Showing posts with label zoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zoo. Show all posts
peacock & Hen - Farm in the city
peacock |
peacock |
white Hen |
White Hen |
Peafowl are two Asiatic and one African species of flying bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail covert feathers, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female peafowl is grey and/or brown. Peachicks can be between yellow and a tawny colour with darker brown patches or light tan and ivory, also referred to as "dirty white". The term also includes the Congo peafowl, which is placed in a separate genus Afropavo.
In common with other members of the Galliformes, males possess metatarsal spurs or "thorns" used primarily during intraspecific fights.
White peacocks are not albinos; they have a genetic mutation that is known as leucism, which causes the lack of pigments in the plumage. Albino mammals and birds have a complete lack of color and red or pink eyes while White peafowl have blue eyes. The white color appears in other domestically bred peafowl but in different quantities. Chicks are born yellow and become white as they mature. Indian peafowl of all colors, including white, have pink skin.
Serama - Farm In the City
Serama |
Serama |
Serama |
Serama |
Serema originate in the Malaysian state of Kelantan, apparently through the crossing of Japanese and Malaysian bantams. Other stories of the birds derived from a gift of some small chickens by the King of Thailand to a local sultan in ancient times. Small chickens have always been popular pets in this area and are often referred to as "ayam katik" (pygmy chickens) and "ayam cantik" (pretty chickens).
The modern breed is attributed to the efforts of Wee Yean Een from Kelantan, who named the breed "Serama" after Rama, the title of the Kings of Thailand. The breed was first exhibited in 1990. The breed was hit hard by the Asian bird flu epidemic in 2004 when many birds were culled amid government concerns.
There are no written standards for the breed in its native country. However, they do now have an overall guide on scoring and judging for competitions in Malaysia. Many breeders have a style or type that they breed to, but often breeders keep several "styles". These styles are often names given by breeders to describe a blood line of a champion (e.g. Husin, Mat Awang), but may also be more general shape, characteristics or behaviour (e.g. slim, submarine, and dragon). Hence there is quite a lot of diversity in Malaysia, but an overall theme of a small brave chicken with a persona of fearless warrior or toy soldier. The shape, behaviour, temperament and size of the bird are the most important characteristics. They compete against each other in open table top competitions (often described as "beauty contests") and scored by several judges. The prize for the winning birds can be quite a bit of money
guinea-pigs - Farm In The City
guinea-pigs |
guinea-pigs |
guinea-pigs |
The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea. They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggested they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as Cavia aperea, C. fulgida, or C. tschudii and, therefore, do not exist naturally in the wild. Recent studies applying molecular markers, in addition to studying the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, revealed that the ancestor is most likely Cavia tschudii.
The guinea pig plays an important role in the folk culture of many Indigenous South American groups, especially as a food source, but also in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. Since the 1960s, efforts have been made to increase consumption of the animal outside South America.
In Western societies, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a household pet since its introduction by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature and responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make the guinea pig a popular pet. Organizations devoted to competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide, and many specialized breeds of guinea pig, with varying coat colors and compositions, are cultivated by breeders.
Biological experimentation on guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were frequently used as model organisms in the 19th and 20th centuries, resulting in the epithet "guinea pig" for a test subject, but have since been largely replaced by other rodents such as mice and rats. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications
Boer Goat - Farm In The City
Boer Goat - Farm In The City |
Boer Goat - Farm In The City |
Boer Goat - Farm In The City |
Boer Goat - Farm In The City |
The Boer goat is a breed of goat that was developed in South Africa in the early 1900s for meat production. Their name is derived from the Afrikaans word "boer", meaning farmer.
The Boer goat was probably bred from the indigenous goats (they originated from South Africa) of the Namaqua Bushmen and the Fooku tribes, with some crossing of Indian and European bloodlines being possible. They were selected for meat rather than milk production; due to selective breeding and improvement, the Boer goat has a fast growth rate and excellent carcass qualities, making it one of the most popular breeds of meat goat in the world. Boer goats have a high resistance to disease and adapt well to hot, dry semi deserts. United States production is centered in west-central Texas, particularly in and around San Angelo and Menard. The original US breeding stock came from herds located in New Zealand. Only later were they imported directly from South Africa.
Boer goats commonly have white bodies and distinctive brown heads. Some Boer goats can be completely brown or white. Like the Nubian goat, they possess long, pendulous ears. They are noted for being docile, fast-growing, and having high fertility rates. Does are reported to have superior mothering skills as compared to other goats. Mature Boer bucks weigh 110–135 kg (240-300 lb), and mature does weigh 90–100 kg (200-220 lb).
The most critical part of any meat goat operation is the selection of a herd sire (breeding buck).[citation needed] A high-quality buck can produce high-quality offspring even when mated with an average doe. Boer goats tend to gain weight at about the same rate as their sire, so a buck from a proven fast-growing bloodline will command the highest price, as its offspring will tend to also be fast growers. The primary market for slaughter goats is a 22–36 kg (50-80 lb) kid; kids should reach marketable size at weaning age. The kid of a proven fast-growing sire might weigh 36 kg (80 lb) at 90 days, while the kid of a poor-quality sire might weigh only 15 kg (35 lb) at 90 days. An average-quality buck will initially be less expensive to purchase; however, it can significantly undermine an operation's long-term profitability.
Does used to breed show-quality goats are normally very large, as show goats are expected to be of large stature. For commercial meat production, medium-sized nannies are normally preferred, as they produce the same number of kids, but require less feed to do so. As a general rule, the more kids born per doe, the greater profit margins for the owner. Boer goats are polyestrous (they can breed throughout the year), and they reach sexual maturity at five months of age. A typical breeding program is to produce three kid crops every two years, meaning the does are pregnant for five months, nurse their kids for three months, and then are rebred. Multiple births are common, and a 200% kid crop is achievable in managed herds. Usually, first-time does will have one kid, but it is possible for them to have more. After that, they will usually have two kids every further proceedings.
While purebred bucks are usually preferred for breeding purposes, it is common to use crossbred does for kid production, with the resulting offspring being 7/8 or more Boer. Common crosses are Boer x Spanish goat, Boer x Angora goat, Boer x Kiko goat, and Boer x Nubian goat, Boer x Sirohi, Boer x Osmanabadi, and Boer x Jamnapari.
Percentage Boer goats are very common in commercial meat herds, and with those just starting out in the Boer goat business due to ease of acquisition and affordability. Over time, percentage animals can be bred up to American purebred status. An American purebred is a Boer goat of 15/16ths Boer blood (F4) for does and 31/32nds blood (F5) for Boer bucks. Bucks must be one generation of Boer breeding higher than does to achieve this status because they have the potential to spread their genetic pool much further than any single doe; a higher level of Boer blood lessens the chances of other breed qualities in the offspring. Although American purebreds can never be registered as Fullblood (FB), many breeders will still use a good American purebred buck with excellent results.
Many producers still prefer purebred or fullblood bucks and does, and intentional crossbreeding is far from universal.
Note: The 'F' designation is the commonly used shorthand for indicating the percentage of pure blood (Boer in this case) resulting from crossbreeding of a Pureblood boer buck with does of other breeds:
F1 : 1/2 boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, other breed doe)
F2 : 3/4 boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F1 doe)
F3 : 7/8 boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F2 doe)
F4 : 15/16 boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F3 doe)
F5 : 31/32 boer blood (Pureblood buck sire, F4 doe)
Deer - Farm In The City
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer - Farm In The City |
Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the family include white-tailed deer, mule deer such as black-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer (caribou), fallow deer, roe deer, pudú and chital. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope, which are in the same order as deer and may bear a superficial resemblance. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families: Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively.
The word "deer" was originally broader in meaning, but became more specific over time. In Middle English, der (Old English dēor) meant a wild animal of any kind. This was as opposed to cattle, which then meant any sort of domestic livestock that was easy to collect and remove from the land, from the idea of personal-property ownership (rather than real estate property) and related to modern chattel (property) and capital. Cognates of Old English dēor in other dead Germanic languages have the general sense of "animal", such as Old High German tior, Old Norse djur or dȳr, Gothic dius, Old Saxon dier, and Old Frisian diar.
This general sense gave way to the modern English sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. However, all modern Germanic languages save English and Scots retain the more general sense: for example, German Tier, Alemannic Diere or Tiere, Pennsylvania Dutch Gedier, Dutch dier, Afrikaans dier, Limburgish diere, Norwegian dyr, Swedish djur, Danish dyr, Icelandic dýr, Faroese dýr, West Frisian dier, and North Frisian diarten, all of which mean "animal". (However, contrary to south European languages, Dama in Latin and daim in French mean "fallow deer" only).
For most types of deer in modern English usage, the male is called a "buck" and the female is termed a "doe", but the terms vary with dialect, and especially according to the size of the species. For many larger deer, the male is termed a "stag", while for other larger deer the same words are used as for cattle: "bull" and "cow". The male red deer is a "hart", especially if more than five years old, and the female is a "hind", especially if three or more years old; both terms can also be used for any species of deer, and were widely so used in the past. Terms for young deer vary similarly, with that of most smaller species being called a "fawn" and that of most larger species "calf"; young of the smallest kinds may be a kid. A castrated male deer is a "havier". A group of deer of any kind is a "herd". The adjective of relation pertaining to deer is cervine; like the family name "Cervidae", this is from Latin: cervus, "deer".
Venison originally described meat of any game animal killed by hunting, and was applied to any animal from the families Cervidae (deer), Leporidae (hares), and Suidae (wild pigs), and certain species of the genus Capra (goats and ibex), but in the northern hemisphere its usage is now almost entirely restricted to the flesh of various species of deer.[citation needed]
In Southern Africa, venison is the meat of antelope. There are no native Cervidae in sub-Saharan Africa.
Duck - Farm In The City
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck - Farm In The City |
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
The word duck comes from Old English *dūce "diver", a derivative of the verb *dūcan "to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen "to dive".
This word replaced Old English ened/ænid "duck", possibly to avoid confusion with other Old English words, like ende "end" with similar forms. Other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck", for example, Dutch eend "duck" and German Ente "duck". The word ened/ænid was inherited from Proto-Indo-European; compare: Latin anas "duck", Lithuanian ántis "duck", Ancient Greek nēssa/nētta (νῆσσα, νῆττα) "duck", and Sanskrit ātí "water bird", among others.
A duckling is a young duck in downy plumage or baby duck; but in the food trade young adult ducks ready for roasting are sometimes labelled "duckling".[citation needed]
A male duck is called a drake and the female duck is called a duck, or in ornithology a hen
The overall body plan of ducks is elongated and broad, and the ducks are also relatively long-necked, albeit not as long-necked as the geese and swans. The body shape of diving ducks varies somewhat from this in being more rounded. The bill is usually broad and contains serrated lamellae, which are particularly well defined in the filter-feeding species. In the case of some fishing species the bill is long and strongly serrated. The scaled legs are strong and well developed, and generally set far back on the body, more so in the highly aquatic species. The wings are very strong and are generally short and pointed, and the flight of ducks requires fast continuous strokes, requiring in turn strong wing muscles. Three species of steamer duck are almost flightless, however. Many species of duck are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration.
The drakes of northern species often have extravagant plumage, but that is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism, although there are exceptions like the Paradise Shelduck of New Zealand which is both strikingly sexually dimorphic and where the female's plumage is brighter than that of the male. The plumage of juvenile birds generally resembles that of the female.
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