this example a bit further into complication, with the assumption that within the population that represents your germ line there are 100 individuals to choose from and only 3 of these have a significant amount of working drive, but these 3 also have an undesirable trait found within the line (eg. They may have bad tail set. In this case you would use a quality member of the germ-line that is breeding true for good tails (parents and grandparents have the desirable tails) and cross in the high drive member. Now ALL THINGS PERMITTED AND GOOD LUCK FAIRY ON YOUR SIDE you have a chance to obtain a puppy that has both drive and a good tail set. This new F1 generation with both desirable traits has the traits but still they are heterozygous thus are not set into the genetics of an F1 dog (overly simplified the puppy is only have drive half good tail). Now you want to set the traits to you do another similar breeding with one of the other high drive dogs and another good tail dog and again look for the puppy with both traits. The third and final step is to breed these two F1 good drive good tail dogs to each other and pick the resultant good drive good tail set progeny. With logical breeding you can further refine the characteristics, prove you are homozygous for both traits and consider it a successful linebreeding adventure. At this point you would continue to try and refine the drive and tail traits within the line without sacrificing other traits. (This again is a simplistic example used to convey a concept. As with most inheritance there are layers of intricacy to the most mundane of examples and many other factors such as dominance of the particular alleles involved, linkage, codominance etc. which may or may not come into play). As you might imagine there is an art and a strong science behind linebreeding and there are a great many methods used to accomplish these patterns with the ultimate goal of staying close and refining the foundation stock. It has been said that Linebreeding is similar to weaving a masterpiece tapestry and there are few that have the knowledge to be masterful and fewer still that are naturally masterful. There are a few who are lucky. One of the best of rationales for linebreeding is as follows"The more superior a breeder's herd or flock is to the average merit of its breed, the more reason he has to practice linebreeding to his very best animals or to the very best of the recent ancestors." In order to be successful at line-breeding you must have all the necessary traits and genetic tools within your germ-line, a reasonably low coefficient of inbreeding in your breeding stock, you must have an ideal firmly set in your mind, you must be prepared to ignore breeding fads and recognize that it is a long ranged plan that must be mapped out ahead of time up to 20 yrs in advance. You must also map out the desired traits up to 20 yrs in the past. Only with this chess player mentality and stringency will you ever hope to be more than a hack, lucky, a

failure, or can you hope to do more than watch the continued decline of a germline as health problems, non-type traits, and mental instability creep into your program. At the point where this decline happens one must look at the obvious and decide to abandon the original plan and move on to another. Without serious knowledge and considerable luck such a failure will mean the demise of a breeding program. A good breeder will just pack it in at a certain point and except failure. Especially with the APBT there are too many breeders that are continually breeding the same medium quality dogs as their previous generations or breeding lower quality dogs than their foundations. These dogs lack one or more of the defining traits of our all around working breed. The breeder must use selection as a rigid tool in the process. Unless this is adhered to, the breeder will never attain his goal and the program will be doomed to failure. You may produce a beautiful APBT that wins every dog show but unless your dog can work, is intelligent, is healthy, has drive, and a wonderful temperament you have a long way to go. One of the traits missing in many of the popular lines these days is that terrier drive and tenacity that our SUPER DOG BREED was once selected ULTIMATELY and predominantly DEFINED BY. A beginning breeder must realize that in spite of what others are doing or saying there are very few constructive linebreeding programs and very few bloodlines that can be successfully linebred into the future. The beginner must understand all the concepts that must exist within and be maintained within a bloodline. You cannot select for show ability at the sacrifice of the other important traits of our breed. These are in order temperament (disposition, intelligence), soundness (health), fertility (females that exhibit the ability to raise healthy pups, and males that have the ability to reproduce naturally), and conformation. If a breeder is first and foremost considering color (I only breed red noses, I only breed blues) then my bet is they will see nothing but a decline in quality over the lifetime of their breeding program. Breeders take note: The APBT is an athlete and a sure sign that you have lost athleticism in your line is when your males are no longer able to successfully mount and breed a female. One particular and overly popular germ-line in the APBT is populated with males that require artificial assistance. They jump and hump but only a few times before having to dismount to rest. Get over your uneducated dog show judge induced need for bone and substance and big heads and get back on track with this athletic breed. Remember the following rules (1) linebreeding (and inbreeding) are only as viable as a breeders knowledge of basic genetics and (2) a linebred pedigree is only as valuable as a persons ability to determine the virtues and faults of the dogs it contains. When we add the final ingredient of rigorous and non-kennel

blind selection hopefully we are on the way to producing better APBTs The ins and outs of establishing a breeding program. A smart breeding program always starts with selection of the highest quality foundation females. When you are forced by availability to start with a foundation female that is lesser in quality to others of her line you are immediately starting your journey by pushing the cart up hill. If your foundation females represent the best your germ-line has to offer then you are half way to the success you so desire. This cannot be stressed enough. I see too many new breeders starting with dogs that are nowhere near the quality of their siblings being used as foundation stock. In many of these cases these kennels also obtain a stud to go along with their foundation female and the stud also turns out to be of lesser quality than his siblings. Instead of looking at this as a problem they continue on and breed poor quality puppies. Now we are doubling up on lack of quality. Why is this? Because when you obtain a dog from a breeder typically they do not give you pick of the litter without a serious agreement in place, thus you end up with one of the "others" in the litter. This leads us to the second step in establishing a quality breeding program. You do not need a stud in your yard at first. Outsource to the highest quality males available. Most breeders or male owners will offer stud service if the price is right. Taking this route you have to consider whether you are trying to save money or trying to produce better animals. An addition to this approach is to utilize one of your foundation females to generate foundation studs which are utilized on other foundation females. This is a complicated strategy and beyond the scope of this discussion. In example: I note one line-breeding kennel in particular that seems dead set on in-house breeding with no semblance of trait selection. Mearly what appears to be a We havent tried this yet hope it nicks" type of selection. They also started with a low caliber female as part of their foundation. With each breeding we note one or two pups per litter with quality similar to that of the parents, which is a sad thing and is a definite signal for the end of a line-breeding program. A quality line-breeding program will at least maintain the quality of the parents in a majority of the progeny. The particular example here is experiencing inbreeding depression and hidden traits such as bad bites and kinked tails and health problems will become more prevalent in future generations. So how can I be successful at line breeding? Well you must fully understand the principles BEFORE starting. OK so let us make a very simple line-breeding program with a short term three generation goal. Because we are considering it a short term program by

necessity this program must make use of an existing germ-line developed by some other breeder. The first step in this example program is the identification and obtaining of the two highest quality females available within a particular germ-line. This is nearly impossible because breeders that are capable of producing the highest caliber animals are also capable of selecting out the best and keeping them (or at the very least coowning them). Thus, the beginning breeder must settle for an alliance with an established breeder, or most likely settle with at the very least the second best female from a litter as their foundation (already at a disadvantage? Maybe.. maybe not~!). Why not obtain males? Many breeders including myself, believe that the females are the strongest part of the line breeding program and the studs are providers of the necessary genes. As part of this three generation example, these females should both be closely related (neice/aunt, cousin) but not too closely related (half sibs or sibs). Then another layer of complexity is that these two foundations should be lined down from the highest quality foundation ancestors. In example do everything you can to obtain a bitch and her niece both of which descend from the highest quality female the line has ever produced. OK so both these females mature nicely and they exceed expectations in conformation and all other criteria then you are set to start a short term linebreeding program such as I will describe (or a long term which is beyond the depths I will discuss here and does not start with line breeding for sure). BUT what if after a year one of the females does not turn out and is of lesser quality than her siblings and most of the individuals in her line? You love her and invested a ton in her BUT Do NOT attempt to begin using inferior stock or your linebreeding program. Because you product will be as described above just decline in quality compared to the rest of the original line. (You should spay her and try again). The next step in this short term line-breeding program is to select a single foundation stud. The stud should be from a more distant branch of the line, but must have all of the traits we would desire to maintain, certain desirable traits we wish to add to our females, and few if any weaknesses where our foundation females do not have weaknesses, and certainly few or hopefully none of those genetic traits we would wish to avoid. THAT IS ASKING A LOT!!!!! You would breed this stud to both of your females and select from each of these litters the highest quality male AND female puppy. Select those puppies that combine the desirable traits of both parents and have fewer of the undesirable traits. Thus you now have 4 superior puppies. These puppies mature as did their parents and exceed your expectations in conformation and other breed traits. The final step is the mating of the half brothers and half sisters to set the traits, which are produced by mating the single foundation sire with the two foundation females. The result of the half brother and half sister mating will be the third generation with the resulting offspring being double grandsons and double granddaughters of the superior male and founded off of your superior females

which also happen to be bred down from the ultimate germ-line dam. From this population we will have now produced a handful of dogs that may match or exceed the quality of the ancestors and set a few new and desirable traits. Note however you have reached what is known as a high inbreeding coefficient in your final product animals. We shall see below that the IC is an important measure of how tightly bred our germline is. Thus we have seen a basic and logical 3 generation linebreeding program now however the IC indicates that for our program to continue we must choose to outcross or outreach (distant relatives but still within the lines) to avoid inbreeding depression. NOTE: One must not try to linebreed to more than one common ancestor except as noted above using a niece for example of your original bitch. The double grandsons and granddaughters will be genetic sons and daughters of the foundation sire. Close linebreeding is inbreeding even if it is not mother/son, father/daughter etc. Inbreeding is most appropriately defined by the COI (coefficient of inbreeding) which we do not ever want to exceed 35-50% depending on how perfect genetically our bloodline is. Most lines out there I would not want to see above 25% COI INBREEDING Willis (1989) defines INBREEDING as the mating of animals "more closely related to one another than the average relationship within the breed." From the introductory table we can see that these involve brother/sister or parent/child breeding. With all the negative connotations associated with inbreeding why discuss it as a viable breeders tool? It is true inbreeding can create horrific genetic mistakes or it can be the best and fastest way to improve and standardize a line (set traits). IN the first sense it is a useful genetic tool to reveal hidden recessive genetic problems in your line by doubling up on them and making them express themselves (as it were LOL). Note this is a tool used to reveal hidden defects and these defectives should be culled from the breeding pool. In the second sense when your line is heterotrophic for beneficial traits you can do inbreeding to make them homozygous (set the trait). Note it must be a tremendously important trait or preferably numerous traits you are trying to set within your line to consider inbreeding as the best method to set the trait. So here inbreedings are done to verify the superiority of a particular strain or to check for recessive problems. Any weaknesses, faults, deformities, etc. are likely to show up. If a truly superior line or strain has been developed, containing only desirable qualities, these desirable qualities will be seen in the resulting offspring.

There is a great example of the result of professionally developed and planned inbreeding that against all odds has gone right (dont EVEN CONSIDER OR HAVE A FANTASY that you can reproduce this with the APBT!) Anyways, I copied the following paragraph from another site. Guiding Eyes For The Blind, Inc., located in San Raphael, Ca., has developed 3 strains of German Shepherd Dogs to guide the blind. One of these strains, the "Frankie line" is being inbred to produce offspring containing as much of Frankies genetic material as possible, some having as high as 96% of their genetic material from Frankie. And these dogs are happy, healthy, well-adjusted and successfully guiding their blind owners through city traffic, etc. (Another strain is geared to linebreeding to produce puppies that have as close to exactly 50% of Frankies genes as possible-linebreeding. The third strain is based on another dog [Orthos], and they are trying to increase the percentage of his genes in the puppies to the highest possible extent, while still maintaining something genetically from Frankie.) The totality of qualities belonging to that individual AND the knowledge of the breeder will determine whether this is a horrible thing or a wonderful thing. As I mentioned previously to a geneticist linebreeding and inbreeding only differ in degree measured by the "inbreeding coefficient" which puts a number to the degree of inbreeding an animal shows relative to a random breeding population. As animals are mated to their relatives, however distant, simple mathematics will show that the likelihood of any one gene becoming homozygous will increase. As homozygosity increases, variation among offspring decreases. The dog breeder takes advantage of this in inbreeding to produce a breed which "breeds true" and conforms to a "breed standard" and within the breed to produce offspring that are like peas in a pod. Breeders look for a "prepotent" sire or bitch ( ie one that always throws pups very similar to itself). These animals come from a "good line bred pedigree" - that is one that is inbred so that the animal is homozygous for as many as possible of the characteristics that the breeder regards as desirable. Unfortunately this search for perfection and uniformity comes at a cost. Undesirable genes also become increasingly likely to be homozygous and so affect the health of the animal. Most of these genes have minor effects which gradually accumulate. There are many genes involved in traits like fertility, immune competence and mental stability. It is a fact that accumulation of homozygous recessive "bad" genes gradually diminishes the function of these systems no matter what. Walkowitz & Wilcox 1994, Willis 1992, 1989, Onstott 1962 all view linebreeding and inbreeding as essentially the same and differing only in degree of intensity. Whether one considers inbreeding and linebreeding to be the same or feels they are two distinct breeding systems, quantifying the degree to which an animal is

linebred (or inbred) provides important information regarding its potential genetic contribution. If we traced our APBT pedigrees back far enough we would see that all our dogs are ultimately related and the inbreeding coefficient would be quite high. If such a dog were compared to a dog whose background is only known for a few generations, it would appear as if this dog were much less inbred. But this, of course, is not necessarily true. When we are comparing pedigrees, we must always consider for how many generations we are calculating the inbreeding coefficient. Calculation of inbreeding coefficients will give an indication of how inbred a dog or a prospective cross is. Knowing these numbers enables the breeder to make choices that will reduce inbreeding. COEFFICIENT OF INBREEDING (COI) NOTE: It should be noted here that an inbreeding coefficient is of little value without a standard to which it can be compared, it would be of utmost value considering how APBT breeders are beyond many in their love of pedigree analysis and tracing. Thus I would propose the creation of a Register of Inbreeding Coefficients which would allow for calculation of a breed average for comparison. The inbreeding coefficient is a measure of the proportion of loci that are homozygous because of the relationship between the parents. In other words, it is the percentage of probability that a particular locus is homozygous due to the relationship between the ancestors. An inbreeding coefficient of 0 % would mean that no locus is homozygous because of any relationship between the parents. If 100% then the offspring are clones of the parents. Some comparison matings: Note these percentages do not take into account any past generational influence: Inbreeding: o o When a dog is mated with a sister/brother: 25 % When a dog is mated with a parent: 25 %

Linebreeding o o When a dog is mated with a halfsister/halfbrother: 12.5 % When a dog is mated with a grandparent: 12.5 %

When a dog is mated with a cousin: 6,25 %

The coefficient should increase by less than 0.25-0.5 percentage point per generation. If the increase is higher, the population will be at risk of health problems due to inbreeding. It might take many generations before the problems are visible, but when they arise they will be difficult to remove from the line. Lets consider both methods by first looking at Wrights equation for calculation of inbreeding coefficient.

Fx is the inbreeding coefficient of the dog in question, Fa is the coefficient of the common ancestor, n1 is the intervening generations between the sire and the common ancestor, and n2 is the intervening generations between the dam and the common ancestor. Since I will make use of the degree of inbreeding notation (x,y:a,b) for listing common ancestors, which counts actual generations instead of intervening generations, we will be using n1+n2-1.

BAD DOG LITTLE DOG BITCHY BITCH PED A

BIG DOG BIG DOG

LITTLE DOG is the result of the mating of half-brother/sister, both of the parents being out of BIG DOG. If BIG DOG carries a gene with two different alleles (e.g. the horrible red nose and black nose unrealistic example LOL), if red nose is passed to BAD DOG there is a 50% probability of being passed to LITTLE DOG. There is also a 50% probability that BITCHY BITCH will receive the same red nose allele from BIG DOG and a 50% probability of it being passed to LITTLE DOG. The probability that LITTLE DOG will be homozygous for this red nose allele is 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.125 or 12.5%. If Walton were the only common ancestor, the inbreeding coefficient for LITTLE DOG would be 12.5%. LITTLE DOGS inbreeding coefficient because of BIG DOG is calculated by to the power n, where n is the number of individuals from LITTLE DOG to the common ancestor BIG DOG on the top of the pedigree (male side) and back to LITTLE DOG on the other bottom (female side) of the pedigree.. This makes n

equal to BIG DOG BAD DOG BITCHY BITCH by BIG DOG, or 3. The calculation, therefore, is () or ( x x ), which equals one eighth or 12.5%. In the equation quoted above n1 = 1 (BAD DOG) and n2 = 1 (BITCHY BITCH by BIG DOG). BIG DOG, the common ancestor, is represented by 1. If BIG DOG is also inbred, or line bred, then BITCHY DOGs inbreeding coefficient would be 12.5 x (1 plus the inbreeding coefficient of BIG DOG, the common ancestor). If the common ancestor is not inbred then Fa = 0, therefore this part of the equation can be ignored because (1+Fa) = 1. If LITTLE DOG had more than one common ancestor then calculations would be made for each and added together to give his inbreeding coefficient. Wrights Equation works to a certain extent but anyone who claims this is the best way to determine inbreeding coefficient needs to go back to breeders school because as mentioned there are definite and inherent defects in it because it does not take into account generational influence. Thus, using Wrights COI does not take into consideration the positions of the common ancestor in the pedigree. In the 1st Generation there are 2 dogs so 25% / 2 = 12.5% as the possible inbreeding coefficient In the 2nd Generation there are 4 dogs = 6.25% 3rd Generation 8 dogs = 3.125% 4th Generation 16 dogs = 1.5625% 5th Generation 32 dogs = .78125% 25% LITTLE DOG BIG DOG BAD DOG 6.25% 3.125% 1.56%

STUB DOG HUGE DOG RED DOG HUGE DOG

BITCHY BITCH

BIG DOG

STUB DOG HUGE DOG

RED DOG

HUGE DOG

PED B If LITTLE DOGs grandsire BIG DOG was inbred to HUGE DOG (2 x 2), LITTLE DOGs inbreeding coefficient would be .125 x 1.125 = .140625 or 14.0625%.The increase of 1.5625% represents the total influence of HUGE DOG which appears four times in the fourth generation of the pedigree of LITTLE DOG. LITTLE DOG inherited 25% of his genes from HUGE DOG, which when divided by four results in an inbreeding coefficient of 6.25%. LITTLE DOGS inbreeding coefficient should, therefore, be 12.5% + 6.25% = 18.75%. This same estimation can be derived visually by adding the numbers seen at the top of the pedigree columns x the number of times an individual appears more than once in a pedigree. So HUGE DOG = 4 x 1.56 + +BIG DOG 2 x 6.25+STUBDOG 2 x 3.125 + RED DOG 2 x 3.125 = 31.25% THUS using Wrights equation which consists of multiplying an inbreeding coefficient by one plus the inbreeding coefficient of a common ancestor tends to underestimate the total amount of inbreeding in a pedigree. In fact, an inbreeding coefficient calculated using Wright's Equation is neither an estimation of the number of genes put into the homozygous state nor an estimation of the percentage of inbreeding. It is merely the probability that identical alleles will be inherited from ancestors common to both sire and dam. Wright's Equation considers duplicated ancestors only if they are common to both sire and dam, but if the inbreeding of an individual is one half the relationship of its sire and dam, then duplicated ancestors wholly contained within the pedigrees of either the sire or the dam should also be considered because ultimately they will trace to ancestors common to both sire and dam. PROBLEMS InHeReNt WITH LINEBREEDING AND INBREEDING. LOL! A well educated opinion regarding inbreeding and modern homogeneity of dog breeds such as the APBT states that inbreedings/linebreedings time is past. This author indicated that if purebred dogs are to remain viable into the next century breeders need to rethink their strategy and work toward their goals with more emphasis on over-all health and concerted efforts to reduce the level of

inbreeding in their breeds. Especially to me as a geneticist this is an important point considering three of the most prolific germ-lines in the show APBT and the health problems that are increasingly apparent. Inbreeding and tight linebreeding typically act to reduces fertility, overall health and mental stability. Inbred animals are more prone to diseases such as infections and cancer, and more likely to be "highly strung" and nervous. To understand why this happens we need to consider basic genetics: All dogs carry some harmful genes. These genes are usually hidden because we have one good copy of the gene to compensate for the defective version and the good copy of the gene can perform the tasks required. If we double up on this gene through inbreeding/linebreeding we are removing the good copy and the harmful gene is the only one left. If this defective gene was the one that stabilizes our animal during stressful situations we end up with a nervous dog. If the defective gene was one that coded for genes that protect against cancer we have a dog less likely able to fight cancer. With many double defective genes the problem may be so severe that the animals die, suffer debilitating disease. Some are doubled up on defects in bone structure, reproductive anatomy, immune function, or may be blind, deaf, or plain sick all the time. What we are seeing whether the breeder of a particular line acknowledges it or not is that when the overall homology (increased inbreeding coefficient) of a specific germ line is focused by line or inbreeding there is an exacerbated tendency toward occurrence of disorders that are ultimately controlled by multiple sets of genes. Of particular interest cosmetically in the APBT are kinked tails, underbites and serious debilitating disorders as hip dysplasia, temperament issues (such as fear or human aggression), and congenital heart anomalies. Of utmost importance to an APBT breeder is prior knowledge of abnormalities that the common ancestors have produced. Continued linebreeding within such lines can promote the fixation of these defects permanently within the line resulting in extraordinary risk of genetic defects. The most important issue is making health a top priority when linebreeding or inbreeding for trait selection. It is obvious even to those who promote inbreeding that screening for genetic diseases and not breeding affected individuals is important. As tests become available which will detect carriers of genetic problems, they should be put to use. However, before I state the following please do not for a second use the following words to justify or rationalize breeding selection of unhealthy animals. A particularly fine individual with a multitude of high quality traits that has carrier status for a detrimental defect should not automatically be precluded from breeding but the utmost care should be taken that they arent bred to other carriers and more importantly those who buy puppies from a carrier parent damn well MUST be advised to screen the pup if they want to breed it. But eliminating proven carriers as breeding stock if

they are anything but stellar otherwise is the only ethical approach. Defects such as dysplasia, temperament issues, congenital heart defects that are homozygous and expressed in a dog is however definitely a reason to spay/neuter. Definitely an animal that carries a trait is very different from an animal that displays the trait. (read the above again and note the difference between carrier and an animal that displays a recessive homozygous defect)

INBREEDING DEPRESSION Research has shown that inbreeding depression, or diminished health and viability through inbreeding is directly related to the amount of detrimental recessive genes present. Some lines thrive with inbreeding, and some do not. One of the effects of inbreeding is a decrease in the heterozygosity of important gene clusters such as those involved in immune expression. This effect places individuals and the population at a greater risk from homozygous recessive and immune related diseases. The impact of accumulating deleterious homozygous traits is called inbreeding depression. Ultimately this is considered to be a loss in progenies vigor due to loss in genetic variability or genetic options particularly those involving immune response. Sometimes two different alleles may be better than one. Consider the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the immune system as indicated above. This large group of genes requires high diversity because each on of these individual genes adapts to combat a specific insult to the immune system. Having a variety of MHC alleles is vital to an animals ability to combat any given infection (for instance) or allergen. Thus, if both copies of the MHC is inherited from the same common ancestor due to inbreeding there is only half the combinations of genetic information to counteract environmental and harmful problems the immune system is geared to combat. Not only does this provide better defense against pathogens, but there is growing evidence that parents who carry different MHC haplotypes may have fewer fertility problems. This is not a universally accepted theory, but today one is hard pressed to find a conservation or zoo biologist concerned with preserving an endangered species who would not list maintaining maximum genetic diversity as one of his/her primary goals. The MHC is very specific and in a way each gene in the MHC helps to create individual one type of cell that is specific to and capable of recognizing and killing only one kind of dangerous environmental problem. Examples of environmental insults includes such things as pollen, dust mite saliva, fly bite, insect venom,

cancer cells, viruses, bacteria etc. The environment has billions upon billions of different insults that the animal may encounter in its lifetime and for each insult only one MHC gene will have the ability to counteract the insult. Now consider a very inbred individual that has two copies of same MHC that followed the limits of probability and was passed down from the same ancestor. If both chromosomes of the dog have the identical immune system gene segments, that animal has lost half of its potential antibody genes. If that animal is further inbred, it starts to lose other individual gene segments to a genetic phenomenon we noted in a previous section called "crossover." Ultimately with continued inbreeding depression we may lose billions of potential antibodies. Maybe we lost that antibody that was required to fight that particular cancer our dog died of. Our dogs may also exhibit allergies to common things due to inbreeding depression. This is often seen when Other signs of inbreeding depression are small litter sizes or difficulty producing or rearing young. Bitches from families that consistently produce small litters may be suffering inbreeding depression. Specific with lines of the APBT signs of inbreeding depression dog is indifferent to bitches in standing heat, incapable of mounting and successfully completing ties (hop off after a couple humps), bitches that require physically restrained, bitches that kill or damage puppies through intent or neglect and signify that this animal should not be bred. Breeders walk a tightrope between needing to reduce genetic variation to maintain uniform breed type and needing to maintain genetic diversity to avoid inbreeding depression. One of the most pervasive causes for inbreeding depression and decrease in genetic diversity is brought on voluntarily by breeders who continually breed the favored sires out to everyone that asks, while the majority of potential breeding males are never bred. The sire may not be of exceptional quality in all aspects or may be of exceptional quality. This bottleneck is made all the worse by the fact that the majority of breeding bitches are often sired by other popular studs from previous generations.

It is possible to prevent this deterioration in health and vigor by limiting linebreeding and by selecting rigorously for highly fertile, vigorous, long lived, mentally stable animals. Responsible, intelligent dog breeders do just that. Only breed the best to the best and cull the rest.

Inbreeding: Its Meaning, Uses and Effects on Farm Animals Dale Vogt, Helen A. Swartz and John Massey Department of Animal Sciences Various mating schemes of animals are classified under two broad categories inbreeding and outbreeding. Classification depends on the closeness of the biological relationship between mates. Within each category, a wide variation in intensity of this relationship exists. A very fine line separates the two categories. Mating closely related animals (for example, parent and offspring, full brother and sister or half brother and sister) is inbreeding. With less closely related animals (first cousins, second cousins), people disagree about where to draw the line between inbreeding and outbreeding.

Technically, inbreeding is defined as the mating of animals more closely related than the average relationship within the breed or population concerned. Matings between animals less closely related than this, then, would constitute outbreeding. These two systems of mating, with varying intensities in each, are described in Table 1. Matings indicated within the inbreeding category are selfexplanatory; those within the outbreeding category are defined in the glossary. Table 1. Degrees of inbreeding and outbreeding arranged according to biological relationship between indicated mates. (In reading from top to bottom, biological relationship between mates steadily decreases.) Inbreeding or outbreeding Inbreeding Inbreeding Coefficient of relationship between mates (percent) Biological relationship between mates 50 Parent x offspring; full sibs 25 Half-sibs; double 1st cousins; aunt x nephew; uncle x niece 12-1/2 First cousins 6-1/4 Second cousins ? Linebreeding1 0 Random mating within breed or population2 0 Outcrossing 0 Breed crossing 0 Species crossing 0 Genus crossing

Inbreeding Inbreeding Inbreeding Inbreeding/outbreeding Outbreeding Outbreeding Outbreeding Outbreeding

1

In a linebreeding program, the coefficient of relationship between mates is usually low; however, it can be quite variable. Random mating within a breed or population means that mates are chosen by chance. It should be understood that under this circumstance it is possible that either inbreeding or outbreeding could occur.

Biological relationships between animals

Individuals are considered to be biologically related when they have one or more common ancestors. For practical purposes, if two individuals have no common ancestor within the last five or six generations, they are considered unrelated. Biological relationship is important in animal breeding because the closer the relationship, the higher the percentage of like genes the two individuals carry. Closeness of relationship is determined by three factors: 1) How far back in the two animals' pedigrees the common ancestor appears 2) How many common ancestors they have and 3) How frequently the common ancestors appear. It is also influenced by any inbreeding of the common ancestor or ancestors. Measurement of degree of biological relationship The coefficient of relationship is a single numerical value that considers all the above-mentioned factors. It is a measure of the degree to which the genotypes (genetic constitutions) of the two animals are similar. It is estimated by the expression: RBC = sigma[(1/2)n+n'(1 + FA)] Square Root of (1 + FB)(1 + FC) (Equation 1) where: RBC = the coefficient of relationship between animals B and C which we want to measure. sigma = the Greek symbol meaning "add." (1/2) = the fraction of an individual's genetic material that is transmitted to its progeny. It is used in the calculation of the coefficient of relationshop because it represents the probability that, in any one generation, an identical gene from a given pair of genes is transitted to each of two particular progeny. It is also the probability that an unlike gene from a given pair of genes is transmitted to the two progeny. n = the number of gnerations between animal B and the common ancestor. n' = the number of generations between animal C and the common ancestor. FA, FB, FC = inbreeding coefficients of the common ancestor and of animals B and C, respectively. If none of the animals is inbred, the coefficient of relationship is estimated as: RBC = sigma [(1/2)n + n'] (Equation 2)

The use of this expression can be demonstrated with the full-sib sample pedigree and arrow diagram (see Figure 1). In this example, assume neither sire nor dam is inbred. The arrow diagram on the right shows paths of gene flow from each of the common ancestors (D and E) to the animals whose coefficient of relationship we are measuring (B and C). Figure 1 The problem now is to trace all possible paths from animal B to animal C which pass through a common ancestor. In this case, there are two such paths (see Figure 2). Figure 2 Since we have assumed no inbreeding in this example, the coefficient of relationship between animals B and C is estimated as: RBC = sigma[(1/2)n + n'] = (1/2)1 + 1 + (1/2)1 + 1 = (1/2)2 + (1/2)2 = 0.50 (Equation 3) Usefulness of coefficient of relationship information A livestock producer would find coefficient of relationship information valuable in a number of situations. He may, for example, want to sell an animal related to one that previously sold for a high price. The higher the coefficient of relationship between the two, the better its use as a sales point. Or, he may want to purchase one of two related bulls and one may cost more than he wishes to pay. If the coefficient of relationship between the two bulls is high, he might be as well off with the lower priced bull as he would with the more expensive one. A practical use of the coefficient of relationship is estimating the performance value of an untested animal. To estimate the value, we must know the performance value of a related animal, the coefficient of relationship between the tested and untested animals, and the average performance value of the breed, herd, or group to which the tested and untested animals belong. As an example, consider a herd with a feedlot average daily gain (ADG) of 2.25 pounds per day. Assume further that a sire from this herd had a 3.50 pounds per day feedlot ADG, while a younger half brother has not, as yet, been evaluated for feedlot ADG. Assuming no inbreeding, the coefficient of relationship between half brothers is 0.25. The best estimate of the untested animal's feedlot ADG is that it will deviate from the herd average 25 percent as far as does the performance value of the tested half brother. Using these figures, the most probable feedlot

ADG value of the untested animal is 2.25 + (0.25) x (3.50 - 2.25) or 2.56 pounds per day. Measurement of the degree of inbreeding When we calculate an inbreeding coefficient, we are attempting to measure the probable percentage reduction in the frequency of pairing of dissimilar genes (reduction in heterozygosity). This reduction is relative to a base population. The base population usually is the breed concerned at a date to which the pedigrees are traced. Animals in this base population are assumed to be non-inbred. This does not mean these base population animals had dissimilar genes in each pair. There is no way for us to know how many of their gene pairs consisted of similar or dissimilar genes. The inbreeding coefficient that is calculated is simply relative to that base and reflects the probable percentage reduction in however many dissimilar gene pairs the average base population animals had. The general expression for determining the inbreeding coefficient is: FX = sigma[(1/2)n + n' + 1 (1 + FA)] (Equation 4) where: FX = the inbreeding coefficient of animal X. sigma = the Greek symbol meaning "add". (1/2) = the fraction of an individual's genetic material that is transmitted to its progeny. It is used in the calculation of the coefficient of relationshop because it represents the probability that, in any one generation, an identical gene from a given pair of genes is transitted to each of two particular progeny. It is also the probability that an unlike gene from a given pair of genes is transmitted to the two progeny. n = the number of generations between animal B and the common ancestor. n' = the number of generations between animal C and the common ancestor. +1 = is added to n and n' to account for the additional generation between animal X and its parents. FA = the inbreeding coefficient of the common ancestor. If neither parent is inbred, but if they are related, the inbreeding coefficient of their progeny is half their coefficient of relationship: 1/2 RBC This can be demonstrated using a full-sib mating to make comparison easy with the full-sib

coefficient of relationship calculated previously. In this case, the pedigree for animal X and the arrow diagram will be as follows: Figure 3 The problem now is to trace all possible paths from the sire (B) to the dam (C) through each common ancestor. As with the coefficient of relationship problem, there are two such paths: Figure 4 Since we have assumed neither parent is inbred, the inbreeding coefficient of animal X is estimated as: FX = sigma[(1/2)n + n' + 1] = (1/2)1 + 1 + 1 + (1/2)1 + 1 + 1 = (1/2)3 + (1/2)3 = 0.25 (Equation 5) This is one-half the coefficient of relationship between full-sibs when there is no inbreeding. Genetic consequences of inbreeding The basic genetic consequence of inbreeding is to promote what is technically known as homozygosity. This means there is an increase in the frequency of pairing of similar genes. Accompanying this increase, there must be a decrease in the frequency of pairing of dissimilar genes. This is called a decrease in heterozygosity. These simultaneous events are the underlying reasons for the general effects on performance we observe with inbreeding. Reasons for inbreeding Development of highly productive inbred lines of domestic livestock is possible. To date, however, such attempts have met with little apparent success. Although occasional high performance animals are produced, inbreeding generally results in an overall reduction in performance. This reduction is manifested in many ways. The most obvious effects of inbreeding are poorer reproductive efficiency including higher mortality rates, lower growth rates and a higher frequency of hereditary abnormalities. This has been shown by numerous studies with cattle, horses, sheep, swine and laboratory animals. The extent of this decrease in performance, in general, is in proportion to the degree of inbreeding. The greater the degree of inbreeding, the greater the reduction in performance. The actual performance reduction is not the same in all

species or in all traits. Some characteristics (like meat quality) are hardly influenced by inbreeding; others (like reproductive efficiency) are greatly influenced by inbreeding. We cannot, then, make a generalized statement about the amount of reduction in "performance" that would result from a specific amount of inbreeding and expect it to be applicable in a broad variety of situations. It is possible, however, to predict the extent of the effect of inbreeding on specific traits. Such predictions are based on results actually obtained under experimental conditions in which various levels of inbreeding had been attained. In research with swine conducted at the Midwest Regional Swine Breeding Laboratory, Dickerson and others (1954) point out that for each 10 percent increase in inbreeding (of the pigs in the litter), there is a decrease of 0.20, 0.35, 0.38, and 0.44 pigs per litter at birth, 21 days, 56 days, and 154 days, respectively. We can use such figures to provide estimates of expected decreases in litter size (at comparable litter ages) in other herds of swine. Most inbreeding studies suggest each successive unit increase in inbreeding results in a proportional decrease in performance. Estimates of average increases in percentage inbreeding within a closed herd can be made with the expression: Avg. increase in inbreeding = (No. males + No. females) (8)(No. males) (No. females) In a closed herd of cattle in which 100 females and four males were used in each generation, for example, the average per generation increase in inbreeding would be (4 + 100) (8)(4)(100) = 0.0325. On a per year basis, assuming a generation interval of five years, this would amount to an average yearly increase in inbreeding of 0.0065 or 0.65 percent. Despite the generally poor results obtained with inbreeding, it is a very useful tool in animal breeding. Inbreeding is essential to the development of prepotent animals animals that uniformly "stamp" their characteristics on their progeny. Because inbreeding causes an increase in the proportion of like genes (good or bad, recessive or dominant), the inbred animal's reproductive cells will be more uniform in their genetic makeup. When this uniformity involves a relatively large number of dominant genes, the progeny of that individual will uniformly display the dominant characteristics of that parent. Inbreeding may also be used to uncover genes that produce abnormalities or death genes that, in outbred herds, are generally present in low frequencies. These harmful genes are almost always recessive in their genetic nature and their effects are hidden or masked by their dominant counterparts (alleles). Except for sex-linked traits, recessive genes are not expressed if carried singly. For their effects to be manifested, they must be present in duplicate. The

likelihood they will be present in duplicate increases with inbreeding, because inbreeding increases the proportion of like genes (both good and bad) in the inbred population. With the effects of these genes uncovered, the breeder can eliminate them from his herd. He would cull progeny that showed the undesirable effect of these recessive genes and would also cull the parents that are carriers of the undesirable genes. In addition, two-thirds of the "normal" progeny of these carrier parents are themselves expected to be carriers of these same undesirable genes. In the absence of breeding tests to sort out the carriers from the noncarriers, it would also be necessary to cull all "normal" progeny of the carrier parents. Breeders can use an inbreeding test to identify carriers of harmful autosomal recessive genes (like those responsible for snorter dwarfism in cattle, hyperostosis in swine, or cryptorchidism in sheep). An inbreeding test checks for only recessive genes that the tested animal (usually the male) carries. The following example and the numbers given are pertinent to cattle, where one offspring per gestation is usual. If we want to be sure at the 0.01 level of probability that a bull is free of harmful autosomal recessive genes, we would have to mate him to at least 35 of his daughters. He is mated to 35+ of his daughters because only half of them are expected to carry any harmful recessive gene their sire is carrying. We need the production of 35 normal calves without a single abnormal calf to show the bull free (at the 0.01 probability level) of any harmful autosomal recessive gene. Tests in sheep and swine would require matings to fewer daughters. Actual numbers would depend on the average number of progeny produced per gestation in each species. Using the 0.01 probability level and assuming the average litter size is 1.5 in sheep and 8.0 in swine, the number of sire-daughter matings needed would be about 24+ for sheep and 5+ for swine. Another important use of inbreeding is in the development of distinct families or inbred lines. Beginning with an initially diverse genetic population, inbreeding results in the formation of various lines, each differing genetically from the other. Continued inbreeding within these lines tends to change the frequency of some of the genes found in the initial population. For example, if a particular gene is present in only 1 percent of the animals in the initial population, inbreeding and the development of distinct lines could result in this gene being present in all or nearly all animals in some lines and in none or only a few of the animals in other lines. Inbred lines are used in a number of ways but are probably most notably used in the development of hybrid chickens or hybrid seed corn. A generally mild form of inbreeding (linebreeding) is being used successfully by some seed stock and commercial producers. Its objective is to maintain a high degree of relationship between the animals in the herd and some outstanding ancestor or ancestors. With inbreeding in general, there is no attempt to increase the relationship between the offspring and any particular ancestor. In a

linebreeding program there is a deliberate attempt to maintain or increase the relationship between the offspring and a specific admired ancestor (or ancestors). This feature distinguishes linebreeding as a special form of inbreeding. The inbreeding coefficient of the offspring produced in a linebreeding program is generally low, but is dependent on the kind of breeding program followed. Figure 5 illustrates two linebreeding programs. The breeding program outlined in part A shows a direct line of relationship between offspring "x" and desired ancestor "5." Only a mild level of inbreeding in animal "x" (Fx = 0.03125) is reached. The coefficient of relationship obtained between animal "x" and animal "5" is 0.2462. Part B is a linebreeding program based on continuous sire-daughter matings which, after only two generations, produces a level of inbreeding in animal "x" of 0.375 and a coefficient of relationship between animals "x" and "S" of 0.78. Figure 5. Pedigrees and arrow diagrams for two line breeding programs The sire-daughter program in part B effectively concentrates genes from animal "S," but because of the rapid increase in inbreeding of the progeny produced in this program, the breeder runs the risk of greatly reduced performance and a high probability of genetic defects. Linebreeding programs are best used in purebred and high performing herds when a truly genetically superior individual in that herd has been identified and evaluated by progeny testing. Concentrating that individual's genes would then be best accomplished by mating him to unrelated females to reduce the risk of harmful effects associated with such intense inbreeding. Summary Inbreeding is technically defined as the mating of animals more closely related than the average relationship within the breed or population concerned. For practical purposes, if two mated individuals have no common ancestor within the last five or six generations, their progeny would be considered outbreds. The primary genetic consequence of inbreeding is to increase the frequency of pairing of similar genes. All genetic and phenotypic changes associated with the practice of inbreeding stem from this one primary consequence. In general, inbreeding results in an overall lowering in performance. It is most obviously reflected in poorer reproductive efficiency, including higher mortality rates, lower growth rates and a higher frequency of hereditary defects. Despite these

generally harmful effects, inbreeding is a very useful tool in the field of animal breeding. It enables the breeder to uncover and eliminate harmful recessive genes within the population. It is also essential to the development of prepotent animals and is desirable in the development of distinct family lines. In addition, seed stock and commercial producers have successfully used linebreeding to maintain a degree of genetic relationship in their animals to some outstanding ancestor or ancestors. Glossary Terms describe various mating schemes and the progeny resulting from specific mating programs.

Backcross Progeny resulting from the mating of a two-breed cross animal to one of the parental breeds. For example, using two breeds designated as P1, and P2, backcross progeny would be produced by mating the two-breed cross animal (Pl x P2) with either of the P1 or P2 parental breeds. Crisscrossing A continuous program of crossbreeding in which there is an alternate use of males belonging to two breeds. Using two breeds designated as P1 and P2, a crisscrossing program, beginning with the two-breed cross an imal (P1 x P2), would begin by backcrossing to one of the parental breeds [(P1 x P2) x P1]. Females resulting from these matings would be bred to a P2 male, [(P1 x P2) x P1] x P2, and so on. Crossbred Progeny resulting from the mating of outcross animals belonging to different breeds. Genus cross Mating of animals belonging to different genera (for example, mating of domestic cattle, Bos taurus or Bos indicus, to the American buffalo, Bison). Grading Mating of purebred males of a given breed to non-purebred females and the resultant female offspring in successive generations. Inbred line Line of animals produced by mating related animals. Inbreeding Mating of animals more closely related to each other than the average relationship within the breed or population concerned. Incross Progeny resulting from the mating of animals from different inbred lines within a breed. Incrossbred Progeny resulting from the mating of animals from inbred lines of different breeds.

Linebreeding Generally mild form of inbreeding in which animals mated are related to some supposedly outstanding individual. Outbreeding Mating of animals less closely related to each other than the average relationship within the breed or population concerned. Outcross Progeny resulting from the mating of unrelated animals within a breed. Species cross Mating of animals belonging to different species (for example mating of European breed cattle, Bos taurus, to Brahman cattle, Bos indicus). Three-breed rotational cross A continuous program of crossbreeding in which males of three breeds are used on a rotational basis. Using three breeds designated as P1, P2 and P3, the first generation would involve production of two-breed cross animals, P1 x P2. In the second generation, two-breed cross females would be mated to males of the third breed, (P1 x P2) x P3; three-breed cross females would be mated to males of one of the breeds used to produce the two-breed cross animals, [(P1 x P2) x P3] x P1, and so on. Topcross Progeny resulting from the mating of animals belonging to different families within a breed. Topcrossbred Progeny resulting from the mating of inbred males to non-inbred females of another breed. Topincross Progeny resulting from the mating of inbred males to non-inbred females of the same breed. Two-breed cross Progeny resulting from the mating of males of one breed to females of another breed. Breeding Techniques

Inbreeding A term used to describe animals related to each other that are bred together. This term is usually used for more closely related individuals in particular. It is possible to calculate the amount of inbreeding that has gone in to producing an individual - this is called the "inbreeding coefficient". Inbreeding can increase the homozygosity of offspring (so that they can closely resemble their parentage) and it reduces variation within a line. Great if you have superb breeding stock as you will be able to maintain and even improve on quality!!

This is all very useful initially, but sooner or later a point can be reached where no further gains can be achieved. Inbreeding can also expose harmful recessive genes (increase possible genetic defects) which will eventually contribute to a lack of breeding performance, called "Inbreeding Depression". Line-Breeding A type of inbreeding where one individual appears in a pedigree more than once. A simplistic example is to breed a daughter back to her father and their female offspring back to the grandfather, etc. Not only can a line be based on a male chinchilla, but it is as viable to base the line on a female chinchilla too. Once again, line-breeding can expose harmful recessive anomalies and is equally subject to "inbreeding depression". It also makes the assumption that no improvement can be made on the original chinchilla that the line is based on. The main value of line-breeding to that it can maintain the phenotypical purity of the offspring in relation the positive qualities that the original chinchilla had, and will help to "fix" those qualities within a line. However, you do need to carefully select the offspring you wish to breed from.

Murphy is the product of breeding an "Uncle" to a "Neice" - which is an example of line-breeding Cross Breeding (or outcrossing) The breeding of individuals from unrelated bloodlines. If separate bloodlines are bred together then the result will be offspring with hybrid vigour. In other words, the dominant genes from each bloodline will suppress the harmful recessive genes. Repeated cross-breeding can result in very variable offspring. In fact the crossbreeding of two chinchillas from separate bloodlines will result in some very average results, UNLESS they are both from very carefully bred bloodlines. Sometimes cross-breeding is utilised to reduce inbreeding-depression within a bloodline. Once out-crossed the line is then line-bred or inbred again. This

technique is called "cyclic-outcrossing" and is my breeding method of choice. Rotational Cross-Breeding This is the term used to describe a method where the breeding herd is divided into three (or more) very distinct and unrelated groups. The males and females within each group are bred together to produce an F1 generation. All F1 females that are produced stay within their own group, but the F1 males are moved on to the next group for breeding, and so on and so forth, for each subsequent generation produced. This method reduces that amount of inbreeding that is necessary. However, the breeder will still be able to be selective over the breeding stock that is used each generation. Rotational cross-breeding is particularly useful in preserving rare or unusual colours.

Phenotypcial Breeding This term describes the breeding together of unrelated animals that look similar or both have the same desirable phenotypical characteristics. This is what most novice breeders initially start off by doing. This is all very well, but because the genetic makeup of the breeding adults will differ, the results in the offspring will be pretty hit and miss and certain characteristics will not "fix". Highly rigorous selection of the offspring for future breeding may enable some improvement, but this is rare. Corrective Breeding Again this is the term used when breeding unrelated animals together, but this time they have been selected so their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other (or cancel each other out). This is a good technique for correcting any particular faults within a line (i.e. weak neck for instance). Once again the offspring will be highly variable and will need careful selection for future breeding by the breeder. Inheritability Some features, such as colour, are clearly highly inheritable. The amount that

any one feature is inherited is called the "degree of heritability". Here are some basic examples: Features with a low degree of heritability

Litter size Survival rate of the offspring

Features with an average degree of heritability

Temperment Weight

Features with a high degree of heritability

Conformation Colour

Selection For Breeding There are two ways of selecting breeding stock. One is to concentrate on one particular characteristic at a time and select for that one outstanding feature, regardless of any others. Once the goal for that feature has been achieved, offspring are then chosen for another characteristic. The other method is to assess and "score" potential breeding stock for all the desirable characteristics and only choose those that "score" highly overall. This second system is slower that the first system but is thought to achieve better overall results in the long-term.

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Heterosis (or more than you ever wanted to know about seed corn production)

If you travel through parts of the Midwest in summer you will notice that among the many tall, green corn fields are fields that contain shorter, sometimes lighter colored and less uniform looking corn. These fields will have rows of corn that have been chopped off to about half their height, in regular patterns across the field, (i.e. 6 rows with no tops, 2 rows with tops (tasseled), 6 rows with no tops, etc). These are fields of "seed corn": corn that is destined only to be used for next year's seed. The reason for cutting the tops some rows off is that these have been designated as female rows; the rows that will produce the actual seed corn, and they cannot be allowed to be fertilized by their own pollen or the pollen of the same variety of corn. Thus the pollen-producing tassel has been removed. If selfpollination were to occur it would produce an inbred seed that would merely continue the same genetics for the next generation. The rows that are left intact (with tassels) are the designated male rows. These are plants of a different variety that the Seed Company wants to cross with the female rows. Although the male rows will produce corn, that corn will not be used for seed, since it also represents inbred lineage, having been self-pollinated. The point of this long discussion (yes, there really is a point here) is that by crossing two unrelated lines of corn, the seed will be "hybrid" and corn produced by this seed will be hybrid corn. The difference between hybrid corn and its parent inbred lines is dramatic. In most cases, the inbred lines will produce about 50 bushels per acre or less. Under the same growing conditions, the hybrid seed will produce 150 to 200 bushels per acre. This is the result of "hybrid vigor" or "heterosis". The discovery of hybrid corn was a major step for agronomists and grain producers, rivaling the use of fertilizer in increasing production to modernday levels. The seed produced by these "hybrid plants" (F1 plants) will not be planted, it is a terminal product to be used for feed and food products. If planted, this seed would produce corn plants of many different sizes, and of variable productivity, with some producing at the same low levels as the inbred varieties. This is because some of the matings that produced individual kernals resulted in genetic combinations resembling the earlier grandparent lines. A more complex version of heterosis occurs with animal breeding. The crossing of separate purebred lines results in offspring that express hybrid vigor. They grow faster, are more efficient, and are more resistant to various production stresses than are offspring of purebred lines. The more distantly related the parent lines, the more heterosis that occurs in the crossbred offspring. Although the reason for heterosis is not completely understood, it is thought that by combining more alleles (different varieties of genes) the resulting offspring will have more "bases covered" when adapting to their environment. A very simplistic example might be imagined by two hog lines; one which is genetically resistant to a disease such as rotavirus, but not resistant to E. coli, and the second parent which is resistant to E. coli, but not to rotavirus. The offspring of these two parents will represent a genetic combination that might be resistant to both. Thus they would do better than either of their parent's relatives when both those diseases are present. If, however, one mated the F1 crossbred offspring to each

other, the random mixing of genes would result in some offspring receiving combinations that resemble one grandparent or the other (remember your "Mendelian Genetics"). Thus this third generation would be highly variable in their resistance to both these diseases and, as a whole, the animals would not perform as well as their crossbred parents. In reality, this is a much too simplified example. The diversity of the many genetic traits (some not even defined yet), along with the fact that higher animals have characteristics that are the result of a multitude of separate, unlinked genes, results in a very complex situation that is only recognized as a "better doing", crossbred animal. Following this scenario, you might think that the more alleles one can combine, perhaps by mixing more than two lines, the greater the heterosis. In fact this is true, to an extent. By using crossbred sows, (YorkLandrace, for example) mated to crossbred boars (Hamp-Duroc, for example), you can further increase the hybrid vigor of your market animals because these offspring result from the genetics of 4 unrelated lines. Additionally, hybrid vigor in the crossbred F1 parents can also be expressed as increased reproductive success when the two F1 parents are mated. However, to maintain this type of breeding system, a producer would have to purchase all breeding stock or generate them from herds separate from his or her production herd. That is, the producer would have to maintain 4 separate purebred herds to produce the parents to produce the market animals. For most producers, this is not practical and thus other crossbreeding "systems" are used. One of the most popular breeding systems is called rotational breeding. Gilts are selected from the market herd for replacement females and two or more breeds of boars are used in rotation. Thus only boars need be purchased or maintained as a separate line. As an example, a producer might initially start with Yorkshire gilts and mate these to a Duroc boar. The next set of gilts would be selected from the Duroc-York market animals and these gilts might be bred to a Hampshire boar. This would produce similar heterosis as with the Duroc-York cross. Gilts selected from the Hamp cross would be mated to a Duroc again (in a two-boar rotation). At this point, the gilts would share some genes with the Duroc sire since one of their grandparents was a Duroc (the gilts would be 1/4 Duroc, 1/4 York, and 1/2 Hamp). However, the loss of some heterosis may be justified by the reduced cost of not having to purchase gilts for each breeding cycle. Two, three, or more breeds of boars can be used in this scheme, although after all boar lines are used once, some heterosis will be lost at the next round of breeding. As mentioned above, crossbred boar lines can also be used to gain additional heterosis for the market animals and additional hybrid vigor will expressed not only in the terminal animal but also in as better mating and reproductive activity in the hybrid boar, thus additional production potential can be realized with hybrid boars. However, the more complex the ancestry of the breeders, the more difficult it becomes to map a breeding strategy. A producer must keep good

genealogical records and have a very strict rotational system that will maintain as much genetic distance between the parents as possible. Remember, to the extent that the parents share genes, that degree of heterosis is lost. It is much easier to plan a crossbreeding rotation than it is to follow one. As sows miss heat cycles, or are otherwise delayed in weaning or breeding, there is often a tendency to mate them along with the next set of sows or gilts. That might mean breeding to a different boar than was originally planned and thus an undesirable mating between closely related animals could occur. A terminal crossing system eliminates the possibility of losing heterosis from the mating of related animals. In this case a producer would purchase, or raise as separate lines, all breeding stock. This system has become more popular in recent years, especially as commercial companies have developed and marketed their own female lines. Some of these lines are "synthetic breeds" as discussed earlier, while others are crossbred animals derived from matings that combine the best mothering abilities and other traits. In this case, the producer would need only one boar line since all matings will be terminal, that is, none of the offspring will be saved for breeding purposes. A producer should never select gilts from the market herd in this system because without knowledge of the ancestry of the female line, he or she will have no idea how fast heterosis will be lost by mating the home-grown females to a particular boar line. Another caution, don't assume that just because a gilt or sow is all one color that she is more purebred than a multicolored animal. Color can be a poor indicator of actual ancestry. Since a white hair coat is generally dominant over other colors in swine, a white sow may be hiding the fact that she is half duroc, or hampshire etc. The heterosis of the market animals will suffer accordingly if she is mated to the wrong boar. In both of these systems, artificial insemination (A.I.) techniques could be used to produce breeding stock without maintaining separate purebred boar lines. An example of an AI crossbreeding system AI would be to use York sows mated with a purebred Duroc boar to produce market animals, and purchase semen from a high-powered Landrace sire to use with the same York sows to produce subsequent females for breedings with the Duroc (don't read this too fast or it will make your head spin). Semen from a different breed (Chester White or York again, if desired) can be used on this second set of females to produce the next round of gilts. In this case, the Duroc boar is used to produce market animals and A.I. is used to generate breeding females. The same female herd is used for both purposes. A.I systems not only eliminate the need to maintain several separate lines, but also allows the producer to incorporate proven, often exceptional genetics much more cheaply than with the outright purchase of expensive sires. The above example was in fact a program called Rotaterminal breeding system, and it is just as effective with natural mating. Rotaterminal systems are becoming more popular since they incorporate heterosis into the female line

while still maintaining only maternal bloodlines (white breeds) in the female breeding herd. In fact, the only system that beats a good rotaterminal system in terms of heterosis is a 4 breed terminal cross. This information is given in PIH-39 Table 3 and is well worth looking at. Also a good diagram of a rotaterminal system is given in PIH-106: Genetic Principles and Their Applications, page 6. These will be handed out in class To get an idea of how heterosis can improve performance and reproductive traits in swine, see PIH-39 Table 1. There you will also find an additional discussion of the various breeding systems used by swine producers. I will be discussing breeding systems again in the next couple of lectures.