which could be off because I wasn't real clear on the explanation when I asked the same question a few years ago...
F stands for "FILIAL" which basically means generation (like the generation X-ers).

Now, you get F1 babies when you breed two animals together.
You get F2's when you breed two of those F1 babies together.
You get F3's when you breed two of those F2 babies together.
So on and so forth. It's basically a connotation for line-bred animals.

Now, if you breed an F3 male to an unrelated female, you now have a new crop of F1's. Similarly, if you breed an F3 female to an unrelated male, you now have a new crop of F1's.

I asked what happens when you breed an F3 animal to one of their F4 progeny and I never really received a clear answer so I don't know the answer to that.

Hope this helps and above all, I hope this is right, lol!
jb



-----
Jonathan Brady
"Sarcasm is angers ugly cousin" -Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) in "Anger Management".

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