Horses were domesticated from the Eurasian steppes 5,000-6,000 years ago. Since then, the use of horses for transportation, warfare, and agriculture, as well as selection for desired traits and fitness, has resulted in diverse populations distributed across the world, many of which have become or are in the process of becoming formally organized into closed, breeding populations (breeds). This ...

There is increasing concern that reproductive isolation related to breed specifications in dogs, while maintaining genetic differences among breeds, is likely to promote breed-specific genetic disorders. This study examined genetic diversity among 13 popular dog breed groups in the UK. Most breeds showed high levels of homozygosity when compared with crossbred animals. The Boxer and West Highla...

BACKGROUND Congenital sensorineural deafness has been reported frequently in experimental mixed-breed white cats but there is a paucity of data on occurrence of deafness in client-owned pure-breed white cats. OBJECTIVE To describe hearing status in client-owned pure-breed white cats. ANIMALS Eighty-four pure-breed client-owned cats with white coat color of 10 registered breeds presented for...

During the domestication process, dogs were selected for their suitability for multiple purposes, resulting in a variety of behavioral characteristics. In particular, the ancient group of breeds that is genetically closer to wolves may show different behavioral characteristics when compared to other breed groups. Here, we used questionnaire evaluations of dog behavior to investigate whether beh...

Any producer contemplating the prospect of sheep dairying will face the problem of breeds: which breeds or what type of animals to purchase (or develop) in order to have the most economical commercial milk production? The problem is not an easy one to solve because there is not a single breed that combines all favorable traits. Some breeds are better than others in producing milk and others are...

This study aimed to assess genetic diversity within and between nine Vietnamese local chicken breeds and two Chinese breeds included for comparison. Genotyping 29 microsatellites revealed high diversity of both Vietnamese and Chinese breeds. Cluster analysis using the STRUCTURE software suggested six clusters as the most likely grouping of the 11 breeds studied. These groups encompassed four ho...

background: parasitological investigations on paramphistomosis were carried out over a 12-month period in the southeast of iran to determine the prevalence and intensity of this disease. methods: a total of 1000 cattle, sistani breed (n= 450) and brahman breed (n= 550) of all sex and age groups were inspected at random for the presence of paramphistomidae flukes in zabol slaughterhouse from dec...

The aim of the present research is to investigate breeders’ management strategies and their effects on reproductive performances in heritage breeds. A total 468 litters were analysed: Belgian Hare (N = 151), Burgundy Fawn 105), Californian 212). Litter size (born alive), percentage weaned kits selected analysed using a model that included breed, year birth, litter’s origin (with three levels: b...

Effects of Dorset, Finnsheep, Romanov, Texel, and Montadale breeds for performance as sires were estimated in the initial phase of a comprehensive evaluation of these breeds as contributors to sheep crossbreeding systems. Objectives were to evaluate the effects of ram breed, ewe breed, season of mating, and two-way interactions. Rams from the five breeds were single-sire-mated with ewes from tw...