Unit4 - Subjective Questions

Indian cattle breeds (Bos indicus) are generally classified into three main categories based on their utility:

1. Milch Breeds (Dairy Breeds):

• These animals are high milk producers, but the males are poor workers.
• Examples:
  • Sahiwal: Originated in the Montgomery district (Pakistan). High milk yield with high fat content.
  • Red Sindhi: Red color, compact body, originated in Karachi.
  • Gir: Known for its convex forehead and pendulous ears, native to Gujarat.

2. Draught Breeds:

• The males are excellent for draft purposes (ploughing, carting), but the females are poor milkers.
• Examples:
  • Hallikar: Native to Karnataka, known for backward-curving horns.
  • Amritmahal: Famous for endurance and speed.
  • Kangayam: Native to Tamil Nadu, known for strength.

3. Dual Purpose Breeds:

• These breeds are intermediate; females are fair milkers, and males are good for work.
• Examples:
  • Haryana: Native to Rohtak/Hisar, white/grey color.
  • Ongole: Native to Andhra Pradesh, large muscular body.

The differences between Bos indicus (Indian/Zebu) and Bos taurus (Exotic/European) are as follows:

The Murrah buffalo is the most important breed of water buffalo in India, often referred to as the "Black Gold" of India.

Origin:

• Native to the Rohtak, Hisar, and Jind districts of Haryana, and the Nabha and Patiala districts of Punjab.

Physical Characteristics:

• Color: Jet black.
• Body: Massive, compact, and deep body.
• Horns: The most distinguishing feature is the short, tightly curled horns that spiral upwards and inwards.
• Udder: Well-developed with prominent veins.
• Tail: Long, reaching the fetlock joint, often with a white switch (though black is preferred).

Production Performance:

• It is considered the premier milking breed.
• Average Lactation Yield: 1800 to 2500 kg per lactation.
• Milk Fat: High fat content, usually ranging from 7% to 8%.
• Age at First Calving: Approximately 40–50 months.

Buffaloes are broadly classified into Riverine and Swamp types.

1. Riverine Buffalo:

• Scientific Name: Bubalus bubalis.
• Chromosomes: .
• Habitat: Prefer clean water (rivers, ponds) for wallowing.
• Purpose: Primarily reared for milk production.
• Distribution: India, Pakistan, Middle East.
• Examples: Murrah, Surti, Jaffrabadi.

2. Swamp Buffalo:

• Scientific Name: Bubalus carabanesis.
• Chromosomes: .
• Habitat: Prefer muddy water or marshy lands (swamps).
• Purpose: Primarily reared for draught work (paddy fields) and meat; very low milk yield.
• Distribution: Southeast Asia (Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam).
• Characteristics: Usually have large sweeping horns and are lighter in weight compared to riverine breeds.

1. Holstein Friesian (HF):

• Origin: Holland (Netherlands).
• Color: Distinctive black and white markings (piebald).
• Size: Largest among the dairy breeds; heavy body.
• Milk Production: Highest milk producer in the world.
• Fat Content: Lowest fat content among dairy breeds (approx. 3.5%).
• Adaptability: Less heat tolerant compared to Jerseys.

2. Jersey:

• Origin: Island of Jersey (English Channel).
• Color: Ranges from light fawn to dark reddish-fawn, often with a black muzzle.
• Size: Smallest of the major dairy breeds.
• Milk Production: Moderate yield compared to HF.
• Fat Content: Highest fat percentage (approx. 5.0% to 5.5%) and yellow-colored fat due to carotene.
• Adaptability: Better heat tolerance and grazing ability than HF; widely used in crossbreeding programs in India.

Indian sheep breeds are categorized based on the agro-climatic regions they inhabit and their primary utility (wool vs. mutton).

1. North-Western Region (Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat):

• Characteristics: Animals are hardy; produce carpet-quality wool.
• Lohi: Good quality mutton and carpet wool; largest body size among Indian breeds.
• Magra: Native to Bikaner; produces lustrous carpet wool (best for carpets).
• Chokla: Known as the "Merino of Rajasthan" due to finer wool quality.

2. Southern Region (Deccan Plateau):

• Characteristics: Primarily reared for meat (mutton); wool is coarse or hairy.
• Nellore: Tallest sheep breed in India; resembles a goat; distinct wattles; excellent mutton.
• Mandya: Compact body; superior mutton quality (marbling); native to Karnataka.
• Madras Red: Meat breed; hairy coat.

3. Eastern Region:

• Garole: Native to Sundarbans (West Bengal); known for prolificacy (multiple births) and resistance to foot rot.

4. Northern Temperate Region (Himalayas):

• Gaddi: Used for apparel wool and pack animals in hilly terrain.

(a) Jamunapari:

• Origin: Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh (India).
• Appearance: It is the largest and most majestic Indian goat breed. It has a convex face line (Roman nose) and very long, pendulous ears (approx. 12 inches).
• Legs: They have long hair on the hind legs, known as "feathers."
• Utility: It is a dual-purpose breed (milk and meat). It is a good milker among Indian breeds.

(b) Boer:

• Origin: South Africa.
• Appearance: Massive body with a white body and a red/brown head and neck. Drooping ears.
• Utility: It is considered the best meat breed in the world.
• Growth: Very fast growth rate and high feed conversion efficiency. It is widely used for crossbreeding to improve meat production.

Poultry breeds are standardized and classified into four major classes based on their geographical origin:

1. American Class:

• Characteristics: Clean yellow shanks, red earlobes, mostly dual-purpose (meat and egg), lay brown-shelled eggs.
• Examples: Rhode Island Red (RIR), Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Wyandotte.

2. Mediterranean Class:

• Characteristics: Light body weight, white earlobes, large combs, active foragers, early maturity. Primarily kept for egg production (layers).
• Examples: White Leghorn (best layer), Minorca, Ancona.

3. English Class:

• Characteristics: Massive body, white skin/shanks, red earlobes. Primarily meat type.
• Examples: Cornish (basis for broiler industry), Sussex, Australorp, Orpington.

4. Asiatic Class:

• Characteristics: Large heavy bodies, feathered shanks, red earlobes. Slow maturity.
• Examples: Brahma, Cochin, Langshan.

White Leghorn:

• Class: Mediterranean Class.
• Origin: Italy (port of Leghorn).
• Purpose: It is the most popular and efficient egg-laying breed in the world.
• Appearance:
  • Small, compact, and active body.
  • Plumage is pure white.
  • Earlobes are white.
  • Shanks and beak are yellow.
  • Combs are single and large (erect in males, drooping to one side in females).
• Performance:
  • Lays white-shelled eggs.
  • Non-broody (does not sit on eggs to hatch them, allowing for continuous laying).
  • High feed efficiency for egg production.
  • Used extensively in commercial layer farming.

Grading Up is a breeding system used to improve the genetic makeup of non-descript or indigenous animals.

Process:

• It involves mating non-descript (local/low-producing) females with purebred superior sires (usually exotic breeds like Holstein or Jersey) generation after generation.
• The offspring of the first generation () will have 50% inheritance from the purebred sire.
• These females are again mated with purebred sires of the same breed.

Genetic Progression:

• Generation: Purebred blood.
• Generation: Purebred blood.
• Generation: Purebred blood.
• By the or generation, the graded animals will resemble the purebred stock almost entirely ().

Advantages:

• Cost-effective way to convert a low-producing local herd into a high-producing herd.
• Does not require purchasing expensive purebred females initially.

Definition:
Artificial Insemination (AI) is the technique of collecting semen from a superior male, processing/storing it, and introducing it into the reproductive tract of a female during heat using instruments.

Advantages:

1. Maximum use of superior males: A single bull can sire thousands of calves (via frozen semen) compared to only 50-60 per year via natural service.
2. Disease Control: Prevents the spread of venereal (sexually transmitted) diseases.
3. Cost: Eliminates the need/cost for every farmer to maintain a breeding bull.
4. Transport: Semen can be transported globally, allowing access to elite genetics.
5. Disabled Bulls: Semen can be collected from bulls that are genetically superior but physically injured.

Disadvantages:

1. Skill Required: Requires trained technicians and knowledge of female anatomy.
2. Heat Detection: Success depends strictly on accurate heat detection by the farmer.
3. Equipment: Requires special equipment for storage (Liquid Nitrogen at ).
4. Lower Conception Rate: If not done correctly, conception rates can be lower than natural service.

Inbreeding:

• Definition: Mating of closely related individuals (e.g., sire to daughter, brother to sister) for 4-6 generations.
• Genetic Effect: Increases Homozygosity (purity of gene pairs).
• Purpose: To develop pure lines and fix desirable characters.
• Drawback: Can lead to "Inbreeding Depression" (reduced fertility, vigor, and size) and expression of lethal recessive genes.

Outbreeding:

• Definition: Mating of unrelated animals. This includes crossbreeding (different breeds) or outcrossing (unrelated animals of same breed).
• Genetic Effect: Increases Heterozygosity.
• Purpose: To introduce new genes and achieve Hybrid Vigor (Heterosis).
• Advantage: Offspring usually perform better than the average of parents in traits like growth, survival, and production.

Swine breeds are generally classified into indigenous and exotic types.

1. Exotic Breeds (Used for commercial farming):

• Large White Yorkshire:
  • Origin: UK.
  • Color: White.
  • Ears: Erect.
  • Characteristics: Excellent bacon producer, prolific breeder, widely used in India for crossbreeding.
• Landrace:
  • Origin: Denmark.
  • Color: White.
  • Ears: Long and drooping (covering eyes).
  • Characteristics: High quality bacon, long body.
• Middle White Yorkshire:
  • Used for pork production; more compact than Large White.
• Duroc:
  • Origin: USA.
  • Color: Red/Golden.
  • Characteristics: Excellent growth rate.

2. Indigenous Breeds:

• Generally small, black or grey, hairy, and have a pot belly. Examples involve local descript types like the Ghungroo (West Bengal) which is known for high litter size.

Definition:
Heterosis or Hybrid Vigor is the phenomenon where the offspring (crossbreds) exhibit superior performance (in terms of growth, survival, fertility, or production) compared to the average performance of their parents.

Utilization in Poultry Improvement:

1. Commercial Broilers: Breeding companies cross specific male lines (e.g., Cornish for meat shape) with female lines (e.g., Plymouth Rock for egg production/growth) to produce commercial broilers that grow very fast.
2. Commercial Layers: Strains of White Leghorns are crossed to produce hybrids that lay more eggs, have better disease resistance, and lower mortality than pure lines.
3. Disease Resistance: Heterosis often confers better immune systems, reducing antibiotic use.

Khaki Campbell:

• Origin: England.
• Type: Egg-laying breed.
• Appearance:
  • The plumage color is khaki (brownish).
  • Males usually have a darker head/neck with a greenish-bronze distinct hue compared to females.
• Utility:
  • They are prolific layers, often laying 300 eggs per year.
  • They are excellent foragers, making them suitable for free-range systems in rural backyards.
  • They do not have a strong brooding instinct (rarely sit on eggs), so incubation is usually artificial or done by brooding hens.
• Adaptability: Well-adapted to Indian agro-climatic conditions.

Merino Sheep:

• Origin: Spain (though extensively developed in Australia).
• Purpose: Fine Wool production.
• Characteristics:
  • White face and legs.
  • Males have spiral horns; females are polled (hornless).
  • Skin is loose and forms folds (wrinkles) around the neck and body, increasing surface area for wool growth.
  • Wool is extremely fine, soft, and dense.
• Contribution:
  • Merino produces the finest wool in the world.
  • It has been used globally to crossbreed with local coarse-wool sheep to improve wool quality (e.g., crossing Merino rams with indigenous Indian sheep like Chokla or Nali to improve apparel wool production).

1. Selection:

• Definition: Selection is the process of choosing the best individuals from a population to be the parents of the next generation.
• Goal: To increase the frequency of desirable genes in the herd.
• Basis: It can be based on individual performance (phenotype), pedigree (ancestors), or progeny testing (offspring performance).

2. Culling:

• Definition: Culling is the removal of uneconomic, unproductive, sick, or undesirable animals from the herd.
• Reasons for Culling: Low milk yield, reproductive problems (sterility), old age, contagious diseases, or poor physical conformation.
• Impact: Culling prevents the wastage of feed and management resources on non-profitable animals, thereby raising the average productivity of the herd.

Here is the terminology for different livestock species:

Rhode Island Red (RIR):

• Class: American Class.
• Origin: Rhode Island, USA.
• Purpose: It is a dual-purpose breed (good for both meat and eggs).
• Appearance:
  • Body is long and rectangular (brick shape).
  • Plumage color is deep brownish-red.
  • Earlobes are red.
  • Shanks and skin are yellow.
• Performance:
  • Lays brown-shelled eggs.
  • Hardy bird, capable of surviving well in marginal diets and poor housing conditions.
  • Extensively used in backyard poultry farming and for developing hybrid layers.