Genetics can often come across as being “too complicated” or scientific to be useful in an ordinary breeding program. After all, many breeders (of all animals, chickens, cattle, or otherwise) seem to select a few animals that work well together and always seem to be achieving better and better traits each year without caring about Punnett Squares and inheritance. And this is true. You don’t need to know how it works to be successful with your animals. I like to relate it this way: having a thorough understanding of genetics is like having a power tool on a construction site – you can build a barn without it, but having a drill makes the work go much faster.
Take the following scenario, for example. Kevin breeds Ameraucana chickens for show. He wants to make the best blue variety possible and decides that the best way to do that is to hatch 100 blue chicks and keep the best ones. Now, Kevin could breed the two best blue chickens he has and play the numbers game, getting about half of the chicks to be blue. Or, with a small understanding of how blue chicken genes work, he could breed his equally good black and splash birds together and get all blue chicks. Neither one is a wrong option per se, but knowing that he could get more blue chicks from his black and splash pairing makes the decision easier.
This is a very simple example, and plumage colors in chickens are only one small part of the picture. In reality, genetics impacts every single part of a breeding program, whether we know we are using it or not. When you create pairings, you are intentionally selecting for traits, to be passed down to the next generation, especially in production. Things like the docility, calving ease, and birth weight in cattle (2), egg production in chickens (3), weaning weight and survivability for lambs (4), conception rate and backfat thickness in pigs (5) are all heavily influenced by genetics. In fact, that’s what genetics is: it’s the study of how traits get passed down from one living thing to their offspring. (9) Nothing more, nothing less.
Not everything can be drawn out as easily with Punnett squares (called Mendelian Genetics when it follows simple patterns). That’s where the complicated bits can come in–some people spend their entire lives studying and working to map out exactly what protein and genes in a single chromosome of an oat plant affect nutrition (1). Genetics can be as simple or as in-depth and complex as you make it out to be, and the traits are highly dependent on the animals and what you want to get out of them.
Just keep in mind that even the most basic knowledge of genes can be used at very high levels and make a huge difference in future generations. Knowing how these traits interact, and how these can be passed down from one animal to the next allows you to create a faster, stronger, and more useful breeding program.
Coming soon: The next article will explain a bit about what genetics is, and more importantly, what genetics isn't.
About the Author:
Breanna Patz, more affectionately known as Bre, is the current ACBA president and member of both the APA and ABA. She was recognized on Coturnix Corner's Recommended List in both 2023 and 2024. She is a current WI District Livestock and Poultry Judge and has been working on industrial poultry research since 2024. Bre currently resides in Seymour, WI where she spends her days planning the next projects for Pips 'n Chicks, caring for and showing her animals, playing piano for the local churches, and working part-time for County Rescue.
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