Coffee and plenty of it.
As I sip my cuppa, I think about the coming lambs and remember back to my early shepherding days when breeding stock was a new challenge.
With Finnsheep being small in number in the USA, getting unrelated breeding stock to develop separate bloodlines isn't easy, and the importation of semen from Finland was prohibited.
Initially I was adamant that my breeding animals be unrelated but quickly I learned that within five generations almost all of the animals are related, with few exceptions.
Due to the efforts of a few Finnsheep breeders with decades of experience, there are a few lines that are completely unrelated but not many.
So I began to get familiar with terms like: inbreeding, crossbreeding, line breeding and out breeding.
Also the term " closed flock. "
Once I determined that I had the number of animals I wanted, I decided to close the flock, meaning no new animals from different sources would be allowed. This minimizes the potential for disease and gives me less to worry about.
But, what can come of it eventually, is that your stock becomes more and more closely related until such time as you do decide to open the flock and bring in new blood. Then it is time to quarantine the new animal until you can be assured it poses no threat to the established flock.
In the meanwhile, various breeding's result in bloodlines with common characteristics among the related animals and these can be good or bad or both.
In the animals with a number of very strong traits, a desire to preserve and perpetuate those traits leads a shepherd to begin considering line breeding, or a deliberate pairing of animals with common ancestors, in the hope of enhancing the existing traits or at a minimum passing good traits on to more progeny.
Unfortunately, this can also result in enhancing of negative traits as well.
Understanding this, and having a willingness to deal with the negatives through culling, leaving only the stronger and better animals, is the intention of line breeding.
Under these circumstances it is desirable to breed related animals, and not such a scary proposition as I once believed.
In the end, what you intend to do with your flock, is what determines whether line breeding is a choice or not.
Lambs destined for the meat market are terminal early on in their lives so negative characteristics aren't going to be passed on. Line breeding isn't a problem there.
Breeding stock, especially that to be sold to other shepherds, needs to be top quality so culling of less than superior animals is a must.
If pets and fiber animals with a fleece worthy enough to keep, then some negative traits aren't an issue as long as the negative animal isn't used for breeding or exhibits traits known to impact the animals quality of life.
This info isn't intended to be a guide or tutorial, simply food for thought and one of the issues I've learned about as my shepherding experience has unfolded over time.
I'd encourage anyone who is interested to educate themselves on line breeding.
This is an interesting explanation
:
http://www.critterhaven.biz/info/articles/1_ram.htm
Regards,
Kathryn
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