SHORT LEGS MEAN LONG ODDS

.. Or why it's difficult to breed Scots Dumpys

 I CAN proudly announce that the first generation of Ridley-bred Scots Dumpys has hatched, but it has been a very long process punctuated with sadness and great difficulty.
Just a few days ago there was much excitement when my friend Morag called to say two of my Dumpys' eggs had reached the hatching stage and the occupants inside were busy chipping their way out ... she owns an incubator just in case some of you city slickers think country folk sit on eggs in their spare time!

ONE DAY OLD: But sadly only one 

is destined to survive

 Sadly one of the chicks, see the pair of fluffy bundles to the right, survived less than 24 hours after its mammoth struggle to get out of its shell; despite being under a heat lamp it wandered out of the warm zone with another chick and perished in the cold. Why these things happen is anyone's guess. May be it was Nature's way of saying this little one was never going to be strong enough to survive.

 Either way the news came as a blow and yet another reminder of how life and death are regular visitors on my farm.
 The reason why Scots Dumpys are incredibly difficult to breed and why the odds are pretty much stacked against them in the game of life, is that some carry a lethal gene.

 When I first encountered the Scots Dumpy, an endangered species 

of hen with a history dating beyond Roman times, and decided to rear them I had to have a quick lesson in genetics.

 The best of breed possess certain qualities including short legs and a boat like shape which makes them waddle as they walk and the most common colours are black and cuckoo but there are some white out there and I'm told a new reddish brown bird is about to make its appearance soon once it has been officially recognised by The Scots Dumpy Club (http://www.scotsdumpyclub.org.uk/breed/) of which I am a member.

 The very genes associated with desirable traits in the breed, such as the short legs, are actually caused by mutations of normal genes. In the wild many of these birds would have perished as they are often easier targets for predators.

NAPOLEON: Is he the father of the new chick - only

time will tell when its feathers come through

 Anyway, here's the science bit. The genes occur in pairs - one received from the bird's mother and one from its father - and if the dominant genes are associated with short legs, for instance, then the chick will have short legs.  However, these dominant mutant genes that give short legs in Scots Dumpy are also associated with problems during incubation and as such chicks with two copies of these genes might never hatch.

 The presence of the Scots Dumpys' lethal genes means your hatch rate is automatically reduced by 25% before you even start to breed. It seems the odds were even higher against mine ... for instance, I gave Morag 15 eggs and only two reached the hatching stage and then, sadly, only one survived more than 24 hours. I've now given her another batch of eggs and we're hoping for a better success rate. I am hoping to acquire an incubator soon so I will be able to incubate the eggs myself and I will write on the subject of incubation in more detail in the coming weeks.
 In the meantime I will give regular progress reports and updated snippets on the first 'Ridley' Scots Dumpy. With a bit of luck I should take possession of him or her in three months time. At the moment it's far too soon to know the hen's sex let alone its colouring or the length of its legs.