States with the most inbreeding

The Whittakers aka “America’s most inbred family” living in the town of Odd, West Virginia, gained international recognition when photographer Mark Laita photographed them for his 2008 book Created Equal. The family was once again brought back into the spotlight after Mark visited them in 2020 to record a documentary, which depicted the horrors of inbreeding and the poor conditions the surviving family members were living in. The videos quickly went viral, gaining more than 25 million views. Mark also spoke about the Whittaker family on the Konkrete Podcast. Inbreeding is held partially accountable for the family’s undiagnosed developmental issues. Among the members, Ray and his cousin Timmy communicate through faint grunts, whereas Ray's sibling Lorraine is unable to speak.It was noted in the interview that inbreeding was a common occurrence in that region of the United States. Effects of inbreeding among humans include heart disease, blindness, limb malformations, and moreChildren born from inbreeding are exposed to a higher risk of recessive genetic disorders. Inbred offspring also suffer from heart disease, lung function disorders, and reduced cognitive disabilities. They are also more prone to contracting other diseases.The most common physical signs of inbreeding in humans are reduced height, decreased cognitive abilities, and muscular function. Studies have confirmed that inbreeding can lead to an increase in several genetic disorders, such as loss of hearing, blindness, limb malformations, disorders in the development of private parts, neonatal diabetes, schizophrenia, speech disorders, facial asymmetry, and several others. Inbreeding also causes decreased fertility, birth rate, and immune functions. It also increases the chances of infant mortality.The Whittaker family's inbreeding started with first cousins marrying each other In Mark Laita’s 2020 documentary, details about the inbred family’s lineage became clearer. The family currently consists of three siblings named Timmy, Ray, and Lorraine. Reportedly, the family also

It can be a challenge for the small flock owner to get a different ram every year or two, especially if you have kept back some of the ewe lambs to grow your flock. In this situation, many folks consider the option of inbreeding their sheep. Is it okay to inbreed sheep or should inbreeding be strictly avoided in your flock?Inbreeding sheep can be used in a flock when the owner has sheep experience, high quality stock, a specific trait that is being selected for and the willingness to stick to a breeding goal for years. Inbreeding should not be used without planning and definitely not as a last minute option.Pros and Cons Of Inbreeding Sheep is my article that goes over the good parts and the not so good parts about using inbreeding as part of your flock’s breeding plan.What is inbreeding in sheep?Inbreeding in sheep is breeding two individuals that are more closely related to each other than they are related to most of the other sheep in the breed. This is commonly seen as father daughter, mother son, sibling and half sibling breeding. In all breeds of sheep, or any other livestock, there is some overlap of genetics, (the study sited below suggests between 2 to 5%), which is what makes the breed distinctive from other breeds. the mean inbreeding in purebred sheep populations has been estimated to generally range from 2 to 5 % is when your chosen mating would make the lambs have more overlapping genetics than the average sheep of their breed.An easy example of inbreeding is if you keep one ram for 5 years and keep back some of his daughters then breed him with those daughters, the resulting lambs are inbred (the ram is the sire and grandsire).You can inbreed sheepCan you inbreed sheep? Yes, you can, but the better questions to ask is should you? Inbreeding has some good points and some not so good points and is a management tool that must be used selectively and with purpose.There are many flocks where inbreeding is part of the breeding plan, this

Is generally for flocks that plan to keep back replacement stock (ram lambs or ewe lambs) rather than buy in replacements. We keep back both ewe lambs and ram lambs which will result in inbreeding to some extent, since the lambs all came from the same pool of parent stock. Granted, we run multiple rams and have a good number of ewes, but even so, there will be some inbreeding involved.These are some of our rams, most of which are born and raised from our flock, which means there is the possibility of inbreeding in the flock.Reasons to consider inbreeding sheepThere are a few times when you could consider planned inbreeding your sheep. Here are some of the instances that I can think of, you, as your flock’s manager, will have your own.Is It Okay To Inbreed Sheep? is my article that helps you decide if inbreeding is right for your flock’s breeding plan.Reasons to consider planned inbreeding:you have a few years experience with sheepyou like what you are seeing in your flockthere is a specific trait you want to increase in your flockyou have an all star ram lamb that is exactly what you are looking for in a breeding ramyou have some ewe lambs that are looking superlimited genetics available of your chosen breedYou have experience with sheepThe first requirement for intelligent use of inbreeding is experience with sheep. If you are new to sheep, to be blunt, you don’t have it. You need a few years to learn and develop your “eye”. Give yourself some time, hang out with folks who have more experience with sheep than you (and you like their sheep!) and it will come. I know it’s hard to wait, but you’ll be amazed at how much better you are at really seeing your sheep with just a few years experience. Wait a few years, then reconsider inbreeding as a management tool.You like what you are seeing in the flockYou are producing great lambs and the ewes are doing well for you, repeatedly. This means you have figured out your feeding plan and have