The most commonly used breeding systems are:
(1) Inbreeding (2) Line breeding (3) Out breeding (4) Crossbreeding
INBREEDING - The simplest and most understandable definition of inbreeding is the mating of closely related individuals. Just how close this relationship should be before it is called inbreeding is debatable. The very closest inbreeding which can be practiced is continued brother and sister mating for successive generations. A lesser degree of inbreeding results from the mating of sire to daughter, down to son, or half-brother and half-sister.
In order to develop uniform
characteristics in game fowl, some degree of inbreeding is essential. Close
inbreeding makes the strain more uniform. However, in doing so, there is a
concentration of the undesirable genes as well as the desirable genes in the
inbreeding line; therefore, the effect on the fowl is frequently
disappointing. Less close inbreeding is more desirable as there is a better
opportunity to select individuals that do not have so many of the
LINEBREEDING – Line breeding is distinguished from inbreeding by the fact that a given individual appears more than once in the pedigree. It is practical in an attempt to gain some of the benefits of inbreeding, while avoiding some of the disadvantages. An example of this system is the mating of an ace cock to his daughter and again to his granddaughters. The strain is then said to be linebred to that particular cock. In later generations, the cocks and hens chosen are closely related to the original cock. Successful linebreeding depends on how carefully the original stock was selected for gameness, cutting, ability, and the other characteristics that go to make up a good game cock.
OUTBREEDING - Outbreeding is simply the mating of fowl that are very distantly related. This system is generally spoken of as adding ne blood. With gamefowl in which several desirable characteristics are well established, the adding of the new blood should be done with caution, if at all. Many good gamefowl have been ruined because of this practice. The breeder should introduce new blood in such a manner as not to involve the entire flock. Single mate the new blood, then test the offspring before undertaking to add new blood on a large scale. The addition of new blood has a tendency, as a rule, to increase the average performances of the individuals in the next generation. Thus, the breeder thinks he has made a big improvement. However, if the truth was known, he has lessened their chances of being able to carry their good characteristics to the next generation. If the outbreeding is done to produce pit cocks only, this type of breeding is alright. If this is practiced, none of the cocks or hens should be bred. In other words, eat the pullets and hens and fight the stags and cocks.