Breed

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Braunvieh, a dairy breed with high milk production and little milk fat Braunvieh am Simplonpass, Schweiz.jpg
Braunvieh, a dairy breed with high milk production and little milk fat

A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slightly deviating definitions. [2] Breeds are formed through genetic isolation and either natural adaptation to the environment or selective breeding, or a combination of the two. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry and agriculture, no single, scientifically accepted definition of the term exists. [3] :340 A breed is therefore not an objective or biologically verifiable classification but is instead a term of art amongst groups of breeders who share a consensus around what qualities make some members of a given species members of a nameable subset. [4]

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Another point of view is that a breed is consistent enough in type to be logically grouped together and when mated within the group produce the same type. [5] When bred together, individuals of the same breed pass on these predictable traits to their offspring, and this ability known as "breeding true" is a requirement for a breed. Plant breeds are more commonly known as cultivars. The offspring produced as a result of breeding animals of one breed with other animals of another breed are known as crossbreeds or mixed breeds. Crosses between animal or plant variants above the level of breed/cultivar (i.e. between species, subspecies, botanical variety, even different genera) are referred to as hybrids . [6]

Breeding: selection by breeders

Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig.jpg
USDA ARS Meishan pig-Cropped.jpg
Pig USDA01c0116.jpg
This example shows three different breeds of the domestic pig, which all vary widely in appearance.

The breeder (or group of breeders) who initially establishes a breed does so by selecting individual animals from within a gene pool that they see as having the necessary qualities needed to enhance the breed model they are aiming for. These animals are referred to as foundation stock. Furthermore, the breeder mates the most desirable representatives of the breed from his or her point of view, aiming to pass such characteristics to their progeny. This process is known as selective breeding. A written description of desirable and undesirable breed representatives is referred to as a breed standard.

Breed characteristics

Breed specific characteristics, also known as breed traits, are inherited, and purebred animals pass such traits from generation to generation. Thus, all specimens of the same breed carry several genetic characteristics of the original foundation animal(s). In order to maintain the breed, a breeder would select those animals with the most desirable traits to achieve further maintenance and developing of such traits. At the same time, the breed would avoid animals carrying characteristics undesirable or not typical for the breed, including faults or genetic defects. The population within the same breed should consist of a sufficient number of animals to maintain the breed within the specified parameters without the necessity of forced inbreeding.

Domestic animal breeds commonly differ from country to country, and from nation to nation. Breeds originating in a certain country are known as "native breeds" of that country.

Lists of breeds

Mammals

Insects

Birds

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Riding Horse</span> Ukrainian breed of warmblood sport horse

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamese Pot-bellied</span> Breed of pig

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brangus</span> Cattle breed

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset Horn</span> British breed of sheep

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Yorkshire</span> American breed of pig

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinder goat</span> American breed of goat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungarian Sport Horse</span> Breed of horse

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appenzell goat</span> Swiss breed of goat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asil chicken</span> Indian breed of chicken

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvi</span> Breed of cattle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finnish Ayrshire</span> Finnish breed of cattle

The Finnish Ayrshire is a Finnish breed of dairy cattle. It derives from Scottish Ayrshire stock imported to Finland between about 1847 and 1923. It is the most numerous dairy breed of the country, constituting approximately 61% of the dairy herd.

The Vištinės or Vishtines is a Lithuanian breed of domestic goose. It was developed by selective breeding of traditional Lithuanian geese, with some later influence from the East Prussian, Emden and Pomeranian breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onagadori</span> Japanese breed of chicken

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The Finarda is a breed of large domestic sheep from the regions of Lombardy and Piemonte in northern Italy. It is heavy breed raised mainly for meat, although it also yields 4–6 kg of wool per year. It results from cross-breeding the Bergamasca and Biellese breeds. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. However, in 2008 the herdbook was empty, and may in fact never have been activated. Most data for the breed dates from 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleue du Nord</span> Breed of cattle

The Bleue du Nord is a French breed of dual-purpose cattle from the former region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the north-east of the country, on the border with Belgium. It shares the origins of the Belgian Blue, but unlike that breed is selectively bred both for meat and for dairy use. The double-muscling characteristic of the Belgian Blue, caused by a genetic myostatin deficiency, is present also in the Bleue du Nord, but to a limited and controlled extent.

The Dutch Improved Red Pied, Dutch: Verbeterd Roodbont, is a recently-developed Dutch breed of beef cattle. It derives from the dual-purpose Meuse-Rhine-Issel breed, and is characterised by a high incidence of the double-muscling gene. A breed association was started in 1988.

References

  1. "Breeds: Brown Swiss". The Cattle Sit. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  2. Hall, S. J. G.; Bradley, D. G. (1995). "Conserving livestock breed biodiversity". Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 10 (7): 267–70. doi:10.1016/0169-5347(95)90005-5. PMID   21237034.
  3. Rischkowsky, Barbara; Pilling, Dafydd, eds. (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PDF). Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN   9789251057629 via FAO.org.
  4. Lush, Jay Laurence (1994). Chapman, A. B.; Shrode, Robert R.; Crow, James F. (eds.). The Genetics of Populations. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State College. p. 381. OCLC   31073249. Cited in: Rischkowsky & Pilling (2007), p. 340.
  5. Clutton-Brock, Juliet. 1987 A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals, Cambridge University Press and the Museum of Natural History, page 40.
  6. Banga, Surinder S. (1998). Hybrid Cultivar Development. Springer-Verlag. p. 119. ISBN   3540635238.

Further reading