Weasle Queen <[log in to unmask]>  wrote on 8/1/2005, 2:15 AM:
>Why are there ferret breeders out there that insist on "LINE BREEDING"
>as this is another word for "IN-BREEDING"?
 
Actually, as I understand it, there is a big difference between
inbreeding and line breeding.  Line breeding is the careful process
of breeding related animals to produce a better offspring several
generations down the line.  Done correctly, it is also very successful
at improving the species.  Inbreeding is the indiscriminate mating of 2
related animals, and often produces genetically inferior offspring.
 
I personally do not encourage line breeding, though, because to do it
successfully, you need to understand genetics and the genetic make-up of
your breeding stock.  I suspect not many people who are breeding have a
handle on either of these things.
 
Most of your dog and cat breeds are the result of careful line breeding.
Animals with the desired traits are mated with closely related animals
with the same traits.  Once undesired traits are removed from the gene
pool, then unrelated animals with the same traits are brought into the
breeding program.  Without line breeding, we would have very few pure
bred dogs.
 
The problems we see today in some dog breeds are not from line breeding,
but from inbreeding.  Sometimes, inbreeding occurs because people who
don't understand genetics attempt to line breed, and do it incorrectly.
 
The policy of breeding totally unrelated animals will not always produce
the healthiest offspring.  If both parents carry a bad recessive gene,
then the offspring will likely not be healthy, even though the parents
were totally unrelated.  Without genetic testing, the only way to know
the genetic make-up of your breeding stock is to line breed, and cull
the offspring that display bad genes.  In this case, cull does not have
to mean destroy - just remove them from the breeding colony.
 
The best way to produce healthy offspring is to breed only those animals
that are the healthiest, and have the best temperaments.  This means not
breeding for special colors and patterns which may be associated with
things like neural crest disorders.
 
While I don't encourage line breeding, I consider breeding for specialty
markings far worse, and more harmful in the long run.
--
Danee
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
You can help fight ADV! Visit:
http://help4adv.terrabox.com/
[Posted in FML issue 4957]