Domestication and Animal Traits

Lecture 1: Domestication and Animal Traits

• Domestication is the process of genetically changing a living organism population through selective breeding
• Selective breeding emphasizes desirable traits that benefit humans
• Domestic animals include common examples like pets, cats, dogs, horses, and cows

Degrees of Domestication

• Wild animals exhibit a "fight or flight" response
• Tamed animals show some dependence on humans
• Semi-domesticated animals have a human-animal relationship
• Domesticated animals rely on humans

Common Changes in Domesticated Traits

• Tameness is linked to adrenal glands
• Coat color is linked to melanocytes
• Skull reduction is linked to chondrocytes
• Teeth reduction is linked to odontocytes
• Morphological changes occur, including the development of floppy ears

Belyaev's Fox Experiment

• Foxes were selected based on temperament
• The experiment began with 465 foxes
• The goal was to simulate the transformation of wolves into modern-day dogs
• The experiment tracked behavior, with 30% of foxes being extremely reactive, 40% moderately reactive, 20% fearful, and 10% quiet and exploratory
• Breeding criteria was based on flight threshold distance

Tameness and Hormones

• Tameness involves a reduction in stress hormone release
• The fight-or-flight response is reduced in tame animals
• Tame animals show decreased reactivity to new situations
• Hormones are produced by the adrenal glands, located on top of the kidney
• Long-term hormones include glucocorticoids like cortisol, which regulates the duration of neonatal development
• Short-term hormones include catecholamines like epinephrine and norepinephrine
• Domestic animals have reduced levels of these hormones compared to wild animals

Neural Crest Hypothesis

• Genetic changes to neural crest cells can lead to domestication traits
• Domestication correlates with a decrease in the size of the neural crest
• This reduces the population of cells derived from the neural crest
• Tameness results from reduced stress hormone synthesis
• Smaller number of cells are involved equaling domestication syndrome

Wolf Domestication

• Wolves with short flight distances took advantage of food waste from humans
• This provided a competitive advantage
• These wolves tended to breed with each other and developed domestication syndrome

Commensal vs. Prey Domestication Pathways

• The Commensal pathway involves habituation, partnership, and directed breeding
• The Prey pathway involves managing prey, herding, and directed breeding

Lecture 2: Animal Systems and Lifecycle

• Extensive animal systems involve minimized capital inputs and unprocessed diets of low nutrient and high fiber density
• These systems feature non-confinement and minimized handling
• Cattle, sheep, and goats are examples of animals raised in extensive systems
• Intensive animal systems need significant capital inputs, processed, nutrient-dense diets, confinement production, and economies of scale
• Pork, dairy, and poultry animals are examples of animals raised in intensive systems

Animal Lifecycle Terms

• Sector types include cow-calf operations
• Extensive production involves pasture and rangeland
• Backgrounding/stocker involves forage/pasture diets and slow growth
• Feedlot/finishing involves intensive production and primarily concentrate diets
• Packing sectors are also part of the intensive production system, primarily involving feedlots with some pasture

Animal Lifecycle Terms

• Cow: mature female
• Heifer: young female
• Bull: sexually mature uncastrated male
• Steer: castrated male before sexual maturity
• Calf: neonatal to 5 months of age
• Gestation period: 283 days, with 82 days to get pregnant post-calving

Pork Terms

• Sow: mature female pig
• Gilt: immature female pig before the 2nd pregnancy
• Boar: mature male pig
• Barrow: castrated male pig
• Piglet: neonatal pig before weaning
• Farrowing: giving birth to piglets

Modern Swine Production in Canada

• Involves intensive industry with pigs raised in total confinement
• Biosecurity on commercial farms is vital
• There are limited visitors
• Breeding is done through artificial insemination
• Gestation lasts 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days

Farrowing

• Sows are kept in individual crates
• Average litter size is 15 piglets
• Average birth weight is 1.2 kg
• Colostrum intake is vital in the first 6 hours
• Most sows have 12 teats

Weaning

• Abrupt weaning is common
• Piglets are moved to a nursery
• Transition from milk to solid feed
• Piglets are mixed with others
• Weaning occurs at 21-28 days old

Grow-Finish Stage

• Pigs are in the nursery for 5 weeks
• Housed in large groups
• Diets are changed as pigs mature
• Pigs are ready for market in 15 weeks at 125 to 130 kg

Dairy Production

• The lifecycle involves lactation, lifespan and calves
• Parturition and milk fever require cows to mobilize large amounts of calcium from the skeleton
• Insufficient calcium can cause muscle tremors, staggering, lying flat, heart failure, and death
• Treatment involves intravenous calcium

Supply Management in Canada

• Quota is the license to produce a set amount of milk
• A national marketing agency sets production amounts and quotas for each province
• High tariffs make imported dairy products expensive
• Producers are guaranteed minimum prices for their products

Importance of Colostrum

• Calves are born with no immunoglobulins in their bloodstream
• The small intestine of the newborn can absorb immunoglobins into the blood for the first 24 hours
• This is known as passive immunity
• Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that bind to bacteria and viruses to help prevent disease

Lecture 3: Beef Industry and Forages

• The beef industry is divided into sectored production systems like Cow-calf, Backgrounding, Feedlot, and Packer
• There are greater than 90,000 producers

Canadian Beef Industry

• There are 15 million cattle and calves
• Operations are majority family-run

Forages

• Forages such as pasture, hay, straw, and silage is the foundation of the beef industry
• Feed is the single greatest variable cost in beef production
• Primary focuses are energy, protein, minerals, vitamins, and water
• Canada’s Traceability Program is based on animal identification, premise identification, and animal movement

Animal Identification

• Radio frequency identification tags give individual ID and premise ID
• Cattle must have to leave property

Cattle Breeds

• Dominant breeds include Angus, Simmental, Hereford, Charolais, and Limousin
• Cattle breeds vary in color, carcass quality, behavior, frame size, and feed efficiency

Weaned Calf Sales

• Calves are sold in groups through auction mart to feedlot buyers
• Internet/Video sales
• Forward contracts with feedlots deliver calves at a pre-arranged price eliminating 'sale barn'

Lecture 4: Poultry Terminology and Supply Management

• Broiler: meat chicken
• Layer: table egg production chicken
• Rooster: male chicken
• Tom: male turkey
• Hen: female turkey or chicken
• Canada uses a supply management system, producing as much chicken as they consume
• Supply management farms are family-owned in Canada
• They are not family-owned in the USA
• There is a steady income for producers

Advantages of Poultry Supply Management

• Consistent income for producers
• Steady supply without oversupply
• Financial support for additional welfare initiatives
• Boards involved in animal welfare practices

Disadvantages of Poultry Supply Management

• Higher prices for consumers
• Future producers must purchase quota

Lecture 5: Horse Domestication and Specialization

• Equus evolved in North America and migrated to Eurasia
• They spread across the Eurasian steppes
• They were hunted for food
• They were raised in captivity and domestication began

Horse Use Expansion

• Horses were first used for carrying and hauling
• Used for effective war tactics
• Used for riding

Selective Disadvantages for Coat Colors in Horses

• Selective disadvantages exist for certain colors of wild horses
• Some colors have negative pleiotropic effects, where a gene affects more than one system
• Grey is associated with melanomas
• Silver is associated with the MCOA eye disorder
• Leopard spotting is associated with CSNB
• Overo Pinto is associated with OLWFS
• Splashed white and Overo are linked to deafness
• White and Roan: Embryonic lethal

Detrimental Effects of Horse Specialization

• Breeding for small size results in dwarfism
• Breeding heavily muscled quarter horses causes periodic paralysis
• Breeding for speed propagates fragility
• "Popular sire" leads to disequilibrium between detrimental and performance genes

Lecture 6: Swine Production

Origin of Domestic Pig

• Domesticated in China (~490 B.C.) and England (~800 B.C.)
• Latin name is Sus scrofa domesticus

Canadian Swine Breeds

• Yorkshire (42% of herd)
• Landrace (32%)
• Duroc (25%)
• Other breeds: Hampshire, Lacombe, Pietrain, Berkshire

Swine Production Terminology

• Swine = pig
• Pork = pig meat
• Sow = mother pig
• Gilt = of breeding age, but hasn’t had piglets
• Weaning = removal of young ones from their mother
• Hog = pig ready to be processed
• Process/harvest = slaughter for meat
• Boar = adult male pig kept for breeding purposes
• Farrowing = act of parturition in pigs

Pork Production in SK

• SK is 8.5% of all pig production
• SK is the 5th largest producer in hogs

Changes in Swine Operations

• Advances in technology and transportation
• Economies of scale

Lecture 7: Dog and Cat Domestication and the Pet Industry

• Cat ownership is now greater than dog ownership
• There are 8.5 million cats as pets and 7.9 million dogs as pets

Pet Costs

• Pet cat cost = $2,542
• Pet dog cost = $2,500+$1,000

Pet Stores

• Ontario had 770 pet stores in 2021
• Brick and mortar stores are declining due to increased online purchases

Dog vs Cat Domestication

• Dogs descended from unknown wolf
• Mutual co-existence and companionship
• Modified look and behavior + can digest more carbohydrates
• Cats less dependent, cats can revert to feral

Pet Benefits

• Social support
• Companionship
• Improved mental health
• Motivates people to exercise
• Animal assisted therapy and activities
• Empathetic learning and esteem

Pet Risks

• Infections, parasites
• Allergies
• Bites, injury
• Financial burden
• Psychological burden
• Neglect

Animal Therapy vs Activities

• Therapy is a treatment for people who are physically, socially, emotionally, or cognitively challenged
• Consist of stated goals, personal treatment, scheduling and trained health professionals
• Activities consist of causal interaction, and most run by volunteers with no specificity

Lecture 8: Dairy Cattle Management and Supply

• Milk supply is determined by the needs of Canadians
• There are limited exports and imports of milk and products of milk
• Quantity of milk is established for each province
• Cattle are bred through artificial insemination
• Cows are want to produce about every 365 days

Dairy Cattle Management

• Calves are housed with milk
• Rapid lean tissue growth
• Begin bred at 13-15 months
• First calf at 22 to 24 months

Cow Needs

• Great environment
• Adequate nutrition
• Calm handling

Mammary Gland

• Use it or lose it policy
• Frequent milking to stimulate cell development in the mammary gland and lactation

Lecture 9: Indigenous Principles for Sustainable Aquaculture

• Similarities and differences between First Nation, Metis, and Inuit are distinctive to Canada
• Recognize their culture, history and practices and beliefs
• Support indigenous culture and communities
• Apply transparency, and inclusiveness

Animal Therapy vs Activities

• Animal assisted therapy is a specific form of treatment for people who are physically, socially, emotionally, or cognitively challenged
• Therapy follows stated goals, individual treatment methods, and scheduled appointments
• Therapy involves detailed notes and administered by trained health professionals
• Animal assisted activities include casual activities involving pets and diverse populations of peoples
• There is no specificity and activities are typically volunteer run, for long or short periods

Lecture 9: Indigenous Principles for Sustainable Aquaculture

• First Nation', 'Metis', and 'Inuit' consist of distinct Indigenous peoples of Canada with their own culture, history, practices, and beliefs

Indigenous Principles for Sustainable Aquaculture

• Apply transparency and First Nations Inclusiveness
• Social responsibility, economic and environmental responsibility

Key Differences Between Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal Aquaculture

• May include unique cultural and spiritual aspects
• Unique connections to the land
• May include some mistrust of conventional science
• Unique rights and special access to aquatic resources
• Focus on job creation, high food prices