Animal Reproduction and

Genetics
 Terminology

• Castration
– Removing the testicles of the male to
prevent breeding
• Colustrum
– First milk
• Gestation
– Time an animal is pregnant
 Terminology

• Estrus
– When a female is receptive to be
bred
• Lactation
– Period of time that milk is secreted
by the mammary glands
• Parturition
– Than act of giving birth
 Breeding Systems

• Objective
– Discuss crossbreeding, grading-up,
inbreeding, linebreeding, and
purebreeding
 Breeding Systems

• Pure Breeding
– Registered male and female animals
– Angus X Angus
 Breeding Systems

• Cross Breeding
– Mating a male and female of
different breeds
– Angus X Charolais = Crossbreed
 Breeding Systems

• Inbreeding
– Mating closely related animals
– Brother X Sister
– Son X Mother
– Father X Daughter
 Breeding Systems

• Linebreeding
– Breeding more distant relatives than
inbreeding
– Cousin X Cousin
 Breeding Systems

• Grading-Up
– Mating purebred male (sires) to
unregistered or corssbred females
(dams)
– Yorkshire bore X Yorkshire/Hampshire
sow
– Hybrid Vigor
• Superior traits from crossbreeding
• Offspring are better than parents
The Female Reproductive
System

Objective: Identify the parts

of the female reproductive
system of livestock
Female Tract
 Female Reproductive System
• Ovary - the ovary is comparable to the
male testicle and is the site of gamete
production.
– A bovine animal has 20,000 potential eggs per
ovary, while a human female has 400,000
potential eggs per ovary.
– Ova are fully developed at puberty and are not
continuously produced as in the male.
– All species contain two functional ovaries except
for the hen which has only a left functioning
ovary.
Female Reproductive System
 Female Reproductive System

The ovaries have three major functions:

• Gamete production
• Secrete estrogen (hormone)
• absence of muscle development
• development of mammary glands
• development of reproductive systems and external
genitalia
• fat deposition on hips and stomach (source of
energy)
• triggering of heat
• Form the corpus luteum
 Female Reproductive System

• Infundibulum - the funnel shaped portion of

the fallopian tube near the ovary that catches
the ovulated egg.

• Fallopian Tubes (or Oviducts) - pair of

small tubes leading from the ovaries to the
horns of the uterus (5 - 6 inches).
– Fertilization occurs in the oviduct.
– Egg travels from ovary to uterine horn in 3 - 4
days.
Female Reproductive System
 Female Reproductive System

• Uterine Horn - The anterior, divided end of

the uterus in the cow, ewe, and mare. Sow
has only 2 horns, no body, woman has no
horns, only body.
Female Reproductive System
 Female Reproductive System

Uterus - Muscular sac connecting fallopian

tubes and cervix
1. Sustains the sperm and aids in its transport
2. Supports embryo and fetus during gestation
3. Expels fetus at parturition
 Female Reproductive System

• Cervix
– Area between
the uterus and
vagina
– Normally closed
– Opens at estrus
and parturition
– (2 -3 inches)
 Female Reproductive System

• Vagina - the female organ of copulation

1. admits penis
2. receives semen (except in sow)
3. passageway for fetus at parturition

• Bladder - storage organ for urine

• Vulva - extended genitalia; opening for both

urinary and genital tracts
Female Reproductive System
Reproductive Functions (Female)
Steps in the female reproductive
process:

1. Ovulation
— Produce gamete (ova or ovum)
— Release of egg(s)
— Infundibulum pushes the
ovum into the fallopian tube
Reproductive Functions (Female)
Reproductive Functions (Female)

2. Estrus (heat, estrous period)

– Period of time when a female will accept a
male in copulation
– The female must stand (standing heat)
to be mounted before the reproductive
process can begin
Reproductive Functions (Female)

3. Gestation
— Fertilization to parturition
— Develop embryo in uterus
4. Parturition
— Expel fully developed young at birth
5. Lactation
— Milk production
Reproductive Functions (Female)
 Ovulation Rates

Ovulation Rates by Species

Cow- 1 egg per estrus
Ewe- 1 to 3 eggs per estrus
Sow- 10 to 20 eggs per estrus
Mare- 1 egg per estrus
Hen- Approx. 28 eggs per month
 Reproductive Terminology

Species Act Offspring

Cows calving calf
Ewes lambing lamb
Sows farrowing pig
Hens hatching chick
Mares foaling foal
Goats kidding kid
Reproductive Functions (Female)

Gestation and Lactation Periods:

Species Gestation Period Lactation(Milking)

Cow 275 - 285 days beef 180 - 270
days
dairy 305 - 365
days
Ewe 115 - 142 days 60 - 90 - 120 days
Sow 112 - 115 days 21 - 42 days
Mare 330 - 345 days 90 - 150 days
Woman 270 days ? years
Reproductive Functions (Female)

Estrous period length by species:

Cow 12 - 18 hours
Ewe 24 - 36 hours
Sow 48 - 72 hours
Mare 90 - 170 hours
Hens & Women none
 Reproductive Functions of the
Female
Estrous cycle - time from one heat period (or
menstrual cycle) to the next.

Length of estrous cycle by species:

Cow 19 - 21 days
Ewe 16 - 17 days
Sow 19 - 21 days
Mare 21 - 24 days
Woman 28 days
Hen none
 The Male
Reproductive Tract

Objective: Identify
the parts of the male
reproductive system
of livestock and
poultry
Male Reproductive Tract
 Male Reproductive Tract

• Scrotum - external sac that holds

testicles outside of the body to
keep sperm at 4-5oF cooler than
the body temperature

• Testicles - the primary male

organs of reproduction
• to produce sperm
• to secrete testosterone
 Male Reproductive Tract

• Epididymis - Long coiled tube that is

a path for sperm
– Provide passageway for sperm out of the
seminiferous tubules
– Storage for sperm
– Fluid secretion to nourish sperm
– Place for sperm maturation
 Male Reproductive Tract

• Vas Deferens - slender tube from

epididymis to urethra which moves
sperm to the urethra at ejaculation

• Urethra - long tube from bladder to

penis; passageway for urine and
sperm out of the body
 Male Reproductive Tract

• Penis - male organ of copulation

which conveys semen and urine
out of the body

• Penis retractor muscle - allows

extension and retraction of the
penis; sigmoid flexure extends in
copulation
 Male Reproductive Tract

Accessory Glands:
• Seminal vesicles- add fructose and citric
acid to nourish the sperm

• Prostate Gland - located at the neck of

the bladder
– cleans the urethra prior to and during
ejaculation
– provides minerals for sperm
– provides the medium for sperm transport
– provides the characteristic odor of semen
 Male Reproductive Tract

• Cowper’s gland
• Also called the Bulbourethral gland
• Paired organs
• cleans the urethra prior to semen
passage
Male Reproductive Tract
Reproduction in
Poultry

Objective: Specify how the

reproductive system for
poultry functions
 Reproduction in Poultry

The poultry oviduct has five parts:

1) Vagina
– Holds the egg until laid
2) Uterus
– Secretes the shell
3) Isthmus
– Adds the two shell membranes
4) Magnum
– Secretes the albumen
5) Infundibulum
– Where fertilization takes place
 Reproduction in Poultry

• Major difference:
– Embryo of livestock develop inside the
female’s body while the embryo of poultry
develops inside the egg.
• Poultry only have the left ovary and
oviduct when mature
• The yoke is the ovum
• Chicken Incubation
– 21 days
 Poultry Reproduction

In your notes, define the following poultry

reproductive terms and tell how they differ
from livestock we have studied so far:

•Papilla •Ovary
Use page •Testicles •Magnum
190 in your •Cloaca •Isthmus
textbook •Vent •Uterus
•Vagina
 Assignment:

Build a crossword puzzle

containing 12 reproductive terms
from your class notes. Have
another student complete and
sign your crossword puzzle. The
assignment as well as your other
assignment from the handout is
due at the end of class.
 Animal Reproduction and
Genetics

Objective: Describe the cell and

process involved in cell division
including how genes affect the
transmission of characteristics
 Animal Cell

• The body is made up of millions of

tiny cells
• Most of the cell is made up of
protoplasm
• Cell parts:
 Nucleus
 Cytoplasm
 Cell membrane
 Animal Cell

Nucleus

Cytoplasm

Cell
Membrane
 Cell Division

• Mitosis
– Increases total number of cells
– Results in animal growth
– Chromosomes pairs are duplicated
• Meiosis
– Produces gametes
– Only have one-half the
chromosomes of normal cells
 Fertilization

• When the sperm from a male

reaches the egg from a female
• Two cells join to form a
complete cell
• Pairs of chromosomes are
formed again
• Many different combinations of
traits are formed
Fertilization
 Chromosomes

• Rod shaped • The number of

bodies chromosome
• Made of protein pairs differ for
• Found in the cell various animals
– Cattle 30
nucleus
– Swine 19
• Exist in pairs
– Horses 33
except for
– Chickens 6
gamete cells
– Humans 23
 Genes

• Located on chromosomes
• Thousands found in each animal
• Control inherited characteristics
– Carcass traits
– Growth rate
– Feed efficiency
• Two types of inherited traits
 Dominant
 Recessive
 Assignment

1. Read pages 186

• Livestock and Poultry Production
textbook
2. Complete problems 1-9
3. Write the question and provide a
short answer in complete
sentences.
 Genes

• Dominant gene
– Hides the effect of another gene
– Polled condition in cattle is dominant
– The gene is represented by a capital
letter
• Recessive
– Gene that is hidden by another
– The gene is represented by a lower
case letter
 Genes

Example:

The dominant gene is written- P

The recessive gene is written-p

P= Polled
p= horned
Homozygous and Heterozygous

• Homozygous gene pair

– Carries two genes for a trait
– Polled cow might carry the gene PP
• Heterozygous
– Carries two different genes that
affect a trait
– Polled cows might carry a recessive
gene with the dominant Pp
 Predicting Genotype

• Genotype-kind of gene pairs

possessed
• Phenotype- the physical
appearance of an animal
• Punnett squares are used to
predict genotypes and phenotypes
of animals
 Punnett Square

P= Polled
Polled Dam
p= horned
P P
Example:

Polled Sire
• Two polled cattle P PP PP
that are
homozygous for P PP PP
the polled trait
 Punnett Square

N= Normal size
n= Dwarfism
Normal Dam
Example:
N N

Sire Carrier
• Normal size in
cattle is dominant N NN NN
to dwarfism
n Nn Nn
 Punnett Square

N= Normal size
n= Dwarfism
Normal Dam
Example:
N n

Sire Carrier
• What if both
parents are N NN Nn
carriers for a trait
or disorder? n Nn nn

Result: one out of every four births

could result in a dwarf animal (1:2:1)
 Assignment

Complete a Punnett
Square for two Dam
animals that are
heterozygous for
two traits:

Sire
• Polled=P
• Black= B

(Alternatives are horned

and red)
 Answer
A Punnett Square Dam
for two animals
that are PB Pb pB pb
heterozygous for PB PPBB PPBb PpBB PpBb
two traits:
Pb PPBb PPbb PpBb Ppbb
Sire
• Polled=P
pB PpBB PpBb ppBB ppBb
• Black= B
pb PpBb Ppbb ppBb ppbb
(Alternatives are horned
and red) 9:3:3:1
 Heritability

• Objective:
– Discuss hertability estimates for beef
and swine
 Heritability

• Estimated the likelihood of a trait

being passes on from the parent
to the offspring
– Low heritability
• slow herd improvement
– High heritability
• faster improvement
 Heritability

• Swine rates are usually lower than

cattle
• Heritiability for carcass traits are
higher than reproductive traits
• Estimates vary from 0 to 70%
Birth weight 40%
Weaning Weight 25-30%
Yearling Weight 60%
Fertility 10%
Tenderness 60%
 Heritability Review
• Herd improvement
– slow for low heritability
– faster for high heritability

• Estimates are higher for:

– beef compared to swine
– carcass traits compared to repro