|
Runt
In a group of animals (usually a litter of animals born in multiple births), a runt is a member which is significantly smaller or weaker than the others.. Owing to its small size, a runt in a litter faces disadvantage, including difficulties in competing with its siblings for survival and possible rejection by its mother. Therefore, in the wild, a runt is less likely to survive infancy. Even among domestic animals, runts often face rejection. They may be placed under the direct care of an experienced animal breeder, although the animal's size and weakness coupled with the lack of natural parental care make this difficult. Some tamed animals are the result of reared runts. Not all litters have runts. All animals in a litter will naturally vary slightly in size and weight, but the smallest is not considered a "runt" if it is healthy and close in weight to its littermates. It may be perfectly capable of competing with its siblings for nutrition and other resources. A runt is speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Litter (animal)
A litter is the live birth of multiple offspring at one time in animals from the same mother and usually from one set of parents, particularly from three to eight offspring. The word is most often used for the offspring of mammals, but can be used for any animal that gives birth to multiple young. In comparison, a group of eggs and the offspring that hatch from them are frequently called a clutch, while young birds are often called a brood. Animals from the same litter are referred to as littermates. Litter size (typical count) In most female mammals the average litter size is about half the number of mammae. Presumably this enables females to successfully nurse litters even if some mammae fail to produce milk. Naked mole-rats break this "one-half rule" – field caught and lab born litters averaged 11 to 12 pups, and numbers of mammae on wild and captive females were similarly 11 to 12. Maximum litter sizes were 28 in the field and 27 in captivity, whereas the maximum num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infancy
In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of other organisms. A newborn is, in colloquial use, a baby who is only hours, days, or weeks old; while in medical contexts, a newborn or neonate (from Latin, ''neonatus'', newborn) is an infant in the first 28 days after birth (the term applies to premature, full term, and postmature infants). Infants born prior to 37 weeks of gestation are called "premature", those born between 39 and 40 weeks are "full term", those born through 41 weeks are "late term", and anything beyond 42 weeks is considered "post term". Before birth, the offspring is called a fetus. The term ''infant'' is typically applied to very young children under one year of age; however, definitions may vary and may include children up to two years of age. When a human chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Animals
This page gives a list of domesticated animals, also including a list of animals which are or may be currently undergoing the process of domestication and animals that have an extensive relationship with humans beyond simple predation. This includes species which are semi-domesticated, undomesticated but captive-bred on a commercial scale, or commonly wild-caught, at least occasionally captive-bred, and tameable. In order to be considered fully domesticated, most species have undergone significant genetic, behavioural and morphological changes from their wild ancestors, while others have changed very little from their wild ancestors despite hundreds or thousands of years of potential selective breeding. A number of factors determine how quickly any changes may occur in a species, but there is not always a desire to improve a species from its wild form. Domestication is a gradual process, so there is no precise moment in the history of a given species when it can be considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Breeder
Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation (using best linear unbiased prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EBV in growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production throughout the entire world. The scientific theory of animal breeding incorporates population genetics, quantitative genetics, statistics, and recently molecular genetics and is based on the pioneering work of Sewall Wright, Jay Lush, and Charles Henderson. Breeding stock 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. Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Defect
A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly, congenital cardiovascular malformation, and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular disease. Signs and symptoms depend on the specific type of defect. Symptoms can vary from none to life-threatening. When present, symptoms are variable and may include rapid breathing, bluish skin ( cyanosis), poor weight gain, and feeling tired. CHD does not cause chest pain. Most congenital heart defects are not associated with other diseases. A complication of CHD is heart failure. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect. In 2015, they were present in 48.9 million people globally. They affect between 4 and 75 per 1,000 live births, depending upon how they are diagnosed. In about 6 to 19 per 1,000 they cause a moderate to severe degree of problems. Congenital heart defects a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleft Palate
A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The term orofacial cleft refers to either condition or to both occurring together. These disorders can result in feeding problems, speech problems, hearing problems, and frequent ear infections. Less than half the time the condition is associated with other disorders. Cleft lip and palate are the result of tissues of the face not joining properly during development. As such, they are a type of birth defect. The cause is unknown in most cases. Risk factors include smoking during pregnancy, diabetes, obesity, an older mother, and certain medications (such as some used to treat seizures). Cleft lip and cleft palate can often be diagnosed during pregnancy with an ultrasound exam. A cleft lip or palate can be successfully treated with surge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colostrum
Colostrum (, of unknown origin) is the first form of milk produced by the mammary glands of humans and other mammals immediately following delivery of the newborn. Animal colostrum may be called beestings, the traditional word from Old English dialects. Most species will begin to generate colostrum just prior to giving birth. Colostrum contains Antibody, antibodies to protect the newborn against disease and infection, and immune and growth factors and other bioactive compounds, bioactives. The bioactives found in colostrum are beneficial for a newborn's health, growth and vitality. Colostrum strengthens a baby's immune system. At birth, the environment of the newborn mammal shifts from the sterile conditions of the mother's uterus, with a constant nutrient supply via the placenta, to the microbe-rich environment outside, with irregular oral intake of complex milk nutrients through the gastrointestinal tract. This transition puts high demands on the gastrointestinal tract of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cull
Culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific trait. This is done to exaggerate desirable characteristics, or to remove undesirable characteristics by altering the genetic makeup of the population. For livestock and wildlife, culling often refers to killing removed animals based on their characteristics, such as their sex or species membership, or as a means of preventing infectious disease transmission. In fruits and vegetables, culling is the sorting or segregation of fresh harvested produce into marketable lots, with the non-marketable lots being discarded or diverted into food processing or non-food processing activities. This usually happens at collection centres located at, or close to farms. Etymology The word ''cull'' comes from the Latin verb , meaning "to gather". The term can be applied broadly to m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanishing Twin
A vanishing twin, also known as twin resorption, is a fetus in a multigestation pregnancy that dies '' in utero ''and is then partially or completely reabsorbed. In some instances, the dead twin is compressed into a flattened, parchment-like state known as ''fetus papyraceus''. Vanishing twins occur in up to one of every eight multifetus pregnancies and may not even be known in most cases. "High resorption rates, which cannot be explained on the basis of the expected abortion rate, suggest intense fetal competition for space, nutrition, or other factors during early gestation, with frequent loss or resorption of the other twin(s)." Vanishing twin syndrome has been characterized as the loss of a twin before 12 weeks of gestation, or early during the first trimester where it is uncommon for twin pregnancy to have been identified. According to Boklage, most twin pregnancies are ultimately born as singles, and vanished twins are a possible source of abnormal cells. In one study, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biology Terminology
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology, Glossary of environmental science and Glossary of scientific naming, or any of the organism-specific glossaries in :Glossaries of biology. A B C D E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
