Productive animals are those that are bred by humans in order to obtain meat, milk, wool, etc. These cows, for example, cows, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits belong to this category. In another way, such animals are called agricultural.
Cattle
It is these animals that are currently considered the most productive in the world. Modern breeds of cows are capable of producing up to 7 thousand liters of milk per year. At the same time, from one such artiodactyl, you can also get up to 500-800 kg of meat.
In addition, the cows and bull farms supply the light industry with leather, from which they subsequently sew clothes and make shoes. In ancient times, cattle (cattle) were often used as draft power. It is bred in almost all regions of the world, with the possible exception of only the Far North and deserts. Cows and bulls are kept both on personal farmsteads and on farms. Very often specialize in their breeding and large agricultural holdings.
Since cattle is the most popular type of productive animal, a lot of attention is paid to it, of course, by breeders. There are many highly productive breeds of such cattle. Moreover, they are all divided into two large categories:
Animals belonging to the first group are distinguished primarily by their large weight. In addition, young cattle meat is valued by farmers for their precocity. Cattle belonging to the second group are bred to obtain milk. Such cows are slaughtered only after several years of upkeep.
At the moment, the best meat breeds of cattle are:
- Kazakh white-headed ;
- Hereford;
- Kalmyk.
The most productive dairy breeds are:
- Holstein;
- black and motley;
- Dutch
- Kholmogorskaya;
- red steppe.
In Russia, only dairy cows are traditionally bred . In our country, beef cattle breeding is currently practically absent as an industry, and as a rule only enthusiastic farmers practice it.
Sheeps
These productive animals are bred by humans for meat, wool and skins. The advantages of sheep as productive animals include their following qualities:
- unpretentiousness in the content;
- a high degree of precocity;
- small investments at the first stage of the organization of the farm;
- rapid increase in stock;
- not too much feed costs.
In livestock breeding, all currently existing sheep breeds are classified into four main groups:
- fine-fleece;
- semi-fine-crowned;
- semi-coarse-haired;
- coarse-haired.
Among the species belonging to the species of fine-fleece, one can distinguish several of the most common: the Soviet merino, Kazakh and Salsk. The best coarse-haired are Kuchugurovskaya, Karachay, Edilbaev. Of semi-fine-crowned farmers, most often sheep of the Tsigai breed and Georgian fat-tailed sheep are bred. The most common semi-coarse-haired rocks are Tajik, Kargali and Sarajin.
Goats
People breed these productive animals to get wool, hides, fluff and milk. Regarding goat care, they are perhaps the most unpretentious animals. This concerns both the conditions of detention and the quality of the feed.
The advantages of these productive animals, among other things, include:
- fast weight gain;
- fertility;
- disease resistance.
Goat's milk is superior to cow in terms of fat and nutrients. And socks, mittens, beautiful scarves and cobwebs are knitted from the thin fluff of goats.
On farms, both beef and dairy cattle of this variety can be bred. Quite often, farmers also contain downy goats. From dairy breeds are considered the best:
- Nubian
- Saanen;
- white russian.
The downy group includes, for example, such popular breeds as Orenburg, Gorno-Altai, Kashmir. From meat breeds, Russian, Toggenburg, Gorky, Megrelian are distinguished.
Pigs
Productive animals of this species on farms are primarily contained, of course, for the production of meat and fat. In addition, clothes and shoes are often sewn from pork skins.
The advantages of farm animals of this variety are:
- high fecundity;
- fast weight gain;
- steadily high market demand for meat and fat;
- omnivorous.
Three main types of pigs can be bred on farms:
- meat;
- sebaceous;
- meat-bearing.
The most popular among farmers meat breeds of productive animals of the named variety are considered Landrace, Duroc, barbecue. Of the greasy farmers most often keep pigs of Mirgorod, Ukrainian steppe, large black. The most common meat and greasy breeds are large white, North Caucasian and Liven.
Types of productive animals: rabbits
Such farm animals are kept for fluff, wool and meat. The benefits of rabbits are primarily attributed to very high fecundity. Also, the advantage of such animals as productive animals is the relative undemanding to the conditions of detention. In winter, rabbits can, for example, live in cages located right on the street.
Most often, farmers today contain meat animals of this variety. Also, sometimes farms specialize in breeding skinned or down rabbits. The most common meat breeds of these animals are the white and gray giant, flanders, Soviet chinchilla. Of the pelts, the butterfly, black-brown, and silver, earned special popularity among farmers. To obtain fluff, rabbits are bred, for example, Angora and white down.
Horse breeding
Horses on farmsteads and farms are kept as draft power and for milk and meat. All existing breeds of these productive animals are classified into three groups:
The most popular horse breeds are:
- American horseback;
- Andalusian
- thoroughbred horse.
The lobster, or draft horses, kept on farms are most often Russian and Oryol trotters. At the same time, the sufflox, Vladimir, Russian, and Belgian are considered to be popular breeds of heavy trucks. Horses are bred in almost all regions of Russia. But the most developed horse breeding in our country in Altai, in Bashkiria, Tuva, etc.
Zones of all horses bred in the world are divided as follows:
Horse breeds can also be classified regionally. They are divided into eastern, Mongolian and northern.
Other farm animals
In addition to cattle, small cattle, pigs and rabbits, farms and private farms can breed:
- nutria;
- Arctic foxes
- minks.
In different regions of the planet, more exotic animals are sometimes kept as productive. It can be, for example, reindeer, elephants, camels, etc.