Help with some terminology

[Bunnylady]

Terminal crosses are done strictly for production purposes. The broiler chickens are a perfect example - each of the strains used to produce them have positive features that they contribute, crossing them in that way yields a uniformly good bird with the "hybrid vigor" to grow rapidly to slaughter weight with a minimum of issues. That is the goal, anyway - most people that are familiar with broiler chickens will tell you that they don't usually survive to adulthood, because their bones simply can't support such big bodies, and some young birds gain mass faster than they gain the structure to support it, too.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

Well said Bunnylady.

I will add that for animals that are terminal crosses, defects, particularly things you would absolutely not want in breeding animals don't really matter since the animal will be eaten. Parentage (inbreeding) doesn't matter, as long as the animals are sound and grow well, all is good. Pedigrees and color issues of course make no difference and temperament may not even matter much for terminals since their time is usually strictly limited.