CHARACTER INHERITANCE

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 53, 25 November 1922, Page 20

CHARACTER INHERITANCE

Will the daughter of a high producing animal be as good as her mother? Such a question often faces the breeder and is perplexing because each of the parents must have some influence on the progeny. This study of character of offspring comprises many features, which are not only in-' tere sting, but instructive to the breeder. _ There is but little definite information on the subject, and improvement, even by the most, careful selection and attention to the law’s of heredity, cannot be made in leaps and bounds, except in instances where the animals are very poor to start with. It is useful, howgver, to know the little that has been discovered on the subject in order to progress in the right direction. Inheritance in Poultry. Investigation has probably been carried farther in regard to poultry than in other classes of farm stock. High egg production and low egg. production are separate characters which may be transmitted separately from the parent to the chick. Most birds pos. sess the low egg-producing character, for the high egg-producing character is a difficult one to breed. It has been found that the malq bird the character i for high egg production to the female offspring and that the hen has the power of giving the same character to the male offspring only. From this information, the necessity of using a male bird of a good laying strain is apparent. If a male bird | that does not possess the high-laying character is used, there is apparently no chance at all of getting high producing hens. Even if- the hens that raised the flock were all high layers, their offspring still would be only mediocre layers because the mother bird f cannot transmit the character of high ■ egg production to them. Ou the other hand, if a good male bird could be secured and used with even mediocre hens, the product. of the mating would be high laying females. True as this may he, the great difficulty remains of getting a good male bird. This is the greatest task of any poultryman and also the greatest hope. A rooster with the high egg-laying character cannot be recognised by appearance. He is not only most difficult to produce, but there is no way of determining whether he can ' ■ transmit the high egg-laying charac- ; ter except by studying the records of ! his matured daughters. Under ordinary conditions, the rooster baa been consigned to the boiling pot before that record is established. '