"50% het." means that the animal has a 50% chance of being a het. Pairing two 50% hets. together could be difficult to track since we can't determine beforehand if either of the parents actually carries the desired gene.

The first breeding would hopefully create a visual (phenotypic) animal. This would mean that both adults are actually 100% hets. and you have hit the jackpot.

Let's assume one of the adults does carry the desired gene, but we purchased both animals as 50% hets and so we don't know whether either adult has the gene.

The first pairing would not produce any visuals (since only one parent has the gene - remember at this point we don't know which one - we really don't even know if either does).

Let's say there were 4 eggs in this clutch with 2 males and 2 females. You would hold back the entire first clutch and raise them up to adulthood (males and females).

The females would be bred back to their father. If either of the resulting clutches hatches a visual you will know that the father and his daughter (that he bred with) would both be 100% hets. In this case, EVERY animal he sired would be 50% hets (they would have a possibility of carrying the desired gene, but it's not guaranteed).

Going back to the original two male hatchlings and their mother: Both males would be bred to the mother - which would result in one clutch. If any of the hatchlings are visuals from this breeding you would have to breed the original mother back to her sons again (separate years/clutches this time) to determine which one is actually a het.

50% hets. are a great low cost way to produce an animal you may not be able to otherwise afford. However, it can be a long drawn out process and you have to be prepared to care for a large number of animals to determine if your original sire and dam are actually hets. The initial cost of a pair of 100% hets is more, but in the long run they will cost less in terms of time, energy and money.

The best way to approach a 100% het purchase if the cost is an issue is to purchase the female and raise her for 2-3 years. By this time the female will almost be ready to breed and you should be able to pick up a 100% het male for next to nothing, or possibly an actual visual homozygous male for the same price as you paid for your het female.

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