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If the breeding is for a purebred animal that will be used for exhibition or future breeding (pets or livestock), the animal must be registered and conform to the criteria laid out for that breed in a breed standard kept by a central authority, such as a kennel club for dogs. In addition, the breed club, kennel club, or other governing ...
Artificial breeding via artificial insemination or embryo transfer is often used in sheep and cattle breeding to quickly expand, or improve purebred herds. Embryo transfer techniques allow top quality female livestock to have a greater influence on the genetic advancement of a herd or flock in much the same way that artificial insemination has ...
Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated as calves and are used as oxen or slaughtered for meat before the age of three years. Thus, in a pastured herd, any calves or herd bulls usually are clearly distinguishable from the cows due to distinctively different sizes and clear anatomical differences.
Breeding stock is a group of animals used for the purpose of planned breeding. When individuals are looking to breed animals, they look for certain valuable traits in purebred animals, or may intend to use some type of crossbreeding to produce a new type of stock with different, and presumably superior abilities in a given area of endeavor. For ...
Animal breeding as an ancient human occupation, can be traced back to domestication and dates back to at least 14 thousand yrs ago. The modern processes of purebred breeding evolved between the late 18th century and the late 20th century, influenced significantly by advancements and increased understanding of genetics and eugenics.
A breeder can breed purebred pets such as cats or dogs, livestock such as cattle or horses, and may show their animals professionally in assorted forms of competitions. In these specific instances, the breeder strives to meet standards in each animal set out by organizations. A breeder may also assist with breeding animals in the zoo.
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though the term "mixed breed" is technically more accurate.
The coefficient of inbreeding (COI) is a number measuring how inbred an individual is. Specifically, it is the probability that two alleles at any locus in an individual are identical by descent from a common ancestor of the two parents.