[Jacob-list] Inbreeding--linebreeding--whatever you call it

[Linda]

I'm uncertain as to the exact management procedures in the Twigg flock - perhaps Mary Ellen could give some more information. I had a vague notion that the flock was pretty much
>" left to fend for
>itself" with rams and ewes being left together over several
>generations and "letting nature take its course" in lambing, etc."
over a 15 year period in a flock that started with 2 (or 3?) sheep and no additional animals.  Please correct on this, Mary Ellen, Katrina, Royal, anybody.

I think this makes this flock a fascinating study for many reasons.  It is a unique situation that I doubt is found very often.  Edd's flock was managed much the same, although without the high degree of inbreeding.

Linda



On Sat, 28 Dec 2002 08:21:34 EST, Hobsickle at aol.com wrote:
>No breeding can produce an animal which is more adapted to its
>specific environment than any other animal unless the environment
>itself is influencing the selection of parent individuals (remember
>"natural selection" in H.S. Biology?), or unless the shepherd is
>selecting parent individuals based on their ability to
>survive/thrive in their specific environment.  Since we do our best
>(I hope we all do) to ensure the survival of all of our lambs it is
>hard to image natural selection working here.  And, unless someone
>has an extreme and unique environmental factor at play, most (all?)
>of us breed for traits other than 'thriveability'.  The only
>circumstance in which inbreeding could play a role in adaptations to
>a specific environment is if the flock is totally left to "fend for
>itself" with rams and ewes being left together over several
>generations and "letting nature take its course" in lambing, etc.
>
>Inbreeding does tend to produce "pure strains" for random traits
>over time.  Therefore any link to any environment would be pure
>happenstance.
>
>Perhaps a sheep could develop an immunity, resistance, or tolerance
>to the strains of parasites of diseases in its environment, but this
>would be the result of exposure, not breeding.
>
>-Dan
>
>

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