Changeset 24011


Ignore:
Timestamp:
2011-05-11T15:53:06+12:00 (13 years ago)
Author:
sjm84
Message:

Removed a lot of unnecessary stuff from the source files in the demo collection

Location:
main/trunk/greenstone2/collect/demo/import
Files:
11 edited

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  • main/trunk/greenstone2/collect/demo/import/b17mie/b17mie.htm

    r2814 r24011  
    1414  </Description>
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    25 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
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    2625<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Board on Science and Tecnology for International Development </P>
    2726<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">National Research Council</P>
    28 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     27
    2928<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance.</P>
    30 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     29
    3130<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.</P>
    32 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     31
    3332<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.</P>
    34 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     33
    3534<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.</P>
    36 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     35
    3736<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Their is president of the Institute of Medicine.</P>
    3837<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.</P>
    39 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     38
    4039<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID) of the Office of International Affairs addresses a range of issues arising from the ways in which science and technology in developing countries can stimulate and complement the complex processes of social and economic development. It oversees a broad program of bilateral workshops with scientific organizations in developing countries and conducts special studies.</P>
    41 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     40
    4241<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This report was prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation, Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Office of International Affairs, National Research Council. Staff support was funded by the Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development, under Grant No. DAN-5538-G-SS-1023-00. </P>
    43 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     42
    4443<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">PANEL ON MICROLIVESTOCK</P>
    45 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     44
    4645<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RALPH W. PHILLIPS, Deputy Director General (Retired), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Chairman </P>
    4746<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">EDWARD S. AYENSU, Senior Advisor to the President, African Development Bank, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.</P>
    … …  
    6968<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CHARLES A. WOODS, Professor and Curator, Florida State Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA </P>
    7069<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THOMAS M. YUILL, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Training, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA </P>
    71 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     70
    7271<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">* * *</P>
    73 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     72
    7473<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NOEL D. VIETMEYER, Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID), National Research Council, Washington, D.C., Microlivestock Study Director and Scientific Editor </P>
    75 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     74
    7675<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF</P>
    7776<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">F.R. RUSKIN, BOSTID Editor</P>
    … …  
    8079<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ELIZABETH MOUZON, Senior Secretary</P>
    8180<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">JOHN VREYENS, MUCIA Intern</P>
    82 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     81
    8382<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CONTRIBUTORS</P>
    84 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     83
    8584<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The following individuals have made general contributions to the development of this book. All of the persons listed as research contacts in Appendix B also contributed - usually on one or two species that are their scientific specialty.</P>
    86 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     85
    8786<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ASHIQ AHMAD, Wildlife Management Specialist, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar, Pakistan</P>
    8887<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ANGEL C. ALCALA, Division Research, Extension and Development, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines</P>
    … …  
    227226<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THOMAS M. YUILL School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA</P>
    228227<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">W. ZEILLER, Miami Seaquarium, Miami, Florida, USA </P>
    229 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    230 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
    231 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     228
     229<B>
    232230<!--
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    239 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     237</B>
    240238<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of the potential of small livestock species and to stimulate their introduction into animal research and economic development programs. It is geared particularly towards benefiting developing nations.</P>
    241 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     239
    242240<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">"Microlivestock" is a term we have coined for species that are inherently small, such as rabbits and poultry, as well as for breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs that are less than about half the size of the most common breeds. These miniature animals are seldom considered in the broad picture of livestock development, but they seem to have a promising future. Wherever land is scarce it seems reasonable to assume that, things being equal, small animals would be more attractive than large ones. And land for livestock is becoming increasingly scarce.</P>
    243 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     241
    244242<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In this report we have emphasized multipurpose species with promise for small  holders. In some species, the promise is immediate; in others, it is long term, and much research must be undertaken before that promise can be realized or even understood.</P>
    245 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     243
    246244<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We have included wild species that seem to have potential as future livestock. Some are threatened with extinction but are described here because their economic merits may be the key to acquiring support for their protection. Also we have highlighted rare breeds of domesticated species because the current tendency has been to concentrate on a small number of large breeds, and many potentially valuable breeds are becoming extinct through neglect.</P>
    247 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     245
    248246<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The book was prepared after an intensive survey of more than 300 animal scientists in 80 countries. They suggested more than 150 species for inclusion. The staff then drafted chapters on about 40 species and these drafts were reviewed by more than 400 researchers worldwide. The thousands of resulting comments, corrections, and additions were integrated into the drafts. The panel then met to review the product, to select the most promising species, and to rework the chapters based on their own experiences and joint conclusions. The result is the current 35 chapters. Most of the case studies and accounts of innovations highlighted in the various sidebars were developed by the staff study director. </P>
    249 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     247
    250248<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Collectively, this study covers many species, but it by no means exhausts all the microlivestock possibilities. Lack of space and time precludes discussion of creatures such as edible insects, snails, worms, turtles, and bats, which in some regions are highly regarded foods. Similarly, we have not included aquatic life. These decisions were arbitrary; perhaps invertebrates and aquatic species can be included in future volumes.</P>
    251 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     249
    252250<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This report is addressed to government administrators, technical assistance personnel, and researchers in agriculture, nutrition, and related disciplines who are concerned with helping developing countries achieve a more efficient and balanced exploitation of their biological resources. Hence, we deal with the animals in a general way and do not cover details of biology, husbandry, or economics. A selection of readings that contains such technical information is cited in Appendix A.</P>
    253 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     251
    254252<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A further goal of this project has been to explore the common ground between the disparate arms of animal science: to show that specialists in wildlife, zoology, and livestock science have much to learn from one another's field of expertise; to show that "fanciers" of pigeons, pheasants, chinchillas, iguanas, and other species may have much to offer livestock breeders - including germplasm; and that those who raise "obsolete" breeds are not only playing a vital role in the protection of rare genes but can offer the benefit of their experience to commercial livestock producers.</P>
    255 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     253
    256254<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Throughout this report, the scientific names of mammals follow those in: Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 1982. J.H. Honacki, K.E. Kinman, and J.W. Koeppl, editors. Published by Allen Press, Inc.; and the Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. All dollar figures are in U.S. dollars; all ton figures are in metric tons.</P>
    257 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     255
    258256<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This report has been produced under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation (ACTI) of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council. ACTI was mandated to assess innovative scientific and technological advances, with particular emphasis on those appropriate for developing countries. In this spirit, therefore, the current report includes some extremely unusual species. Whether these will eventually prove practical for widespread use is uncertain, but we present them here for researchers and others who look forward to challenges and enjoy the satisfaction of successful pioneering. The domestication of new poultry, as well as the management of rodents, iguanas, and small deer and antelope, should be viewed in this spirit.</P>
    259 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     257
    260258<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Current titles in the ACTI series on managing tropical animal resources are: </P>
    261 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     259
    262260<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">· The Water Buffalo: New Prospects for an Underutilized Animal</P>
    263261<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">· Little-Known Asian Animals with a Promising Economic Future</P>
    264262<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">· Crocodiles as a Resource for the Tropics</P>
    265263<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">· Butterfly Farming in Papua New Guinea.</P>
    266 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    267 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     264
    268265<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The production of these books has been supported largely by the Office of the Science Advisor of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), which also made this report possible.</P>
    269 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     266
    270267<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">WARNING</P>
    271 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    272 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     268
    273269<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If misunderstood, this book is potentially dangerous. Because of the severity of the food crisis, the panel has selected some animals - mainly in the rodent section - that are highly adaptable and grow quickly. These seem appropriate for raising only in areas where they already exist, which are clearly identified in those chapters. Such potentially invasive animals should not be introduced to other environments because they could become serious pests. In any trials, local species should always be given priority.</P>
    274 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     270
    275271<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">How to cite this report:</P>
    276272<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">National Research Council. 1991. Microlivestock: Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. </P>
    … …  
    279275<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kelly Klober</P>
    280276<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small Farmer's Journal</P>
    281 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    282 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
    283 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
    284 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     277
     278<B>
    285279<!--
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    292 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     286</B>
    293287<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g001a.png"></center><br>
    294288 FIGURE</P>
    295 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     289
    296290<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like computers, livestock for use in developing countries should be getting smaller and becoming more "personal." Conventional "mainframes," such as cattle, are too large for the world's poorest people; they require too much space and expense. "Miniframes," such as the conventional breeds of sheep and goats, have an increasingly important role to play. But tiny, "user-friendly" species for home use are the ones highlighted in this report. We have called them "microlivestock."'</P>
    297 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     291
    298292<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are two types of microlivestock. One consists of extremely small forms of conventional livestock - such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The other consists of species that are inherently small— poultry, rabbits, and rodents, for instance.</P>
    299 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     293
    300294<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microlivestock are important because the developing world's animal production is only a fraction of what it should be. Throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the poor eat almost no meat, milk, or eggs - the most nutritious foods. It is estimated, for example, that in Mexico 25 million campesinos cannot afford meat. In poor countries, even the middle class eats less meat in a year than the populations of North America and Europe eat in a month. Malnutrition is common and its effects, especially on children, can be debilitating. It is one of mankind's most serious imbalances - and most pressing problems.</P>
    301 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     295
    302296<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rural families in the Third World usually subsist mainly on the products from their homes or farms. Thus, if we are to help their livestock production, more attention must be given to animals that are sized for their situations. Examples discussed in the report are summarized here.</P>
    303 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     297
    304298<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microbreeds Small breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are common in the developing world. Because they are often raised for subsistence rather than for commerce, the national and global contribution that they make is often overlooked. These small, hardy animals deserve much greater recognition.</P>
    305 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     299
    306300<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Later chapters highlight dozens of promising microbreeds. All are less than half average size; some are far smaller than that. The "miniBrahman" cow of Mexico is only 60 cm tall and weighs 140 kg; the southern Sudan dwarf sheep of eastern Africa can weigh as little as 11 kg; the Terai goat of Nepal weighs less than 12 kg; and the cuing pig of Mexico weighs merely 10 kg.</P>
    307 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     301
    308302<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Poultry The widespread use of poultry in Third World villages demonstrates the importance of small, easily managed, household livestock. Small size, the ability to forage for themselves, and a natural desire to stay around the house put chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, and other birds among the most vital resources of rural Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Scratching a living out of the dirt, dust, ditches, and debris, these often-scrawny creatures are a resource to be taken seriously. For the most poverty stricken, a bony bird may be the only source of meat during much of a lifetime. </P>
    309 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     303
    310304<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Among poultry, there are many underrated, but highly promising, species, including:</P>
    311 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     305
    312306<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Pigeon. These birds forage widely but return home, thereby providing the farmers with squab, one of the tastiest of all meats. </P>
    313 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     307
    314308<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Quail. Small and efficient, they, too, are suited to home rearing, and in Japan and a few other countries, large numbers are raised commercially in very small space. </P>
    315 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     309
    316310<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Muscovy. A native of South American rainforests, this bird is a major poultry resource of France, Taiwan, and a few other countries. Tame, tolerant, and tough, it deserves greater recognition everywhere. </P>
    317 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     311
    318312<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Guinea Fowl. One of the most self-reliant of all domestic birds, this native of Africa is raised in huge numbers in Europe - notably France. Its potential for increased production elsewhere is exceptional. </P>
    319 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     313
    320314<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Turkey. The traditional turkey of Mexico still exists as a scavenger bird in villages and household backyards. Unlike the highly selected modern breeds, it is self-reliant, robust, and disease-resistant. </P>
    321 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     315
    322316<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits Like chickens, rabbits exemplify the vast possibilities that microlivestock offer for increasing meat production in the most poverty-stricken parts of the world. Captive rabbits have been popular as food at least since the time of the Romans. Rabbit rearing has been well established in Europe and China, and now national rabbit projects have begun in many developing nations.</P>
    323 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     317
    324318<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rodents Some 7,000 years ago, guinea pigs were domesticated as a source of food for the high Andes; even today in the uplands of Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, most Indians raise them inside their homes and regard them as an essential part of life. For many Indians, these indoor livestock are the main source of meat. Prolific, tractable, and easy to feed, house, and handle, guinea pigs are even kept in downtown apartment buildings - often in boxes under the bed. </P>
    325 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     319
    326320<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Other rodents might also be suited to domestication; for instance, the potentially tamable, clean-living species of South American fields and woodlands - agouti, capybara, hutia, mare, coypu, pace, and vizcacha. Two remarkable domestication programs have been started in Africa: the grasscutter in West Africa and the giant rat in Nigeria. Both animals provide popular "bushmeat" and researchers are now learning to raise them in captivity. (Because of its tangy taste, Ghanaians actually pay three times more for grasscutter meat than for beef!)</P>
    327 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     321
    328322<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Antelope Another wild African mammal with potential for "household animal husbandry," the blue duiker, is a rabbit-sized antelope. In some areas of Central and Southern Africa the demand is so great that its population is declining at an alarming rate. Duiker rearing, if it can be made successful, might provide both food and an economic alternative to slaughtering the wild populations. It is reported that duikers are easy to maintain and they reproduce well in captivity.</P>
    329 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     323
    330324<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The meat of several other tiny antelope species is also much sought in many African countries, and these animals are also suitably sized to feed the average family at one meal.</P>
    331 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     325
    332326<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Deer Several species of tiny deer - smaller than many dogs - might make useful microlivestock, although much research is needed before their true potential can be judged. Normal-sized deer were once considered too easily frightened to be reared as domestic livestock, but several species are now raised on thousands of deer farms in New Zealand as well as in at least a dozen other countries.</P>
    333 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     327
    334328<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mouse deer and musk deer (which, strictly speaking, are not true deer at all) are of microlivestock size and are also possible future livestock. The musk deer produces one of the most valuable materials in the animal kingdom - more valuable, in fact, than gold. The musk from the male's glands is used in oriental medicines as well as in European perfumes. </P>
    335 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     329
    336330<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Iguanas Over much of the Caribbean and Latin America, iguanas are a traditional source of food. Indeed, the meat of these large herbivorous lizards is so delicious they are being hunted to extinction throughout their wide range. Their eggs are much enjoyed also. Programs in Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Curacao, and Argentina have developed simple methods to hatch and rear three iguana species. </P>
    337 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     331
    338332<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Bees Honey bees are present almost everywhere, and honey and wax are high-value products that demand little processing and can be stored and transported easily. Innovations in equipment and technique have made beekeeping successful in the tropics without requiring sophisticated hives or elaborate training. Raising bees can also benefit the many crops that require pollination.</P>
    339 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     333
    340334<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE MICROLIVESTOCK ADVANTAGES</P>
    341 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     335
    342336<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although animal science has traditionally emphasized bigness, smallness has its advantages. Some of these are summarized below.</P>
    343 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     337
    344338<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Economic</P>
    345 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     339
    346340<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microlivestock lend themselves to economic niches that are not easily filled by large livestock. Much of their potential is for subsistence production. They are promising for the many peasants who, being outside the cash economy, are now unable to purchase meat, milk, cheese, or eggs. These people can afford only animals that can be raised within the home or backyard under ambient climatic conditions and on feeds that are cheap and easily available.</P>
    347 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     341
    348342<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A subsistence farmer is likely to benefit more from small species than from large because of several factors:</P>
    349 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    350 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     343
    351344<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The animals are less expensive to buy.</P>
    352 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     345
    353346<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They are less of a financial risk to maintain. (A farmer with several small animals is less vulnerable to loss than a farmer with a single large animal, a feature that is particularly important in subsistence farming where success determines whether the family will survive.)</P>
    354 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     347
    355348<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They give a faster return on investment. (Small size generally signifies high reproductive capacity and a fast turnover.)</P>
    356 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     349
    357350<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They provide flexibility. (Farmers can more easily change the size of their herd or flock to match the amount of feed available at a given time. Also, they can sell animals according to the family's fluctuating needs for cash or food.) </P>
    358 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     351
    359352<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They provide a steadier source of income.</P>
    360 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     353
    361354<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They increase the chances of successful breeding because greater numbers are usually kept. (This also means that breeding stock is more likely to be retained in times of scarcity.)</P>
    362 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     355
    363356<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- They are more easily transported. (Who hasn't traveled in a Third World bus or train without chickens, ducks, or guinea pigs as fellow passengers?)</P>
    364 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     357
    365358<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- In some cases they are more efficient converters of food energy.</P>
    366 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     359
    367360<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are also a number of other benefits to small species.</P>
    368 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     361
    369362<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Reduced Spoilage. A portion of meat that comes in a "package" of a size that can be readily consumed by a family is important in areas where refrigeration is unavailable or uneconomic. A family can eat the meat produced by most microlivestock in one meal or in one day to minimize the risk of spoilage.</P>
    370 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     363
    371364<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Efficient Use of Space. The space required for handling and feeding microlivestock is proportionately less than that required for large animals. Low space requirements make many microlivestock (such as guinea pigs, rabbits, pigeons, and quail) available to landless rural inhabitants who have no room for a cow. This is particularly important with respect to feed production.</P>
    372 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     365
    373366<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Cheaper Facilities. Facilities and equipment required for microlivestock are, by and large, smaller and simpler than those required for large animals. They often can be made from local products or scrap material or both.</P>
    374 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     367
    375368<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Ease of Management. Farmers and villagers can manage small animals more easily than large, which is an advantage in the many places where women and children are the main keepers of livestock.</P>
    376 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     369
    377370<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Increased Productivity. Small animals tend to fit well into existing farming systems, thereby expanding the resource base and recycling nutrients. Some - for example bees, ducks, and geese - can feed themselves by scavenging.</P>
    378 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     371
    379372<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- By-Products. Many species have fur, feathers, skins, and other by-products that are often more valuable than their meat, milk, or eggs. Examples include the feet and tails of rabbits, musk from musk deer, and pelts from rodents such as coypu. Processing such byproducts creates diversification for the farmer and perhaps jobs for the village.</P>
    380 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     373
    381374<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RATIONALE FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION</P>
    382 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     375
    383376<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many have argued that livestock raising should be discouraged, that it is a primary cause of desertification through overgrazing and that it is an inefficient converter of basic material and energy into human food. "Grow more pulses, grow more grains," these people cry. Their arguments can be valid where the land has high potential for permanent cultivation. Much of the world's surface, however, does not fit into that category, and it is in these areas and for those people who have no access to arable lands that a convincing case for livestock can most easily tee mace. As W.J.A. Payne has written:*</P>
    384 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     377
    385378<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Livestock, particularly ruminants, can process forage and waste crop materials inedible by man into nutritionally desirable food products, many of high protein, mineral and vitamin content and including some of high caloric value. </P>
    386 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     379
    387380<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Approximately 40 percent of total land available in developing countries can be used only for some form of forage production and a further 30 percent is classified as forest with some potential for the production of forage. Some 12 percent of the world's total population live in areas where people depend almost entirely on the products obtained from ruminant livestock. </P>
    388 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     381
    389382<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Livestock provide a range of extremely valuable by-products. Dung is not only a fertilizer and soil-stabilizer but also a fuel of often considerably greater value than the fodder consumed in its production. Other byproducts, especially hides and wool form the bases of rural enterprises that may provide significant incomes to the poorest members of society. </P>
    390 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     383
    391384<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Animal plant and human life are ecologically interdependent. The establishment of agricultural systems in which livestock are integrated with crops, forestry and aquaculture is essential for the improvement of overall productivity. </P>
    392 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     385
    393386<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Livestock produce food that adds to the nutritional quality and variety of human diets. Although it is possible for humans to exist without them, these foods are relished and sought after by the majority of humanity. These foods include meat, eggs and processed products such as biltong and cheese. </P>
    394 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     387
    395388<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Feed</P>
    396 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     389
    397390<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In general, small species tend to expand the food base by using a wider array of resources than do major livestock such as cattle. Many can be raised on feeds that people discard: fibrous residues, industry by-products, or kitchen wastes. Some collect minute feeds that otherwise go unused. For example, chickens and pigeons gather scattered seeds, turkeys gobble up insects, geese graze water weeds, iguanas feed in the tops of trees, and bees collect nectar and pollen from flowers that may be miles away.</P>
    398 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     391
    399392<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Even some grazing microlivestock prefer different forages from those preferred by cattle. Antelope and deer, for instance, browse tree leaves; capybara and grasscutters eat reeds. Combining microlivestock with conventional livestock results in a more complete utilization of forage resources and greater animal production per hectare.</P>
    400 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     393
    401394<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Under conditions of abundance, small size may be of no advantage in mammals, but if feed is limited, it is of great help. A small animal (or its keeper) needs to cover less area to fulfill its daily requirements, so that microlivestock may grow fat in areas where the forage is too sparse to support a larger animal. This is particularly vital when there are seasonal bottlenecks. For example, feed may be plentiful enough for most of the year to supply many large animals; however, the dry season may greatly restrict the numbers that can be kept.</P>
    402 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     395
    403396<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although small animals generally require proportionately higher inputs of feed, they also grow proportionately faster (see sidebar opposite). In addition, species such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and grasscutters digest fibrous matter with surprising efficiency, even though they are not true ruminants like cattle, sheep, and goats.</P>
    404 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     397
    405398<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Reproduction</P>
    406 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     399
    407400<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many small animals have high reproductive capacity with short gestation periods, large numbers of offspring, and rapid juvenile growth. They tend to reach sexual maturity at a younger age than large animals, and the interval between the generations can be very short. Thus, meat or other products can be produced more rapidly and more evenly throughout the year.</P>
    408 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     401
    409402<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cows, for example, produce a maximum of one calf per year. A pig, on the other hand, may produce 7 or more young; a rabbit, 30 or more; a chicken, more than 100.</P>
    410 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     403
    411404<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Adaptability and Hardiness</P>
    412 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     405
    413406<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The survival rates and manageability of many small breeds and species can be outstanding. Smallness is often an adaptation to harsh environment. Indeed, a major promise for microlivestock is in special environmental niches. Where cold, heat, temperature fluctuations, aridity, or humidity are extreme, microlivestock are likely to show their greatest advantage. Chickens, guinea fowl, goats, and many other small species already live in villages, homes, and backyards in harsh and disease-prone climates, and are usually given no care and sometimes no food: they have to scavenge for their sustenance and survive as best they can. Such selection pressures result in animals of remarkable adaptability, tolerance, and robustness.</P>
    414 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    415 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     407
    416408<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some microlivestock can produce under conditions where conventional species die. The capybara, for instance, is at home in the Latin American lowlands, where the climate is hot and humid and floods cause seasonal inundations. Cattle, by contrast, die because of malnutrition, foot rot, or drowning. Other microlivestock species with a wide tolerance to ecological extremes include the turkey, pigeon, and bee. And some dwarf breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs show surprising tolerance to trypanosomes, the parasites that make conventional breeds impossible to maintain throughout much of Africa.</P>
    417 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     409
    418410<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some small species can be raised in cities, where poverty and malnutrition are often worse than in rural areas. It is estimated, for instance, that one million livestock exist in Cairo, not counting the pigeons that are raised on countless rooftops. Goats and cattle are common in urban India, and many Third World cities have far more chickens than people.</P>
    419 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     411
    420412<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p9a.png"></center><br>
    421413 Food utilization versus body size</P>
    422 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     414
    423415<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">MICROLIVESTOCK LIMITATIONS</P>
    424 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     416
    425417<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Raising microlivestock is not a panacea for the Third World's food problems. Efforts to develop them will not be without difficulties. Some likely problems are noted here.</P>
    426 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     418
    427419<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">High Energy Requirements</P>
    428 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     420
    429421<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Smaller animals tend to have a higher feed requirement per unit of body weight than large animals. Anatomical and physiological constraints prevent them from meeting their relatively high energy requirements simply by increasing the rate of food ingestion. Therefore, for optimum production, some small animals, particularly nonruminants, require feed that is higher in protein and lower in fiber than large animals. This is particularly true when the small animals are compared with ruminants such as cattle, sheep, and goats.</P>
    430 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     422
    431423<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Increased Labor Requirements</P>
    432 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     424
    433425<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The advantages of low investment, fast return on capital, flexibility, and efficient resource utilization are offset by higher demands for labor. Keeping small animals often requires considerable effort, and its economic viability may depend on the availability of cheap and willing labor. Many small animals are raised at home by family members, such as children, the elderly, and the handicapped, who have time available and whose labor costs are nominally zero.</P>
    434 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     426
    435427<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Diseases</P>
    436 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     428
    437429<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some potential microlivestock are undomesticated, and resistance to diseases and parasites is one justification for their consideration. However, the general healthiness of a species when it is free-ranging can be a misleading guide for its husbandry. Confining any animal in high density invariably increases the potential for the spread of infectious diseases and parasites. Moreover, mismanagement can foster respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases (such as salmonella or coccidiosis) that are rare among scattered populations.</P>
    438 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     430
    439431<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some microlivestock are potential reservoirs for diseases that affect not only local animals but people as well. This may limit their successful development in some areas. Although the dangers are often exaggerated, controls may be needed, particularly of rinderpest, tickborne diseases, and those diseases communicable to humans.</P>
    440 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     432
    441433<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Predation</P>
    442 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     434
    443435<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small size makes microlivestock easy prey.</P>
    444 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     436
    445437<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Lack of Research</P>
    446 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     438
    447439<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Techniques to manage some microlivestock species are not yet well established. The development of appropriate husbandry techniques, as well as a better understanding of the animals' particular biological and behavioral characteristics, will be needed before major progress can be made. These species (for instance rodents, deer, and iguanas) may require collection of different genotypes, as well as studies of diseases, nutrition, and management.</P>
    448 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     440
    449441<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Complex Logistics</P>
    450 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     442
    451443<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is complicated and expensive to reach millions of widely scattered peasants, each having only a handful of small animals. Even though total production may far exceed that of commercial farms raising large animals, the smallholdings are often dispersed, their animals are often used for subsistence rather than commerce, and their managers are often ill-trained and illiterate.</P>
    452 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     444
    453445<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Legislative Restrictions</P>
    454 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     446
    455447<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The use of some microlivestock species may be restricted by legislation. For instance, some countries have meat and veterinary laws that work against the development of species other than cattle. Others have laws to protect wildlife, which could be important in the case of species such as antelope, deer, pace, and iguana.</P>
    456 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     448
    457449<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Lack of Markets</P>
    458 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     450
    459451<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microlivestock need not be just for home or local consumption; they can also be raised for market. But some commercial programs, including some with rabbits and guinea pigs, have failed because no public demand was developed.</P>
    460 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     452
    461453<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Resistance to New Species</P>
    462 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     454
    463455<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">People have close associations with livestock, and in most cultures they do not easily accept animals or animal foods that are radically different from their traditional ones. In general, the ties between certain ethnic groups and a particular species or breed is very strong (one reason, for example, why European colonists introduced their own large breeds of cattle and sheep to Africa and Asia, paying little attention to small indigenous breeds). Moreover, people who are used to bringing the animal to the feed rather than the feed to the animal may resist a small animal that has to be penned up and fed by hand.</P>
    464 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     456
    465457<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Opposition to Smallness</P>
    466 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     458
    467459<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Finally, there seems to be an innate human trait that considers bigger to be better, especially among the common livestock. For example, because many tropical cattle are small, there is strong inclination on the part of those responsible for livestock improvement to dismiss them or to increase their size by crossing them with large breeds.</P>
    468 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     460
    469461<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FUTURE OF MICROLIVESTOCK</P>
    470 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     462
    471463<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small animals are likely to become increasingly important. As human populations increase, the space available for growing forage decreases, and this phenomenon favors small animals. Many villagers already have little or no pastureland. Some live in areas (the rice-growing areas of Southeast Asia, for instance) where crops are grown on almost every square meter almost every month of the year. Microlivestock are potentially important for urban areas of developing countries as well. There, too, land is at a premium and is usually inadequate for raising conventional livestock. </P>
    472 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     464
    473465<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">So far, however, microlivestock have been largely ignored. Compared with cattle, they have been accorded little scientific effort. In the drive towards larger animals, stimulated by experience in the temperate zone, the virtually unstudied gene pool of small species and breeds has been mostly bypassed. There have been few attempts to assess or improve their farm productivity.</P>
    474 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     466
    475467<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This is unfortunate, and it is perhaps due to the fact that small animals may be less efficient at digesting certain foods and therefore technically less attractive than large, "modern" breeds. But to Third World peasants, an animal's efficiency is far less important than its survivability and manageability. If an animal cannot be raised under village conditions, its feed-use efficiency or milk yield is irrelevant.</P>
    476 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     468
    477469<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microlivestock production should be integrated into most ruraldevelopment projects. Small animals offer a way to improve the lives of people who are hard to reach by other methods. Only by expanding research on the husbandry, hygiene, nutrition, reproduction, physiology, and breeding can the promise of animals sized for small farms and villages be fulfilled. Moreover, the costs will be small compared with those of programs for large animals.2</P>
    478 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     470
    479471<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Specifically, experiment stations should produce and promote methods and materials for use in rearing microlivestock. Donors and development institutions, planners, and policymakers should note the potentials of microlivestock and the benefits that can be derived from them. Teaching manuals and materials are needed, and classes in microlivestock husbandry should be included in rural school curricula.</P>
    480 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     472
    481473<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Raising personal livestock on weeds and table scraps in cages beside the house or boxes under the bed will, in many instances, get quality protein to the most poverty stricken more effectively than raising large livestock on pastures.</P>
    482 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     474
    483475<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although small size confers many advantages, the question is not whether the large or small animal is "best," but rather how well each can meet a person's varying requirements. In a given situation, livestock can be too small or too large. But the fact remains that not everyone who wants meat or money has the resources to acquire, keep, manage, or utilize a large animal.</P>
    484 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     476
    485477<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The key is balance. Both microlivestock and traditional livestock deserve serious attention. Indeed, it seems likely that the two will seldom compete. Most microlivestock complement traditional livestock because of unique physical, physiological, behavioral, or economic characteristics. They increase the range of options for the millions of poor for whom the choice may not even be between large and small livestock, but between microlivestock and no livestock at all. </P>
    486 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     478
    487479<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It's an unfortunate fact that small animals don't have the prestige among Third World farmers that large animals do (perhaps this arose because children can look after goats and sheep but it takes men to look after cattle). Even sheep and goats are not accorded the same stature as cattle.</P>
    488 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     480
    489481<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hugh Popenoe</P>
    490 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     482
    491483<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Breeds and varieties were created from mutant genes and thus haste become living reservoirs of these genes, holding them for use in future generations of mankind.</P>
    492 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     484
    493485<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Anonymous</P>
    494 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     486
    495487<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g002a.png"></center><br>
    496488 FIGURE</P>
    497 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    498 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     489
     490<B>
    499491<!--
    500492</Section>
    … …  
    504496  </Description>
    505497-->
    506 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     498</B>
    507499<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g003a.png"></center><br>
    508500 FIGURE</P>
    509 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     501
    510502<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs supply millions of people around the world with the bulk of their cash and animal products. Yet scores of breeds - especially in the tropics - are left out of livestock development projects merely because they are considered too small. These "microbreeds"' have sometimes been considered genetic dead ends because they appear undersized and puny. Many of these traditional animals - some in local use for thousands of years - are disappearing, and even the small ancestors of large modern breeds are becoming extinct.</P>
    511 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     503
    512504<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These small breeds deserve to be studied and developed in their own right. Throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America, these usually hardy animals are especially adapted to traditional husbandry practices and harsh local conditions. Some have remarkable qualities and are well adapted to resist hostile weather, ravaging pestilence, and poor diets. In remote places and in areas of extreme climate, they are often vitally important for basic subsistence.</P>
    513 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     505
    514506<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Indeed, because of stress or disease, or insufficient forage, land, or money, microbreeds may be the only practical livestock in many settings. Their individual output may be low, but it can be efficient considering the lack of care and poor feeds they are given. Their availability and the growing number of small-sized farms in the developing world make them increasingly worthy of consideration.</P>
    515 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     507
    516508<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The following chapters in this section describe microcattle, microgoats, microsheep, and micropigs. </P>
    517 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    518 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     509
    519510<B><P></P>
    520511<!--
    … …  
    524515  </Description>
    525516-->
    526 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     517</B>
    527518<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g004a.png"></center><br>
    528519 FIGURE</P>
    529 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     520
    530521<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For the purposes of this report, "microcattle" are considered to be small breeds of cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus) with a mature weight of about 300 kg or less. In many areas of the developing world, these are actually the animals most widely held by farmers and pastoralists. They are often treasured because of their resilience and simple requirements. Many survive and produce under harsh conditions, grow rapidly, calve easily, show good maternal ability, yield lean meat, or have other advantages.</P>
    531 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     522
    532523<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microcattle have generally been ignored in the push towards larger animals, but they seem inherently suitable for traditional and small-farm husbandry. As rural people in developing countries improve their own productivity, as they become more aware of nutritional needs, and as they depend more upon cash economies, microcattle could become vital means for improving personal, dietary, and economic status.</P>
    533 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     524
    534525<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    535 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     526
    536527<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    537 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     528
    538529<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    539 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     530
    540531<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cattle have been classified in many ways, but they are generally designated as humped or humpless types. However, clear distinctions among them are sometimes difficult or impossible to make because they have intermingled for thousands of years. Representative microcattle types are listed at the end of the chapter. </P>
    541 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     532
    542533<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    543 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     534
    544535<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">More than two-thirds of the world's 1.3 billion cattle are found in the developing world; one-third is in the tropics. As noted, a considerable number of these could be called "microcattle."</P>
    545 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     536
    546537<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    547 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     538
    548539<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many strains of microcattle are threatened with extinction because of replacement or crossbreeding with larger types. This is in some respects shortsighted because promoting just a few breeds contributes to narrowing of the genetic base, and valuable traits may be lost when selection is done to conform to any preconceived standard, including large size.</P>
    549 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     540
    550541<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    551 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     542
    552543<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microcattle are adapted to a wide variety of habitats. Many types thrive - even with little or no attention - in climates that are hot, humid, arid, or beset by diseases and parasites.</P>
    553 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     544
    554545<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    555 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     546
    556547<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cattle are ruminants and digest fiber well, although they are selective foragers and prefer tender grasses and low-growing legumes.</P>
    557 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     548
    558549<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As with other tropical cattle, microbreeds generally reach physical and sexual maturity in 2 or 3 years. Many can breed year-round when conditions are favorable (gestation lasts about 9 months). Cows may remain fertile 10 years or more, and can live more than 20 years.</P>
    559 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     550
    560551<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    561 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     552
    562553<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cattle usually graze from as few as four hours to as many as eight hours a day. If feed is of poor quality, they must forage (and ruminate) longer to receive adequate nutrition. </P>
    563 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     554
    564555<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microcattle are commonly docile and undemanding animals, and many small breeds are surprisingly responsive to humans.</P>
    565 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     556
    566557<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    567 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     558
    568559<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like conventional breeds, microcattle produce the same well-known products: meat, milk, manure, hides, horn, blood, and bone. They are also used for traction.</P>
    569 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     560
    570561<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small cattle often produce only modest amounts of milk and meat per animal. However, given higher stocking rates, a herd of microcattle is often able to outyield larger, genetically improved animals on a per hectare basis, especially under stressful conditions. When their ability to survive adversity and poor management is taken into account, they may often be far and away the most efficient cattle for traditional husbandry.</P>
    571 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     562
    572563<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Surprisingly, there is a place even for small draft animals. They tend to be active, thrifty (efficient), and more maneuverable in tight spaces, and so are adapted for use in the small fields, terraces, and paddies that are becoming increasingly common. The small hill cattle of Nepal, for instance, are valued because they can negotiate steep slopes and narrow terraces on Himalayan mountainsides. </P>
    573 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     564
    574565<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    575 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     566
    576567<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microcattle are handled like their larger counterparts, but herding, tethering, fencing, and hobbling are generally easier.</P>
    577 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     568
    578569<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    579 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     570
    580571<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cattle are familiar animals that are accepted in nearly all cultures; their meat, milk, manure, and leather are in demand almost everywhere. In many societies, beef is preferred over other meats, even by those who can rarely afford it.</P>
    581 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     572
    582573<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In most areas, organized breeding, production, and marketing associations are already in place. Microcattle can also integrate well into traditional forms of husbandry, whether in pastoral herds of hundreds or as solitary backyard milk cows.</P>
    583 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     574
    584575<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Under humid and hot conditions, microcattle probably suffer less than larger breeds because their greater ratio of skin area to body mass enhances their ability to shed heat.</P>
    585 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     576
    586577<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The number of cattle that can be kept on a given parcel of land may be increased, sometimes even doubled, with smaller animals. Microcattle can also be penned and fed cut-and-carry forage more easily than can larger cattle, and more of them can be maintained on the same amount of feed. This permits more continuous production and less financial hardship when an animal perishes.</P>
    587 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     578
    588579<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small cattle may require less labor because they are generally easier to handle, herd, confine, and transport. They usually have few problems with calving, and as a rule require little or no assistance.</P>
    589 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     580
    590581<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some microcattle have unusual tolerances to disease. In Africa, for instance, there are breeds that tolerate or resist trypanosomiasis, a parasitic disease that makes large areas of that continent uninhabitable for most other cattle breeds. Others seem more tolerant of internal or external parasites, theileriosis (east coast fever), rinderpest, or other afflictions.</P>
    591 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     582
    592583<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    593 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     584
    594585<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microcattle often lack the prestige of larger breeds.</P>
    595 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     586
    596587<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">When given quality forage and supplemental feeding, small unimproved cattle may not match the overall productivity of the large, highly developed breeds. Their greatest potential may prove to be for traditional husbandry and for grazing marginal areas where survival is more important than feed efficiency.</P>
    597 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     588
    598589<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BONSAI BRAHMAN</P>
    599 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     590
    600591<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In Mexico, researchers are deliberately creating microcattle. Since 1970, Juan Manuel Berruecos Villalobos, former director of the Veterinary Medicine school at the National Autonomous University, has directed this enterprise. He and his colleagues have miniaturized cows by selecting the smallest specimens out of a herd of normal-sized Brahman cattle and breeding them with one another. After five generations, adult females average 15-180 kg adult males 20-220 kg. A few of the smallest cows are now only 60 cm tall and 140 kg in weight. Merely one-fifth of normal weight, they are shorter than the turkeys that share the barnyard with them. Indeed, they even get lost in the grassy pastures so that the farmers cannot see them.</P>
    601 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     592
    602593<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This program seems to have yielded a productive animal that can be cheaply and easily maintained in a small space. Berruecos has demonstrated that the tiny cows can be stocked on one-third the area needed to support one normal-sized cow. He reports that they are giving remarkable amounts of milk: up to four lifers a day, compared with six lifers from their full-sized counterparts. On a feed-intake to weight-gain basis, the tiny cattle are no less efficient than their normal-sized counterparts.</P>
    603 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     594
    604595<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although 17 years have gone into the selection of what Berruecos calls his "bonsai cattle," the process is not yet finished. Future goals include testing embryo transplants to see if one normal-sized cow can support multiple "microfetuses" (possibly as many as eight). This would help to rapidly increase the numbers of the miniature form, which weigh merely 4-5 kg at birth.</P>
    605 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     596
    606597<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">All in all, the Mexican researchers see miniaturization as a new option for governments and farmers increasingly squeezed by shrinking farm land and rising production costs. Small livestock they say, are a way to produce more food on less land faster. For example, a campesino with almost no land can have one or two bonsais, but could never maintain a standard-sized cow.</P>
    607 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     598
    608599<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    609 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     600
    610601<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Their adaptability and robustness make microcattle worthy of preservation, study, and greater use, and they should be incorporated into many ongoing programs.</P>
    611 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     602
    612603<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Selective breeding, although infrequently attempted, can probably improve productivity significantly. Records of breed history should be established, and unusual or special characteristics noted and the information disseminated. </P>
    613 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     604
    614605<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p24a.png"></center><br>
    615606 Original distribution of wild cattle and banteng (Based on Mason , 1984)</P>
    616 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     607
    617608<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In areas where small, indigenous breeds are being replaced, representative populations should be maintained and studied to increase understanding of their adaptive diversity and to retain a genetic storehouse for the future.</P>
    618 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     609
    619610<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF MICROCATTLE</P>
    620 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     611
    621612<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Dwarf West African Shorthorn</P>
    622 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    623 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     613
    624614<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West African coastal forests, and inland. Female 125 kg; male 150 kg. Adaptation to harsh, humid climates and good resistance to trypanosomiasis and other diseases allow these small animals to exist where other cattle die. They are perhaps the smallest cattle of all (often weighing less than 100 kg). In the areas of worst disease and highest rainfall, this hardy animal is often found thriving, but half wild. </P>
    625 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     615
    626616<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muturu Nigeria. Female 160 kg; male 210 kg. This notable subtype is slightly larger. It is the most trypanotolerant of all cattle, showing no symptoms or loss of vitality. It is widely kept, mostly as a village scavenger and often as a pet, and yields a high percentage of meat. </P>
    627 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     617
    628618<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">N'Dama</P>
    629 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     619
    630620<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West Africa. 200-400 kg. These active, stocky animals utilize low-quality forage, produce good beef, and are used as light draft oxen. Milk production, though poor, improves with feeding level. N'Dama mature early and are exceptionally fertile, and they have already become important in breeding programs. They are resistant to trypanosomiasis, and can exist where temperatures average 30&Yacute; C with 1,500 mm annual rainfall. In the least hospitable areas, N'Damas ranging down to 200 kg are often the only cattle that can remain productive.</P>
    631 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     621
    632622<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rodope</P>
    633 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     623
    634624<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southeastern Europe. Female 200 kg; male 350 kg. A humpless multipurpose breed - draft, milk, and beef - that is exceptionally hardy. The milk is high in butterfat. Possibly adaptable to the subtropics. It is rapidly being lost to crossbreeding.</P>
    635 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     625
    636626<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Zebu</P>
    637 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     627
    638628<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Zebus are among the most important tropical domestic animals. However, the dwarfs are not well known, although in many areas they are preferred, especially as draft animals. Zebus use less water, even though their sweat glands are larger and more numerous than those of most other cattle. All have a low basal metabolism and resist heat well. In general, they also have high resistance to ticks and other parasites.</P>
    639 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     629
    640630<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Taiwan Black Taiwan. Female 250 kg; male 250 kg. Well adapted to poor tropical conditions, these work animals are also used for meat. </P>
    641 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     631
    642632<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kedah-Kelantan Malaysia. Female 200 kg; male 250 kg. Hardy, well adapted cattle with exceptional fertility on a poor diet, both sexes are used as draft animals as well as sources of meat and cash. </P>
    643 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     633
    644634<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sinhala (Dwarf Zebu) Sri Lanka. Female 200 kg; male 250 kg. An ancient type of zebu, preferred for its handiness in cultivating small paddies and terraced fields. </P>
    645 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     635
    646636<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nuba Dwarf Sudan. 180-220 kg. These work animals are well proportioned but are not slaughtered for meat, and milk production is low. Although tolerant to trypanosomiasis, their numbers have dwindled because of crossbreeding. </P>
    647 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     637
    648638<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small Zebu Somalia. 160-230 kg. These small native cattle are used for beef, milk, and for work. They are well adapted to poor feed in a desolate environment. </P>
    649 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     639
    650640<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Abyssinian Shorthorn Zebu (Showa) Central highlands of Ethiopia. Female 225 kg; male 305 kg. These widespread, small-humped cattle are very hardy. They produce beef and are generally milked, with surplus production about 2-4 kg daily. Resistant to many parasites, they also have a gentle disposition and make good work animals. </P>
    651 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     641
    652642<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Dwarf Zebu (Mongalla) Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Female 150 kg; male 250 kg. A highly variable, long-entrenched, small, East-African zebu with some nonzebu blood. Pastoralists favor it because of its hardiness. Although slow-maturing, it is well-fleshed, can yield excellent beef, and some types are milked. </P>
    653 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     643
    654644<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mashona Zimbabwe. Female 200 kg; male 250 kg. This hardy zebusanga type (see below) is widespread in drier areas and has a high resistance to disease and parasites. Since the 1940s, it has been bred for beef production and selected animals now weigh more than 500 kg. </P>
    655 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     645
    656646<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mini-Brahman Mexico. 135 kg. Downsized from 450-kg Brazilian zebus through selective breeding by Mexican researchers, these gentle animals are reported to yield two-thirds as much milk (3-4 liters daily) as the parent stock. Because of much higher stocking rates on grass, production per hectare is reportedly greater than with full-sized animals (see sidebar, page 22). </P>
    657 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     647
    658648<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Criollo</P>
    659 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     649
    660650<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Central and South America. Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese  cattle imported over 400 years ago, "criollo" cattle have adapted to a  wide range of harsh climates. Many varieties are small: mature females  often weigh 200-300 kg or less. They sometimes produce little beef or  milk under traditional conditions and management, but they are  extremely hardy and survive when other cattle perish. Through  importation and crossbreeding, many local types have been lost or are  threatened.</P>
    661 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     651
    662652<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chinampo Baja California, Mexico. 200-350 kg. Extremely tolerant of  wild desert conditions, these docile criollo cattle exist largely on scrub  and cactus. They get most of their water from succulent plants, have a  low metabolic rate and body temperature, and are mostly active at night. </P>
    663 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     653
    664654<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Florida Scrub Florida, USA. 225-300 kg. Genetically isolated for more  than 300 years, the Florida Scrub is very hardy in harsh, subtropical  conditions. It has good resistance to ticks and screwworm, and can  subsist on forage with a high roughage content. </P>
    665 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     655
    666656<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sanga</P>
    667 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     657
    668658<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This type - an ancient cross between longhorns or shorthorns and  humped animals - is found throughout eastern and southern Africa. It  weighs from 150 to 500 kg or more. Some types have been selectively  bred or crossed with European cattle and are quite productive.</P>
    669 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     659
    670660<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Bavenda Transvaal, South Africa. 240-290 kg. This hardy and  disease tolerant tropical variety is small and prolific. It is generally used  for draft, barter, and beef. However, it has been crossbred with larger  animals so frequently that the smaller types are almost extinct; most  "Bavendas" now weigh more than 300 kg.</P>
    671 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     661
    672662<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ovambo' Northeastern Namibia. Female 160 kg; male 225 kg. A calm  and docile animal with a small hump, it is used by seasonal pastoralists  for beef and milk.  </P>
    673 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     663
    674664<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nilotic Sudan. 180-300 kg. These cattle of southern Sudan show great variation in size, partly due to environmental factors. They are generally resistant to local parasites and worms, have good potential for increased beef production, and their milk is very important locally.</P>
    675 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     665
    676666<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chadian "Native" and Dwarf Black Cattle</P>
    677 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     667
    678668<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chad. Female 225 kg; male 275 kg. These two types are small, humped meat animals that graze the sparse savanna and are very drought resistant. Little scientific information exists about them.</P>
    679 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     669
    680670<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">"Arab Cattle"</P>
    681 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     671
    682672<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Middle East. Small types (female 225 kg; male 300 kg) are used for meat and some milk, especially in Lebanon. There are many local forms with variable appearance, but all have small humps. Well adapted to grazing sparse vegetation on rough land, they are becoming rare due to crossbreeding.</P>
    683 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     673
    684674<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hill Cattle</P>
    685 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     675
    686676<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nepal. Female 160 kg; male 200 kg. A widespread type often recrossed with Indian zebu animals, they are bred to be small. They are thrifty creatures that maintain themselves well on poor forage. Bulls make sure-footed draft animals on rough ground and slopes, and the cows are milked.</P>
    687 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     677
    688678<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tibetan Dwarf</P>
    689 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     679
    690680<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tibet. Less than 250 kg. These humpless cattle are used as pack animals and can tolerate poor forage and high altitudes. </P>
    691 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     681
    692682<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Yellow Cattle</P>
    693 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     683
    694684<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southwest and south China. Female 220 kg; male 380 kg. In the subtropics and tropics, small multipurpose types of Yellow Cattle withstand high temperature and humidity. They are used mainly for work and meat, and seem well adapted to poor feed, harsh conditions, and rugged terrain. The Chowpei (190-380 kg) is a hardy working breed of more temperate areas in Hubei Province.</P>
    695 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     685
    696686<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cheju Hanwoo</P>
    697 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     687
    698688<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Korea. Female 230 kg; male 280 kg. A yellowish-brown Cheju Island native that has almost no calving difficulty, it is well adapted to poor grazing conditions in harsh environments and is docile and obedient.</P>
    699 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     689
    700690<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Madura</P>
    701 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     691
    702692<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Indonesia. Female 220 kg; male 300 kg. An ancient cross between humped cattle and the banteng (see sidebar), these heat- and disease resistant hybrids also have good grazing and mothering ability, and are kept in the most extreme humid tropical environments. Breeding for fighting and racing has given them a poor disposition.</P>
    703 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     693
    704694<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Dexter Cattle</P>
    705 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     695
    706696<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ireland and North America. 220-360 kg. This breed can be traced back to eighteenth-century Ireland and is believed to have been developed by peasant farmers living on rough land. It is exceptionally hardy and produces both milk and meat. In North America, it has become popular among city folk who acquire country property, as this microbreed is particularly well suited to their usually tiny farms. </P>
    707 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     697
    708698<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BANTENG: THE CUTEST COW</P>
    709 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     699
    710700<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The banteng (Bos Javanicus) is a small Southeast Asian bovine with a promising future.* It is a different species from cattle. The two will interbreed, but the hybrid offspring are normally sterile.</P>
    711 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     701
    712702<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although almost entirely neglected by the animal science community, the banteng is remarkable for an ability to thrive under hot, humid, and disease-ridden conditions where cattle often grow poorly. The sexes are easily distinguished: males are jet black, females are golden brown. Both have bright white socks and rumps as if they had been freshly whitewashed. </P>
    713 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     703
    714704<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wild banteng are found in remote areas of countries from Burma to Indonesia. But only Indonesia has used it as a farm animal so far. It has more than 1.5 million domesticated banteng - some 20 percent of the country's total "cattle" population. Indonesian farmers value the animal's agility, which allows them to cultivate Relds too narrow for cattle to turn the prow. In addition, gourmets consider banteng meat the tastiest of all. Indonesia appreciates the banteng so much that it has established a genetic sanctuary on the island of Bali - banning cattle in order to maintain the banteng's genetic purity.</P>
    715 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     705
    716706<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Outside Indonesia, only a few scientists have studied this animal, but it seems clear that it is particularly useful under tropical conditions. In heat and humidity, it thrives; even when cattle are starving, one rarely sees a skinny banteng. And demand for its meat is never ending.</P>
    717 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     707
    718708<I><P></P>
    719709<!--
    … …  
    724714  </Description>
    725715-->
    726 </I><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     716</I>
    727717<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">More than 90 percent of the world's nearly half billion goats (Capra hircus) are found in developing countries; many weigh less than 35 kg fully grown.` Such "microgoats" are noted for their high reproductive rates, rapid growth, early maturity, tasty meat, and rich milk' as well as for their robust constitution, ease of handling, and tolerance of climatic stress and poor feeds.</P>
    728 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     718
    729719<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">To many people - especially where pigs and poultry are not common - meat and milk from microgoats are the primary animal proteins consumed during a lifetime. Perhaps the world's best foragers, goats eat practically anything made of cellulose, and are not dependent on grass. Because of their unselective feeding behavior, they are capable of living where the feeds - tree leaves, shrubs, and weeds - are too poor to support other types of livestock.</P>
    730 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     720
    731721<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Such microgoats deserve wider recognition, for they are often the poor person's only source of milk, meat, and cash income. They are cheap to acquire and easy to maintain, even by people with little property and scarce resources.</P>
    732 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     722
    733723<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    734 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     724
    735725<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide, especially in arid and semiarid climates.</P>
    736 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     726
    737727<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    738 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     728
    739729<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats generally have a long snout and an upright tail, by which they can be distinguished from most sheep. The mouth is unusual in having a mobile upper lip and a grasping tongue, which permits the animal to nibble even tiny leaves on spiny species.</P>
    740 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     730
    741731<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Common commercial goat breeds generally weigh between 60 and 100 kg, with some weighing more than 200 kg. Microgoats may weigh less than 15 kg. Representative examples are listed at the end of the chapter.</P>
    742 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     732
    743733<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    744 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     734
    745735<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide, with half in Asia and one-third in Africa.</P>
    746 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     736
    747737<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    748 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     738
    749739<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The FAO projects that world numbers may nearly double by the turn of the century. Goats are thus not endangered, but in some areas select populations of feral goats are being deliberately eradicated, with the consequent loss of potentially valuable genes. Some small breeds are also threatened by excessive crossbreeding with larger types.</P>
    750 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     740
    751741<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    752 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     742
    753743<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One of the most adaptable of all livestock, goats can persist in conditions from arid to humid, and from sea level to high altitude. They are especially well adapted to hot, semiarid climates and to rocky, barren terrain.</P>
    754 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     744
    755745<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    756 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     746
    757747<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These ruminants can subsist on many feedstuffs that would otherwise be left to waste. Although selective browsers, they often prefer coarse leaves (including palm fronds) and shrubbery to palatable forage grass.</P>
    758 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     748
    759749<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most microgoats mature quickly, and in the tropics they can generally breed year-round. Their reproductive potential has often been underestimated; kidding is rarely difficult, and many types produce twins and sometimes even triplets or quadruplets.</P>
    760 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     750
    761751<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In hot, dry areas, goats require less attention than other livestock, and smaller goats have the added advantage of better heat dissipation. Some microgoats may also show disease resistance. For example, tolerance to trypanosomiasis makes them an important livestock in many regions of Africa. </P>
    762 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     752
    763753<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    764 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     754
    765755<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats are generally gentle, but can be easily frightened. They may become stubborn and aggressive when threatened or thwarted, and can prove hard to confine.</P>
    766 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     756
    767757<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If their feed smells of other animals - particularly of other goats -  they usually shun it unless nothing else is available. </P>
    768 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     758
    769759<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    770 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     760
    771761<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microgoats mainly produce meat and form an important part of the diet in southern Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, especially the Caribbean. Goat is sometimes a preferred meat, and there are few social or religious prohibitions against eating it.</P>
    772 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     762
    773763<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some microgoats are good milkers, and under stressful conditions they may keep producing when other livestock are dry. Goat milk is a valuable dietary supplement: it is nutritious, easily digestible, and usually commands premium prices. It makes excellent cheese and yogurt and can be used by people allergic to cow's milk.</P>
    774 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     764
    775765<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microgoats produce some of the finest and most valuable fibers in the world. Angora and Cashmere goats often weigh less than 30 kg fully grown, for example.</P>
    776 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     766
    777767<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats produce a fine-textured, durable leather that finds extensive uses both locally and internationally. Horns, hooves, blood, and bone meal also have commercial value. Manure is another important product, and comes in fairly dry pellets that are easy to collect, store, and distribute.</P>
    778 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     768
    779769<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats perform important functions in land management. Seeds of many trees (Acacia and Prosopis, for example) are "scarified" by passing through the goats' digestive system, fostering germination and natural revegetation. With care, goats can also be used to clear land of weeds and brush.</P>
    780 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     770
    781771<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    782 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     772
    783773<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats are often allowed to roam and scavenge for their own food. They form strong territorial attachments and can be trained to stay within a designated area. However, they cannot be kept from investigating - and quite probably devouring - anything within that territory. They are persistent browsers, so it is essential to prevent overstocking as well as raids on crops.</P>
    784 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     774
    785775<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Variety of diet is important, and goats show much individuality in feed preferences. They are often raised on crop residue and kitchen refuse.</P>
    786 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     776
    787777<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats can be run with other livestock without creating serious competition. The goats browse weedy shrubs, whereas the sheep and cattle graze more on grasses.</P>
    788 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     778
    789779<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although perhaps the hardiest of all livestock, most breeds benefit when they are provided shelter from rain and high-noon sun. Abrupt chilling and poor ventilation can cause severe respiratory problems. They are also susceptible to various maladies, such as internal parasites, especially when confined. The highest mortality, however, is caused when very young kids are not supplied with adequate feed and clean, dry shelter.</P>
    790 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     780
    791781<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    792 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    793 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     782
    794783<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In most developing countries goats are already prominent in rural life. Common almost everywhere in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, they are dependable multi-use animals. They are particularly important in providing ready cash, such as for school fees, taxes, marriages, or funerals.</P>
    795 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     784
    796785<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats integrate well in mixed agriculture, for example, by consuming leafy wastes, clearing land, and contributing fertilizer. In many places they are raised almost exclusively by women and children. If confined, goats require only simple, inexpensive shelters or pens, which makes them especially important as subsistence animals. In many situations, they may be the most efficient and economic producers for smallholders.</P>
    797 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     786
    798787<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These animals have a relatively fast rate of growth and early reproductive age, even under harsh conditions. They can graze rougher terrain than cattle and most sheep, can go for longer periods without water, and forage well in wooded areas where grass is lacking. They can derive most or all of their diet from roughage unusable by humans; high-energy feeds, such as protein supplements or carbohydrate supplements, are usually not needed even to fatten them for slaughter.</P>
    799 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     788
    800789<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats are generally healthy and are not affected by many of the parasites and diseases that ravage other livestock. Some resistance to mange, internal parasites, foot-and-mouth disease, and other livestock scourges has been reported.</P>
    801 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     790
    802791<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    803 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     792
    804793<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In some places (notably, in industrialized nations) there is a strong prejudice against goats and goat meat.</P>
    805 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     794
    806795<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Smallness makes microgoats targets for predators and thieves.</P>
    807 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     796
    808797<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many small goats are poor milkers, especially under hardship conditions; however, even small amounts of milk can often fulfill a child's daily nutritional requirement or reinforce a nursing mother's diet.</P>
    809 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     798
    810799<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats are independent and may wander away if not watched, and they can be difficult to pen. They may also have an unpleasant odor when kept confined (males are particularly malodorous during rutting season). </P>
    811 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     800
    812801<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goats are often disparaged for degrading land and destroying vegetation because they continue to survive on overutilized lands often laid waste by mismanagement of sheep or cattle.</P>
    813 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     802
    814803<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FRESH GENES</P>
    815 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     804
    816805<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A rare wild animal with spectacular horns, the bezoar (Capra aegagrus) is the goat's wild ancestor. People domesticated it before 7000 B.C., probably in the mountains along the Iran/ Iraq border. Until recent times, it remained widely scattered across the vast region between Greece and Pakistan, but it now exists only in pockets and is threatened with extinction.</P>
    817 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     806
    818807<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This would be a tragedy because the bezoar is a resilient wild species that crosses readily with domestic goats, and it could pass on its genetic inheritance for heat, drought, and cold tolerance: disease resistance; and other survival qualities.</P>
    819 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     808
    820809<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p39a.png"></center><br>
    821810 Distribution of the bezoar. The arrow indicates the area where it was probably first domesticated, resulting in the goat as we know it (From Mason 1984)</P>
    822 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     811
    823812<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fascinating science and valuable results probably await those willing to study this hardy, handsome creature and to explore the reharnessing of its genetic endowment. Today the bezoar is considered merely a trophy for hunters. The power of its genes to refresh - perhaps even revolutionize - the world's 500 million goats has been lost to sight. </P>
    824 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     813
    825814<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    826 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     815
    827816<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The microgoat's potential has hardly been realized. More research on performance and husbandry is needed to preserve and restore small breeds. Selective breeding for prolificacy, viability, and rapid growth, as well as more selective on-site culling, could greatly improve both meat and milk yields and quality.</P>
    828 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     817
    829818<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Management systems that exploit smallness, stabilize production, and preserve the environment should be introduced and publicized in appropriate goat-rearing areas. Careful assessments of indigenous management methods should be made, particularly emphasizing their desirable characteristics. Improving hygiene in the wet season and supplemental feeding in the dry season are also important, as are disease- and parasite-control measures.</P>
    830 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     819
    831820<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The undomesticated ibex and markhor could possibly be major contributors in the development of new, useful breeds for tropical and arid regions (see sidebar, page 42). </P>
    832 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     821
    833822<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REPRESENTATIVE BREEDS OF MICROGOATS</P>
    834 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     823
    835824<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West African Dwarf (Djallon)</P>
    836 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     825
    837826<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West and Central Africa. Female 20 kg; male 30 kg. Adapted to humid lowlands, this widespread goat is particularly valuable for meat and skin production. Generally, it is bred for meat, but milk is sometimes an important secondary product. Sexual maturity is very early (3-6 months), and quadruplets occasionally occur (most goat breeds normally produce only single births). Related types go by the names "Cameroon Dwarf," "Dirdi," and "Nigerian Dwarf."</P>
    838 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     827
    839828<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nubian Dwarf</P>
    840 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     829
    841830<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">United States. 35-40 kg (often less). A stable miniature variety of the milking Nubian, this microgoat has been developed recently in the United States by crossing standard-sized Nubians with the West African Dwarf. It combines a good milk output with high levels of butterfat.</P>
    842 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     831
    843832<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">American Pygmy</P>
    844 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     833
    845834<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">United States. 15-25 kg. Derived from the West African Dwarf, it is noted for its hardiness and good nature, good milk production, and adaptability to various climates. There are several varieties, some for milking, others for meat.</P>
    846 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     835
    847836<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sudanese Nubian</P>
    848 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     837
    849838<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Northern Sudan. 25-30 kg. Widespread milk goats of riverain and urban areas.</P>
    850 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     839
    851840<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sudanese Dwarf</P>
    852 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     841
    853842<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southern Sudan. 11-25 kg. A very hardy desert goat similar to the West African Dwarf, it averages 15 kg, but some mature individuals may weigh as little as 11 kg. Used for meat and hides, it produces little milk.</P>
    854 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     843
    855844<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small East African</P>
    856 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     845
    857846<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania. 20-30 kg. A widely neglected meat and hide animal found over a wide range, it is fast growing (sexual maturity at four months) and extremely hardy.</P>
    858 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     847
    859848<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mauritian</P>
    860 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     849
    861850<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mauritius. 25-30 kg. A prolific, year-round breeder raised for meat production, it is often confined in simple shelters from birth to slaughter. Perhaps because of this isolation, mortality is less than 10 percent, even with little or no veterinary care.</P>
    862 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     851
    863852<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Criollo</P>
    864 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     853
    865854<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Latin America. "Criollo" is a name given to several breeds of ancient Iberian blood with local adaptations to many unfavorable conditions. They are often small and hardy. </P>
    866 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     855
    867856<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Creole Caribbean. Females 20 kg; males 25 kg. Robust meat goats of Spanish or West African origin that are kept throughout the Caribbean.</P>
    868 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     857
    869858<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crioulo Brazil. 30-35 kg. A meat and skin goat derived from Portuguese ancestors, it is hardy, prolific, undemanding, and adapted to harsh environments. </P>
    870 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     859
    871860<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chapper</P>
    872 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     861
    873862<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pakistan. Female 20 kg; male 24 kg. Originating in dry regions, this meat and milk goat is a nonseasonal breeder with outstanding potential.</P>
    874 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     863
    875864<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Barbari</P>
    876 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     865
    877866<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pakistan, India. Females 20-25 kg; males 20-40 kg. A prolific, fastgrowing "urban" goat with high twinning and low mortality. Often kept inside houses, they adapt well to confinement and are important for both milk and meat.</P>
    878 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     867
    879868<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Gaddi (White Himalaya)</P>
    880 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     869
    881870<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hill districts of northern India. 25-30 kg. Kept for meat and their long, lustrous white hair, they are pure-breeding and healthy.</P>
    882 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     871
    883872<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Changthangi (Ladakh)</P>
    884 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     873
    885874<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kashmir, India. Male 20 kg. A pashmina (cashmere) goat of India, it is adapted to a high altitude, high humidity climate with extremes of temperature.</P>
    886 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     875
    887876<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Terai</P>
    888 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     877
    889878<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nepal. 8-12 kg. A very small, hardy animal of the southern lowlands, it kids year-round (sometimes twice), and often produces twins.</P>
    890 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     879
    891880<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southern Hill Goat</P>
    892 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     881
    893882<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nepal. 12-16 kg. A small, mid-altitude goat resembling the Terai. </P>
    894 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     883
    895884<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Black Bengal (Teddy, Bangladesh Dwarf)</P>
    896 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     885
    897886<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Eastern India and Pakistan. Female 10 kg; male 14 kg. A widespread, humid-area, meat goat that is early maturing and very prolific. It kids twice a year, and produces 60 percent twins and 10 percent triplets. It produces a superior leather.</P>
    898 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     887
    899888<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Katjang</P>
    900 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     889
    901890<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southeast Asia, China, and Pacific Islands. In places, less than 20 kg. A widespread, highly variable, hardy goat adapted to humid conditions, it usually has twins or triplets. Used for meat and skins, with exceptional females being milked.</P>
    902 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     891
    903892<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chinese Dwarf (Tibetan, Jining, Fuyang, or Chengdu Grey)</P>
    904 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     893
    905894<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">China. 20-40 kg. Well adapted to the humid tropics, it normally twins and is a good meat producer.</P>
    906 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     895
    907896<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Heuk Yumso</P>
    908 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     897
    909898<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Korea. Female 25 kg; male 35 kg. A prolific cold-climate goat with a year-round breeding season. The meat is highly prized, and often sells at a premium due to its supposed health-giving effects.</P>
    910 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     899
    911900<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hejazi</P>
    912 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     901
    913902<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Middle East. Female 20 kg; male 20 kg. A meat goat, usually black, for harsh desert conditions.</P>
    914 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     903
    915904<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sinai (Black Bedouin)</P>
    916 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     905
    917906<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sinai, Egypt and Negev Desert, Israel. Female 20 kg; male 50 kg. Native to dry, hot deserts, this milk and meat goat matures at 5-8 months and has a twinning rate over 50 percent. A most important characteristic is its drought tolerance. The female, for instance, can drink only once a day - at a pinch, once every other day - without losing appetite or reducing milk flow. </P>
    918 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     907
    919908<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">WILD RELATIVES</P>
    920 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     909
    921910<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Several wild relatives will cross with the goat. Surprisingly, they have the same chromosome number (2n=60), and the offspring are frequently fertile. Although essentially unknown to agricultural science, these hybrids may offer a new gene pool for creating new farm animals and for improving the world's goats. They seem to combine the self-reliance of wild species with the usefulness of domestic ones. Artificial insemination and other modern techniques could make them easier to produce today than ever before.</P>
    922 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     911
    923912<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ibex*</P>
    924 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     913
    925914<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A project in Israel has already produced a cross between the goat and the Nubian ibex (Capra ibex). The Sinai Desert goat, the breed that was used, ranks next to the camel in its ability to go without water - it often drinks only twice a week - but its meat has such a strong flavor that most people consider it dreadful. On the other hand, the ibex is compact and muscular and produces tender, mild meat that steak lovers find delicious. The product from crossbreeding the two is a creature seemingly able to endure extreme temperatures and drought, make use of poor pasture, and produce wonderful steaks.</P>
    926 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     915
    927916<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A herd of several hundred of these hybrids (dubbed 'ya-ez") has been created at Kibbutz Lahav in the northern Negev Desert area. Both sexes are fertile, and they can be bred with each other or with either parent. The meat is already in demand on the menus of elegant Tel Aviv hotels. </P>
    928 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     917
    929918<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Markhor**</P>
    930 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    931 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     919
    932920<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In Pakistan's northern uplands, it is not uncommon to find hybrids between domestic goats and the mountain goat known as "markhor" (Capra falconeri). Each year in Chitral and Gilgit, they can be found in the goat markets.</P>
    933 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     921
    934922<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Markhors inhabit high elevations in rugged mountains and thrive on diets so meager as to be useless to goats. The hybrids are produced when markhor males - perhaps ousted by more dominant males - come in contact with feral domestic goats. However, some farmers raise young markhor and goats together (to overcome mutual resistance) and produce their own hybrids,</P>
    935 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     923
    936924<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For a single hybrid animal local goatherds pay up to 5,000 rupees, a princely sum in this impoverished region. Traditionally, villagers have kept them as stud animals. They appreciate the animal's genetic endowment. Markhors tolerate extremes of cold and snow, are nimble and skilled at escaping predators, and survive on scanty fodder, Moreover, they have a high reproduction potential because they generally produce twins. As a result, they also tend to give more milk and it is rich in nutritive value. Instead of long body hairs, markhors possess insulating underfur - a soft and valuable raw material for the famous Kashmiri shawls.</P>
    937 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     925
    938926<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Apparently, the hybrids can possess many of these qualities together with a calm disposition. Thus they could be useful in themselves and as conduits for passing such traits on to goats. </P>
    939 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     927
    940928<B><P></P>
    941929<!--
    … …  
    946934  </Description>
    947935-->
    948 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     936</B>
    949937<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Among the hundreds of breeds of sheep (Ovis aries) in the world, those weighing less than 35 kg when mature have been largely ignored. Although these are common, the impression lingers that they are too small to be useful. Yet this virtually untapped gene pool is esnecially well adapted to traditional Third World animal husbandry. Given attention, these "microsheep" could boost meat, milk, skin, wool, and pelt production in many villages and small farms of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.</P>
    950 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     938
    951939<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many microsheep thrive in environments that tax the ability of larger breeds to survive. They are adapted to poor feeds and can be grazed in uncultivated wastelands unsuited to any other livestock except goats or camels. Because of their size, microsheep can fatten in areas where forage is so scattered and sparse that larger animals cannot cover enough ground to fill their bellies each day. In addition, their foraging complements that of other livestock. For example, sheep can graze rough grasses and weeds that cattle find unpalatable. Some survive even the stress of extreme aridity and for this reason are the predominant livestock in North Africa and the Middle East.</P>
    952 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     940
    953941<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many small breeds can be disease resistant. Some, for example, are widespread in the zones of Africa where trypanosomiasis is prevalent. They are generally less adversely affected by foot-and-mouth disease than are cattle, and some small native sheep seem to have fewer problems with insects and parasites than do most other livestock, including temperate-area sheep.</P>
    954 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     942
    955943<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Giving more attention to the management and improvement of microsheep could pay back abundantly in the form of food, income, and improved land utilization in many parts of the developing world. </P>
    956 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     944
    957945<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    958 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     946
    959947<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide, but notably in drier regions of the tropics.</P>
    960 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     948
    961949<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    962 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    963 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     950
    964951<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">An average weight for temperate sheep breeds is about 70 kg,' but the smallest microsheep weigh less than 20 kg fully grown. Many tropical microsheep are "hairless," and have little or no wool. These are often difficult to distinguish from goats, but (like all sheep) they generally have blunter snouts, more fat, and hanging tails. Some have greatly enlarged rumps or tails that store fat. Unlike goats, sheep have no odor-producing glands.</P>
    965 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     952
    966953<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some representative microsheep are described at the end of this chapter.</P>
    967 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     954
    968955<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    969 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     956
    970957<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">More than one billion sheep occur worldwide, and they occupy every climatic zone in which people live. At least half are in developing countries.</P>
    971 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     958
    972959<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    973 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     960
    974961<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although more than 1,000 breeds are recognized, only a handful dominate the world's sheep industries. Lesser-known breeds are rapidly becoming extinct (especially in developed countries, although scattered efforts are being made to preserve them). Elsewhere, genetic resources have not been properly evaluated, and potentially valuable stock is being lost before it is even understood.</P>
    975 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     962
    976963<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    977 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     964
    978965<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep are among the most adaptable animals. Various types are kept in areas of extreme heat, cold, altitude, aridity, humidity, and rainfall. They are especially widespread in hot, dry climates, but some breeds also thrive in humid areas. </P>
    979 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     966
    980967<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    981 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     968
    982969<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep make efficient use of a wide variety of fodder: tree leaves, fortes, grasses, crop residues, and agricultural by-products, for instance. They often survive privation by calling on their reserves of body fat.</P>
    983 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     970
    984971<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the tropics, sheep reach sexual maturity in about a year. Many breeds lamb year-round, which allows for a continuous production of premium meat. Gestation takes about five months, and lambing is usually timed to occur when feed is most abundant and nutritious. Microsheep often bear two or more young and, under good management, may produce lambs annually for more than five years.</P>
    985 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     972
    986973<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    987 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     974
    988975<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These shy animals flock together and, in general, are managed with little effort. They are easily panicked, however, and rams can become aggressive during rutting or when threatened.</P>
    989 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     976
    990977<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE LITTLE SHEEP THAT COULD</P>
    991 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     978
    992979<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Dozens of the world's neglected breeds of tiny sheep should be preserved from extinction, for many will undoubtedely prove to have outstanding qualities. Current efforts to save the Navajo sheep in the United States exemplify what can be achieved</P>
    993 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     980
    994981<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Navajo is a microsheep, and is perhaps the oldest breed of sheep in the United States. It may have been introduced to North America in 1540 by the Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, who was seeking the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola in the region that is now Arizona and New Mexico. Smaller than many dogs, a full-grown Navajo sheep may weigh only 30 kg, but it became a big part of the culture of the Southwest. Although the Navajos and other local Indians had never seen sheep before the 1500s, they soon became shepherds and weavers, and their rugs made from the unique wool of this wiry little animal remain famous even today.</P>
    995 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     982
    996983<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Navajo sheep have white or brown wool hanging in ringlets around their bodies. The fleece is a double coat: long, coarse guard hairs on the outside and short wool on the inside. It yields warm, waterproof, and long-lasting products. Many of the sheep have four horns because the Indians believed that this trait was sacred, and they favored four-horned rams for breeding purposes.</P>
    997 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     984
    998985<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The number of Navajo sheep was reduced sharply between 1950 and 1950 because of severe overgrazing and replacement by improved wool breeds. In recent times there has been so little commercial and scientific interest in this microsheep that by the 1970s only a handful of purebred specimens survived. Since the late 1970s, however, Lyle McNeal, a Utah State University professor, has been working to save it from extinction. By 1988 he had a burgeoning flock at the university and was learning that this supposedly obsolete dwarf is amazingly useful.</P>
    999 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     986
    1000987<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The breed originated in the arid south of Spain (where it is called the "churro"), and it thrives in the hot, dry climate. Unlike normal breeds, it can exist in the desert without supplementary food and with little water. As McNeal has pointed out, any sheep that can survive and raise a lamb in the aridity and searing heat of the American Southwest has to be superior. He has found that the ewes have a strong maternal instinct, which is vital for protecting lambs against the coyotes that are common in the region. </P>
    1001 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     988
    1002989<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Thanks to the efforts of McNeal and his colleagues, Indians are beginning to use Navajo sheep again; by 1988 there were more than 400 on the Navajo reservation, with their wool fetching premium prices. This tough little sheep could prove valuable not only for American Indians but for poor people in many other dry regions as well. </P>
    1003 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     990
    1004991<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    1005 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1006 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     992
    1007993<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Microsheep are mainly kept for meat production, but - especially in arid regions - for milk as well. Their meat is usually lean with little "muttony" taste.</P>
    1008 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     994
    1009995<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wool or hair is taken from many breeds, although the yield is often small. Skins from hair sheep' thinner than cowhide, are widely used and are in international demand. In some places, manure is considered an important product. In Nepal, thousands of small sheep are used as pack animals, especially to carry salt into mountain valleys.</P>
    1010 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     996
    1011997<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    1012 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1013 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     998
    1014999<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most sheep are maintained in free-ranging flocks. Many are grazed (often tethered) over a small area during the day and confined in a "fold" at night. Others are penned or kept as village scavengers. These are usually fed supplements of household scraps.</P>
    1015 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1000
    10161001<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep form an integral part of a mixed farming economy; for example, they may graze pastures during the wet season, and survive on crop residues and field weeds during the dry season. They have excellent foraging capabilities and are often kept alongside goats. This broadens the variety of forages utilized and often increases total production from a single piece of land, for sheep and goats have complementary feeding habits and male goats help protect the sheep from some predators.</P>
    1017 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1002
    10181003<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In spite of the heavy toll that predators (such as feral dogs) can take on lambs and ewes, the largest proportion of sheep in the tropics are lost through lack of basic care. Modest supplemental feeding of lambs and inexpensive preventive medicines can do much to lower mortality and boost production.</P>
    1019 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1004
    10201005<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    1021 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1006
    10221007<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep are multipurpose animals, and almost everywhere they produce several products. The rich milk is often preferred to that of cows or goats, especially for making cheese and yogurt.</P>
    1023 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1008
    10241009<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Lambs form an important part of the household economy for much of the rural world, and only rarely is social or religious stigma attached to keeping or eating them. Indeed, sheep are the traditional feast animals of several religions, and in some places sheep meat is preferred to beef and sells at a premium.</P>
    10251010<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">By and large, all sheep products can be processed, utilized, or marketed by the producer. In addition, sheep marketing and transportation systems exist in most countries, at least to some degree.</P>
    1026 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1011
    10271012<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep are efficient producers and can provide a quick turnover for food and cash. On the brush and coarse grasses of marginal lands, they may be more productive than cattle, and on grass they may outproduce goats. As long as they are not overstocked, sheep do not degrade vegetation; unless starving they will not debark trees. Small breeds cause little erosion, even on steep slopes, heavily traveled paths, or near water holes.2 In South Asia, they have been continuously stocked on the same ground for thousands of years without causing apparent harm.</P>
    1028 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1013
    10291014<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because sheep have a natural tendency to accumulate fat, they "finish" well on grazing and usually do not require a high-energy finishing diet.</P>
    1030 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1015
    10311016<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    1032 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1017
    10331018<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Despite their general healthiness, sheep are affected by many internal parasites and diseases, a few of which are communicable to man. They are especially susceptible to infectious conjunctivitis (pinkeye).</P>
    1034 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1019
    10351020<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Predators and thieves can be greater threats than sickness. Labor inputs can be high because of the almost continual protection sheep need.</P>
    1036 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1021
    10371022<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some mutton has a strong taste that many find unappealing. However, the taste is carried mainly by the fat, and the generally lean microsheep are often commended for their fine-textured, sweet meat.</P>
    1038 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1023
    10391024<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    1040 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1025
    10411026<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The numerous breeds of small sheep should be investigated. Assessments should be made for the animals' ability to thrive under adverse conditions and for resistance to particular diseases and parasites.</P>
    1042 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1027
    10431028<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted, even minimal extension services and veterinary support for sheep could greatly decrease mortality, especially among lambs.</P>
    1044 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1029
    10451030<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Improving microbreeds without increasing their size is one of the most interesting challenges facing sheep scientists today. While efforts should be made to conserve and select within types, research should also be conducted on hybrid vigor. Efforts to improve the pelt and fleece of microsheep should also be encouraged.</P>
    10461031<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">More studies on the interactions between sheep and cropping systems are needed. Sheep (and the manure they produce) could become important components of forestry (see sidebar), crop rotation, alley cropping, and other forms of sustainable agriculture. For instance, sheep are especially effective for weed control in plantation crops such as oil palm and rubber as well as in forests.</P>
    1047 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1032
    10481033<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">SMALL SHEEP IN THE FOREST</P>
    1049 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1034
    10501035<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Even in countries with long traditions of raising large sheep, there are opportunities for using small, agile, hardy breeds. The following is an example.</P>
    1051 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1036
    10521037<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Seeking safer methods for stopping brush from smothering newly planted trees, U.S. government foresters have turned from chemical defoliants to flocks of sheep. Court decisions in 1983 and 1984 barred the use of herbicides along Oregon's Pacific Coast. Various alternatives were tried, and the animals proved the most successful. Sheep are now the favored method for controlling unwanted vegetation. Indeed, they have changed the foresters' whore approach to managing reforestation.</P>
    1053 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1038
    10541039<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Formerly, the U.S. Forest Service allowed the brush to grow on logged-over sites and then sprayed it down before planting tree seedlings. Now it plants grass to suppress brush and reduce erosion. The sites are later fertilized, tree seedlings are planted, and within a year sheep are brought in to graze. </P>
    1055 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1040
    10561041<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Today, in the district around Alsea, Oregon sheep nimbly skirt old stumps to graze on the lush vegetation. Three times each summer since 1984, about 2,000 sheep have been guided across the replanted areas by a herder and a range conservationist. The sheep eat both the grass and the new buds on brush, but they leave most fir-tree seedlings untouched. The key, according to Rick Breckle, a forester, is to have enough sheep to graze an area evenly and to keep them moving so they don't resort to nibbling the young trees.</P>
    1057 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1042
    10581043<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Previously, chemical brush treatments had annually cost $135-$353 per hectare. Now, sowing grass and grazing sheep costs about $300 per hectare. And there is a product to sell: the adult sheep don't fatten well, but the lambs bring a useful income at the end of the summer. What is more, Breckle reports that the trees seem to be growing faster - probably because of the manurings they receive.</P>
    1059 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1044
    10601045<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This method seems likely to be effective elsewhere - at least with trees that are unpalatable or too tall for their growing points to be nibbled. Malaysia, for instance, doubled its sheep population between 1986 and 1989, in part because it has begun raising sheep between the trees in rubber plantations. With the use of agroforestry increasing worldwide, small sheep could find a whole new application.</P>
    1061 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1062 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1046
    10631047<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF MICROSHEEP</P>
    1064 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1048
    10651049<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West African Dwarf</P>
    1066 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1050
    10671051<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Senegal to Nigeria, and south to Angola. Female 25 kg; male 35 kg. Well adapted to warm, humid conditions. Prolific, and good disease resistance. Major meat producer in West Africa. Fast growing: by six months of age they approach adult weight.</P>
    1068 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1052
    10691053<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Landim (Small East African)</P>
    1070 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1054
    10711055<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">East and Central Africa. 23-40 kg. Prolific, adaptable, long fat-tailed type. Large litter size for a sheep. In one recent test, ewes averaged more than 1.4 lambs.3 </P>
    1072 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1056
    10731057<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Berber</P>
    1074 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1058
    10751059<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Atlas Mountains. 25-41 kg. Needing little feed and remaining constantly outdoors, these extremely hardy sheep are exploited for meat and their coarse, hairy wool. They fatten easily when well fed.</P>
    1076 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1060
    10771061<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Arab</P>
    1078 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1062
    10791063<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">North Africa. 40-50 kg. This thin-tailed sheep is exceptionally robust, and is resistant to extremes of temperature, drought, and poor nutrition. Primarily a meat producer, its wool is used for coarse cloths and carpets.</P>
    1080 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1064
    10811065<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southern Sudan Dwarf</P>
    1082 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1066
    10831067<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One of the many small breeds of eastern and southern Africa, its weight ranges from 15 to 25 kg, but it may weigh as little as 11 kg. Yielding a fine, short fleece, this hardy, frugal sheep is often run with cattle to maximize grazing.</P>
    1084 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1068
    10851069<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hejazi</P>
    1086 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1070
    10871071<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Deserts of Arabia. 32 kg. A popular and ancient fat-tailed meat producer that is highly acclimatized to drought and privation.</P>
    1088 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1072
    10891073<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Zel (Iranian Thin-Tailed)</P>
    1090 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1074
    10911075<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Caspian region of northern Iran. Female 30-32 kg. Well adapted to subtropical regions, they produce coarse wool, milk, and excellent meat that lacks the "mutton taste" and odor of some sheep meats.</P>
    1092 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1076
    10931077<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Greek Zackel</P>
    1094 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1078
    10951079<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mountain and island types. Female 30 kg; male 40 kg. These common sheep are active, hardy, and resistant to extremes of climate and disease. Primarily a milking sheep, their wool is used locally and lambs are slaughtered for special occasions. </P>
    1096 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1080
    10971081<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sitia</P>
    1098 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1082
    10991083<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crete. Female 25 kg; male 30 kg. Another of the hardy, screwhorned "zackel" sheep common to the Balkans, they are adapted to poor pasturage and extensive herding. Quick maturing and highly fertile, they can be exploited for milk as well as for meat and coarse wool.</P>
    1100 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1084
    11011085<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Common Albanian</P>
    1102 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1086
    11031087<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Female 25 kg; male 35 kg. Similar to the Greek Zackel, they are used as triple-purpose animals: meat, milk, and wool. They survive in low, marshy areas where parasites are common.</P>
    1104 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1088
    11051089<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Zeta Yellow</P>
    1106 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1090
    11071091<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Yugoslavia. Female 25 kg; male 35 kg. A small, hardy sheep used for milk and some meat, its primary product is wool. Often unshorn for several years, the long fibers are woven into expensive carpets.</P>
    1108 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1092
    11091093<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pag</P>
    1110 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1094
    11111095<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Yugoslavia. Female 20-30 kg; male 25-35 kg. These wool, milk, and meat sheep are frugal and well adapted to scant vegetation and rocky terrain. Although they have a low birth rate and carcass yield, their milk and wool are commercially exploitable.</P>
    1112 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1096
    11131097<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Roccia (Steinschaf)</P>
    1114 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1098
    11151099<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Northern Italy, Austria. Female 30 kg; Male 30-35 kg. These "stone sheep" resemble a goat in their ability to exploit the poor pastures of high, steep, rocky mountains. Although not highly productive, they are hardy and frugal and commonly produce twins.</P>
    1116 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1100
    11171101<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Corsican</P>
    1118 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1102
    11191103<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Corsica (France). 25-30 kg. A hardy native breed that is well adapted to rather sparse feed conditions. Coarse wool, both white and black, is well suited for hand processing. </P>
    1120 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1104
    11211105<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Entre Douro e Minho</P>
    1122 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1106
    11231107<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Portugal. Female 15-18 kg; Male 20-25 kg. These independent sheep yield a good wool in mountainous terrain that would otherwise be nonproductive.</P>
    1124 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1108
    11251109<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Churra do Campo</P>
    1126 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1110
    11271111<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Portugal. Female 20 kg; male 30 kg. A coarse-woofed sheep extensively kept in Portugal's dry interior for milk and wool. </P>
    1128 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1112
    11291113<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Galician</P>
    1130 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1114
    11311115<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Spain. Female 18 kg; male 25 kg. A milking breed that survives on  poor pasture, it also produces a marketable wool.</P>
    1132 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1116
    11331117<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Soay</P>
    1134 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1118
    11351119<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Scotland. Female 25 kg; male 30 kg. Adapted to wide temperature  variations. Possibly the most primitive domesticated sheep of Europe,  probably unchanged from Viking times. Immune to foot rot. A wool  sheep with short brown fleece that is shed annually.</P>
    1136 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1120
    11371121<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">North Ronaldsay (Orkney)</P>
    1138 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1122
    11391123<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Northern Scotland. 27-32 kg. Surviving year-round on seaweed,  this rare breed is adapted to high salt intake and the associated digestive  problems. Yield 1-2 kg medium-coarse wool.</P>
    1140 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1124
    11411125<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Criollo</P>
    1142 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1126
    11431127<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Latin America. Derived from ''native'' Spanish Churro and Merino  sheep. Many are small and very hardy.</P>
    1144 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1128
    11451129<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Navajo-Churro Southwestern United States. Female 45 kg; male 70  kg. Maternal, and very resistant to internal parasites and hoof rot.  Although the Navajo subsists and reproduces on little feed and scarce  water in desert regions, it was widely replaced by improved breeds  earlier in this century. Because of its hardiness, however, and the use of  its wool in traditional weaving, its numbers are rebounding (see sidebar,  page 50). </P>
    1146 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1130
    11471131<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Florida Native Southeastern United States. Females 35-45 kg;  males 45-6O kg. This long-isolated and highly variable sheep is  adapted to harsh subtropical climates and is known for its ability to  forage. A medium-wool breed, it is very resistant to intestinal parasites.  Verging on extinction due to neglect and uncontrolled crossbreeding. </P>
    1148 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1132
    11491133<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Virgin Islands White Hair (St. Croix)</P>
    1150 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1134
    11511135<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Caribbean. Female 35-45 kg; male 45-55 kg. Hair sheep with  some wool in young animals. Well adapted to warm humid conditions, it has fairly good disease and parasite resistance and produces good meat. Prolific, it breeds most of the year and commonly has twins.</P>
    1152 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1136
    11531137<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Magra (Chokhla)</P>
    1154 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1138
    11551139<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Northwest India, Pakistan.4 20-25 kg. Adapted to hot, dry areas, the extremely white and shiny fleece is valued for carpet wool. Slowmaturing and low fertility (lambing at 45 percent) plus extensive crossbreeding have led to serious declines in population.</P>
    1156 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1140
    11571141<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Marwari</P>
    1158 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1142
    11591143<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Northwest India. 25-30 kg. A widespread, white-fleeced sheep that has a high resistance to disease and worms, good fertility, and low mortality. They do well in large flocks.</P>
    1160 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1144
    11611145<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mandya (Bandur)</P>
    1162 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1146
    11631147<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Southwest India. Female 25 kg; male 35 kg. An outstanding meat breed with good mutton quality, it adapts well to mixed farming and has unusually low lamb mortality.</P>
    1164 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1148
    11651149<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hu (Huyang, Lake Sheep)</P>
    1166 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1150
    11671151<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">China. Female 35 kg; male 45 kg. These fat-tailed sheep have a six month lambing interval and are very prolific. They are used under intensive management to produce meat, wool, and a valuable lambskin.</P>
    1168 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1152
    11691153<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Javanese Thin-Tail</P>
    1170 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1171 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1154
    11721155<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Indonesia. 25-40 kg. Widely held as a "bank account," these meat, manure, and skin sheep are well known for being prolific. Although single lambs are not uncommon, litters of six have also been recorded. </P>
    1173 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1156
    11741157<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">WILD AND WOOLLY</P>
    1175 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1158
    11761159<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Considering that dozens of countries depend on the productivity of more than a billion domesticated sheep, it is remarkable that their wild ancestor is accorded no attention. This fast-declining animal is now little more than a trophy for hunters, a fact that should be of vital intemational concern.</P>
    1177 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1160
    11781161<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sheep were domesticated in the Middle East and Central Asia in the Stone Age era between 8,000 and 11,000 years ago.* Their wild ancestor was almost certainly the mouflon (Outs orientalis). However, domestication may have occurred in more than one place, and two other wild creatures, the urial (Outs vignei) and the argali (Outs ammon), also possibly provided genes to some sheep breeds.</P>
    1179 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1162
    11801163<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The mouflon, urial, and argali still exist in the mountains of Central Asia, and a European subspecies of mouflon is also found in the Mediterranean, but only on Corsica, Cyprus, and Sardinia.** Because they live in remote, rugged, upland areas, these wild sheep are usually undisturbed, but the numbers are decreasing everywhere.</P>
    1181 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1164
    11821165<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This may be a serious loss because these animals could be extremely valuable. They are capable of crossing with domestic sheep, and the offspring are viable and fully fertile.*** For developing new meat-producing breeds, their potential seems almost limitless.</P>
    1183 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1166
    11841167<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">During the thousands of years that sheep have been protected by humans, their wild ancestors have continued to face predators, parasites, disease, extreme cold and seasonal starvation. Their genetic endowment, forged and tempered in unforgiving harshness, could be a benefit for all future sheep generations. These animals appear to resist various diseases. Their meat is reported to be of excellent quality, notably lacking the strong mutton flavor that many people find objectionable. They have relatively short, thin tails - a feature that might eliminate the need for docking (tail removal) in the domestic flock. Some (for instance, the Asian mouflon and the urial) have rates of effective reproduction up to 1.6 lambs per ewe, more than twice the average of most domestic types, especially under the conditions where these wild creatures live.</P>
    1185 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1168
    11861169<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">That mouflon and other wild sheep could have practical utility is suggested by research at Utah State University. Scientists there have mated mouflon with farm sheep to create sheep better able to defend themselves against coyotes and other natural dangers. Half-wild, half-tame sheep hybrids have existed on a ranch in southern Utah for the past decade. Also, in Cyprus similar mouflon x sheep hybrids have shown considerable promise.</P>
    1187 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1170
    11881171<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At the very least, this wiry little mountain sheep could be a model for educating students and the public. It is a living reminder of the fantastic changes that can be induced in animals by selection for various traits. Also, it is a "map" to the history of sheep domestication. Studies of mouflon genes, blood immunology, morphology, physiology, horn structure, skeleton, fleece, temperament, and a host of other features would help unravel the ancestry. These studies and various biochemical analyses would be a fascinating contribution to agriculture, science, history, and the public perception of the origins of our natural resources.</P>
    1189 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1172
    11901173<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Genes from wild sheep are not likely to quickly benefit wool production. Lack of fleece is one reason why these creatures have been neglected but throughout most of Asia and in North Africa, sheep are bred primarily for meat and milk, and there is a growing worldwide interest in the use of hair sheep. All of this brings new possibilities for the use of this old resource.</P>
    1191 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1174
    11921175<B><P></P>
    11931176<!--
    … …  
    11981181  </Description>
    11991182-->
    1200 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1183</B>
    12011184<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g005a.png"></center><br>
    12021185 FIGURE</P>
    1203 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1186
    12041187<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most breeds of swine (Sus scrofa) are too large to be considered microlivestock, but there are some whose mature weight is less than 70 kg. These micropigs are particularly common in West Africa, South Asia, the East Indies, Latin America, and oceanic islands around the world. At least one, the Mexican Cuino, may weigh a mere 12 kg full-grown.</P>
    1205 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1188
    12061189<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many miniature swine have been developed for use in medical research, but their agricultural potential has been largely ignored. This is unfortunate, for micropigs of all types - native, feral, and laboratory - deserve investigation. Swine provide more meat worldwide than any other animal, and micropigs are potentially important sources of food and income for poor people in many parts of the developing world.</P>
    1207 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1190
    12081191<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Smallness makes for nimble and self-sufficient pigs, in contrast to large, lethargic breeds. Small breeds are easier to manage and cheaper to maintain; the threat of injury from angry or frightened animals is lessened; and the sows are less likely to crush newborn piglets, often a major cause of mortality in large breeds. Some micropigs - particularly those from hot regions or wild populations - also have a higher resistance to heat, thirst, starvation, and some diseases.</P>
    1209 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1192
    12101193<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs adapt to a wide variety of management conditions, from scavenging to total confinement; some are even kept indoors.2 They gain weight quickly, mature rapidly, and help complement grazing livestock because they relish many otherwise unused wastes from kitchens, farms, and food industries, as well as other foods such as small roots, leafy trash, or bitter fruits that are not consumed by humans or ruminants. </P>
    1211 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1194
    12121195<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For these reasons, micropigs could become useful household and village livestock in the developing world, and they deserve greater attention than they now receive. Although their growth may not be as rapid as that of improved breeds raised under intensive commercial production, with modest care and minimum investment, backyard micropigs can produce sizable yields of meat and other products, as well as improved income for rural and even urban populations.</P>
    1213 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1196
    12141197<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    1215 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1198
    12161199<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide, especially in warm, humid areas.</P>
    1217 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1200
    12181201<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    1219 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1202
    12201203<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like full-sized breeds, micropigs are stout-bodied, short-legged animals with small tails and flexible snouts ending in flat discs. Examples of some micropigs are listed at the end of the chapter.</P>
    1221 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1204
    12221205<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    1223 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1206
    12241207<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic pigs are found all over the world, but their concentrations vary greatly. Africa has the fewest per capita, but in recent years they have gained increasing favor in the sub-Saharan regions. In Latin America, pigs have long been a major component of backyard agriculture. In the Middle East, an early center of domestication, pigs are not widely kept today because of religious dietary restrictions. In the Ear East, they are the major meat source, and China has more pigs than any other country. And in the Pacific region, pigs and chickens are often the only meat available.</P>
    1225 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1208
    12261209<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    1227 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1210
    12281211<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are becoming more popular: their worldwide numbers increased by about 20 percent in the 1970s. However, in most countries commercial pig production has focused on a mere handful of breeds, and much genetic diversity is unstudied or even threatened with extinction. Some microbreeds have already been lost, and others are dwindling in numbers.3 Many European breeds have been completely lost. The Cuino and some other Latin American criollo types are threatened, as are most of Africa's traditional breeds. China, however, has made notable efforts to preserve its native types. </P>
    1229 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1212
    12301213<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    1231 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1214
    12321215<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although, as previously noted, pigs are found all over the world, they are in general adapted to warm, humid climates where many other livestock species are more susceptible to diseases and environmental stresses. They are also raised at high altitudes, such as in the Andes and Tibet. Although there are few climatic limitations to pig production, only about 20 percent of the world's pigs are currently kept in the tropics.</P>
    1233 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1216
    12341217<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    1235 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1218
    12361219<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are omnivores, willing and able to eat almost anything.4 Unlike most other livestock, they eat their fill and sleep as the food digests, allowing humans to establish a convenient eating and sleeping schedule.</P>
    1237 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1220
    12381221<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are prolific; a few Chinese breeds routinely have litters of 20 or more. Micropigs are no exception; litters of 6-10 are common. Piglets gain weight rapidly and can be weaned after a few weeks. Sexual maturity is sometimes attained as early as 4-6 months, depending on breed and environment. Pigs are usually slaughtered at 67 months of age, allowing them to be produced on an annual cycle. They can live 10-20 years.</P>
    1239 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1222
    12401223<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because of their smaller size, micropigs have a relatively greater skin-to-weight ratio than today's commercial breeds, and therefore they probably shed heat more effectively. Certainly they seem to perform better in tropical heat and humidity, which normally keep the heavier types from reaching their maximum productivity. Studies have suggested that an optimal size for some tropical environments - because of metabolic and feed efficiency - may be less than 65 kg.5</P>
    1241 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1224
    12421225<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    1243 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1226
    12441227<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are social animals; they enjoy companionship and ferociously defend their young and sometimes even the humans who care for them. They are employed as guard animals in some areas and have been used extensively in behavioral research.</P>
    1245 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1228
    12461229<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Contrary to common belief, pigs are clean and tidy if provided adequate space. Larger breeds, however, wallow in mud to stay cool in hot weather and require a wallow or shade (except for some Latin American types, which seem less susceptible to heat). Some lightcolored pigs sunburn easily.</P>
    1247 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1230
    12481231<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs will dig up earth with their mobile snouts; some breeds do it constantly. </P>
    1249 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1232
    12501233<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    1251 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1234
    12521235<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fresh pork is the major pig product in tropical areas. It usually fetches premium prices, and in many places (such as the Pacific Islands and China) it is the most important red meat available to rural people. Nutritious and tasty, it is one of the easiest meats to preserve, needing only salt or melted fat. Processed products such as bacon and sausages can be important for both home consumption and cash sales.</P>
    1253 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1236
    12541237<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pig fat (lard) is a good source of food energy, and can substitute for cooking fats and oils. It is easily melted and clarified, is widely used to make soap, and is a valuable commercial product.</P>
    1255 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1238
    12561239<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pig skin, once degreased, is easily tanned into leathers that are popular for garments, shoes, and other products demanding soft, light, and flexible leathers.</P>
    1257 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1240
    12581241<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pig manure is a good fertilizer. Because the animals are often kept in confinement, it can be easily collected.</P>
    1259 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1242
    12601243<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    1261 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1262 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1244
    12631245<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In many places, pigs are kept as free-roaming scavengers. They can be trained (by coaxing with feed, salt, or affection) to keep close to home, thereby helping to minimize destructive scavenging.</P>
    1264 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1246
    12651247<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Herding is a higher level of management that requires more effort, but it allows pigs to be integrated into other types of agriculture while utilizing feeds that otherwise go to waste.</P>
    1266 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1248
    12671249<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because their exercise needs are minimal and dominance is quickly established within litters, pigs are the easiest hoofed livestock to raise in small enclosures (sties). However, fencing must be secure, and if sties are small, the animals must be moved frequently to prevent diseases and parasites from building up.</P>
    1268 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1250
    12691251<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    1270 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1252
    12711253<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are well-known, often traditional, animals in many areas, and people usually do not have to be taught how to manage and use them. Efficient scavengers, they can live, grow, and reproduce with a minimum of investment or specialized care. </P>
    1272 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1254
    12731255<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs are highly efficient converters of feed to meat. They can provide the greatest return for the least investment of any hoofed livestock because of their fecundity, low management costs, broad food preferences, and rapid growth.</P>
    1274 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1256
    12751257<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs normally accumulate fat during adolescent growth (making ''finishing" feeds less necessary). Some micropigs (especially those from feral ancestors) have the ability to quickly mobilize and store these body-fat reserves; in times of extreme scarcity, it aids their survival.6</P>
    1276 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1258
    12771259<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigs work well in multiple-cropping schemes. They are often used to help clear small plots by uprooting weeds, shrubs, and even small trees. In Southeast Asia, they are frequently raised in conjunction with aquaculture, their manure providing food for the fish.</P>
    1278 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1260
    12791261<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    1280 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1262
    12811263<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If improperly managed or maintained in filthy conditions, pigs may quickly succumb to disease and parasite epidemics. Most diseases are communicated only among pigs, but some can be transmitted to humans. For this reason, pork should always be fully cooked.</P>
    1282 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1264
    12831265<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some cultures never eat pork. Others do, but nonetheless accord pigs and their keepers low status.</P>
    1284 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1266
    12851267<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Young pigs are vulnerable to many predators.</P>
    1286 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1268
    12871269<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    1288 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1270
    12891271<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A major survey of small pig breeds is needed. They have the potential to be valuable producers in their own right, as well as to improve other pig breeds. For instance, they represent a little-known reservoir of disease resistance and climatic adaptation. Governments, research stations, universities, and individuals should make special efforts to preserve types that have outstanding or unusual qualities.</P>
    1290 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1272
    12911273<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">When it is necessary to eradicate feral pig populations (as is common on Pacific islands), representative stocks should be preserved. These rugged animals have been genetically isolated for decades or even centuries and are likely to carry valuable traits for survival under adversity.</P>
    1292 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1274
    12931275<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Large breeds may be promising candidates for genetic "downsizing," which has already produced the many types of miniature pigs that are used in medical research. </P>
    1294 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1276
    12951277<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE LITTLEST PIG</P>
    1296 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1278
    12971279<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although this chapter highlights the world's smallest breeds, there exists a pig that is even smaller. It is, however, an entirely different species and it is on the brink of extinction.</P>
    1298 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1280
    12991281<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The pigmy hog (Sus salvanius) is a shy and retiring wild creature of northeastern India. It is merely 60 cm long with a shoulder height of 25 cm, and weighs less than 10 kg. It was once found widely along the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Today, however, it apparently occurs in only one area, the Manas National Park in Assam. Despite this protection and the fact that it is listed among the 12 most endangered species on earth, it still falls victim to hunters and to habitat destruction - especially illegal grass fires.</P>
    1300 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1282
    13011283<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If saved from extinction, this minute species - barely reaching a person's calf - might become useful throughout the world. Its chromosome number is the same as that of the common pig and its physiological processes are probably also similar. Therefore, were its numbers to be built up, it might become a valued and well-known resource for laboratories and small farms. Its daily food intake and its space requirements are only a fraction of a normal pig's. It probably has exceptional tolerance to heat, humidity, and disease.</P>
    1302 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1284
    13031285<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This is not a domesticated species, and there is therefore much to learn before its usefulness can be clearly seen. Indeed, whether it can be reared in captivity is uncertain. Some attempts have ended in disaster, but this seems to have been the result of mismanagement.</P>
    1304 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1286
    13051287<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Before there is any possibility of developing it, however, the pigmy hog must be preserved from ultimate loss. The last specimen could go into a villager's pot at any time now. </P>
    1306 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1288
    13071289<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g006a.png"></center><br>
    13081290 Adult male of the common pig (wild boar) and pigmy hog draw to same scale. (W.L.R. OLIVER)</P>
    1309 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1291
    13101292<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES OF MICROPIGS</P>
    1311 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1293
    13121294<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West African Dwarf (Nigerian Black, Ashanti)</P>
    1313 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1295
    13141296<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">West Africa. Mature weights of 25-45 kg are reported. In the humid lowland forests of West Africa this breed has long been kept by villagers, often as a scavenger. Indigenous to the hot, humid tsetse zones of West Africa, it seems resistant to trypanosomiasis.</P>
    1315 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1297
    13161298<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chinese Dwarfs</P>
    1317 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1299
    13181300<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">China (and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam) has long had small pigs - often characterized by numerous teats and large litters - associated with traditional intensive agriculture as well as scavenging conditions. Some Chinese pigs weighing less than 70 kg are adapted to tropical and subtropical conditions, but the smallest (20-35 kg) live in the cold climates and high altitudes of Gansu, Sichuan, and Tibet. Small black Chinese pigs were crossed with European types in the early 1800s and produced the foundation stock of many modern Western breeds.</P>
    1319 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1301
    13201302<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Criollo</P>
    1321 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1303
    13221304<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are a number of "native" breeds throughout Latin America commonly known as "criollo." Many are quite small. Although, apparently, they are slow to mature and bear small litters, they adapt well to environmental extremes and are widely kept by rural inhabitants for food and income. Criollos are little studied and are being replaced by imported breeds before their possibly outstanding qualities can be quantified.</P>
    1323 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1305
    13241306<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cuino This micropig from the highlands of central Mexico may be descended from small Chinese types and is the smallest domestic pig, weighing as little as 10-12 kg fully grown. Hardy and an efficient scavenger, it can grow quickly when feed - especially corn - is abundant. A century ago the cuing was a widespread household animal and was used for a time for experimental work in central Mexico. It is now little known and could be threatened with extinction. </P>
    1325 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1307
    13261308<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Black Hairless (felon, Tubasqueno, Birish) These small pigs of central and northern South America survive in hot, humid, adverse climates. They are adapted to bulkier feeds than most pigs and can thrive on fruit wastes. Many local types exist. </P>
    1327 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1309
    13281310<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nilo (Macao, Tatu, Canastrinha) This small, widespread, black, hairless pig of Brazil is often kept inside the house. </P>
    1329 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1311
    13301312<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Yucatan Miniature Swine A subtype of the black hairless from Mexico's hot, arid Yucatan Peninsula, it was imported into the United States in 1960. It has been downsized for laboratory use in the United States and is known as the Yucatan Micropig (registered). Weight at sexual maturity has been lowered through selective breeding from 75 kg to, currently, between 30 and 50 kg, with an ultimate goal of 20-25 kg. There is no evidence of "dwarfism," stunting, or loss of reproductive performance, and it appears to hold notable promise as microlivestock for developing countries. The parent stock, used for meat and lard production in Yucatan, is renowned for gentleness, intelligence, resistance to disease, and relative lack of odor. Exceptional docility, even in older boars and sows with litters, makes them easy to handle without the need for specialized housing or equipment.7 </P>
    1331 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1313
    13321314<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Other Laboratory Breeds</P>
    1333 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1315
    13341316<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Other miniature laboratory pigs have potential for tropical use. These include the Goettingen, Hanford, Kangaroo Island, Ohmini, Pitman-Moore, and Sinclair (Hormel). In general they weigh 30-50 kg when ready for slaughter and mature at less than 70 kg.</P>
    1335 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1317
    13361318<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ossabaw</P>
    1337 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1319
    13381320<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">United States. 20-30 kg. Feral on Ossabaw Island, South Carolina, for more than 300 years, this pig is well adapted to environmental extremes. Unlike most domestic animals, it can maintain itself in coastal salt marshes. It has perhaps the highest percentage of fat of any pig. The piglets are very precocious, self-reliant, and robust.8</P>
    1339 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1321
    13401322<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kunekune (Pua'a, Poaka)</P>
    1341 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1323
    13421324<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">New Zealand. Female 40 kg; male 50 kg. Perhaps of Chinese origin, these black-and-white spotted pigs are docile, slow, and easy to contain. Although late maturing, they can fatten on grass alone. Like other native breeds throughout the Pacific region (for example, the Pauta of Hawaii), stock is being lost through crossbreeding, displacement by other breeds, and eradication efforts. </P>
    1343 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1325
    13441326<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">To find certain disease-resistant genes in poultry it may be necessary to go looking in the backyard chicken flocks in Latin America, Africa, or Asia.</P>
    13451327<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Kelly Klober</P>
    13461328<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Small Farmer's Journal</P>
    1347 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1348 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1329
    13491330<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">. . . Policies are needed to encourage development of a labor-intensive small-scale livestock sector, which would increase employment and provide a major market for surplus cereals. This sector, however, is particularly restrained by poor technology, poor public support services, and poor marketing channels. Third World livestock production of this type could provide a natural focus for foreign assistance that earlier seemed inappropriate because of concerns about global food scarcity.</P>
    1350 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1331
    13511332<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">John W. Mellor International Food Policy Research Institute</P>
    1352 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1333
    13531334<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Successful development of agriculture often requires an intimate understanding of the society within which it is to take place - of its systems of values, of its customary restraints.... It has been necessary to understand what incentives the farmer needs to change, what practical difficulties he encounters introducing change, what his traditional pattern of land use is and how this pattern or system can be upset by thoughtless innovation.</P>
    1354 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1335
    13551336<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">John de Wilde</P>
    13561337<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Experience with Agricultural Development in Tropical Africa </P>
    1357 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1358 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
    1359 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     1338
     1339<B>
    13601340<!--
    13611341</Section>
    … …  
    13661346  </Description>
    13671347-->
    1368 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1348</B>
    13691349<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g007a.png"></center><br>
    13701350 FIGURE</P>
    1371 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1351
    13721352<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens, ducks, muscovies, geese, guinea fowl, quail, pigeons, and turkeys epitomize the concept of microlivestock. Throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America they are (collectively) the most common of all farm stock. In many - perhaps most - tropical countries, practically every family, settled or nomadic, owns some kind of poultry. In the countryside, in villages, even in cities, one or another species is seen almost everywhere; in some places, several may be seen together. Although raised in all levels of husbandry, these birds occur most often in scattered household flocks that scavenge for their food and survive with little care or management.</P>
    1373 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1353
    13741354<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Their size bestows microlivestock advantages, including low capital cost, low food requirements, and little or no labor requirements. They are also "family sized": easily killed and dressed, with little waste or spoilage.</P>
    1375 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1355
    13761356<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These poultry species help meet the protein needs of the poorest people in the world. Some are raised even in areas where domestic cattle cannot survive because of afflictions such as trypanosomiasis and foot-and-mouth disease. Some are maintained under conditions of intensive confinement - provided a source of feed is available - and can be produced in areas with insufficient land for other meat-producing animals.</P>
    1377 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1357
    13781358<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In addition, these birds grow quickly and mature rapidly. (For instance, a chicken can, under proper conditions, reach maturity in 26 months.) They adapt readily to being fenced or penned much, or all, of the time. And, compared with the major farm livestock, their life cycles are short and their production of offspring is high. Thus, farmers can synchronize production to match seasonal changes in the availability of feed. </P>
    1379 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1359
    13801360<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although poultry contribute substantially to human nutrition in the tropics, it is a small fraction of what it could be. The meat is widely consumed and is in constant demand. An excellent source of protein, it also provides minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron, as well as the B-complex vitamins riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin. Nutritionally as complete as red meat, it is much lower in cholesterol and saturated fats. Poultry eggs are also important sources of nutrients. They are a renewable resource, easy to prepare, and are among the best sources of quality protein and vitamins (except vitamin C).</P>
    1381 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1361
    13821362<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In spite of their numbers and potential, poultry are rarely accorded primary consideration in economic development activities. All in all, these small birds lack the appeal of large, four-legged livestock. Indeed, most countries have little knowledge of the contribution household birds actually make to the well-being and diets of their peoples. In some countries - even those where birds are widely kept - there is little or no poultry research or extension. And where such programs do exist they usually focus almost exclusively on the production of chickens under "industrial" conditions near cities (see sidebar, page 75).</P>
    1383 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1363
    13841364<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most developing countries now have these intensive chicken industries, in which birds are kept in complete confinement. However, these commercial operations provide food for people in the cash economy, not for subsistence farmers. Moreover, grain is sometimes diverted or imported to maintain these operations, perhaps causing food shortages, higher prices, or depleted foreign exchange. Thus, in this section we focus on other, neglected, aspects of poultry production.,</P>
    1385 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1365
    13861366<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The neglect of poultry that scavenge around the rural farmhouses and in village yards is understandable. The birds are scattered across the countryside where extension programs are difficult to implement. Their presence is often so ingrained in traditional village life that they are taken for granted and ignored by the authorities.</P>
    1387 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1367
    13881368<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Yet village poultry deserve greater attention. As converters of vegetation into animal protein, poultry can be outstanding. In fact, it is estimated that, in terms of feed conversion, eggs rank with cow's milk as the most economically produced animal protein, and that poultry meat ranks above that of other domestic animals.</P>
    1389 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1369
    13901370<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most Third World poultry flocks live a wary, half-wild existence, scrounging for insects, earthworms, snails, seeds, leaves, and leftovers from the human diet. From dung and refuse piles they salvage undigested grains, as well as insects and other invertebrates. Often the persons who care for them are women or children. Some keep the birds around the house, penning them at night for protection from predators and thieves.</P>
    1391 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1371
    13921372<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This almost zero-cost production has, in spite of high losses, a remarkable rate of return. Any improvements that require the purchase of supplies cut severely into the profitability. The first step in improving the production of free-ranging poultry is vaccination against diseases (especially Newcastle disease, fowl pox, and Marek's disease) and a modest, supplemental feeding during times of seasonal scarcity. </P>
    1393 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1373
    13941374<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE INDUSTRIAL CHICKEN</P>
    1395 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1375
    13961376<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Throughout modem livestock farming the trend is toward more intensive methods, and poultry specialists have set the pace. In many countries, since the 1920s, barnyard fowl have given way to egg and broiler factories. The old-fashioned chicken reared outside on corn stubbles for 5 or 6 months has been replaced by the broiler, mass-produced in controlled environment houses in 7 - 10 weeks.</P>
    1397 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1377
    13981378<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As a result of this revolution in poultry raising, small farmers who once made a comfortable living from a few laying hens have been forced out of business. These economic changes have also forced poultry men to have larger and larger flocks to survive. The largest broiler-chicken companies even control their own breed development, feed production, house construction, slaughtering, and freezing, many even have wholesale outlets.</P>
    1399 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1379
    14001380<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The rapid changes in poultry farming methods can be attributed to the application of advanced technology. The development of the incubator to replace the mother hen sitting her seasonal clutch of eggs was the first mayor step toward intensive poultry farming.</P>
    1401 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1381
    14021382<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In addition, chickens were the first livestock to receive serious attention from geneticists. Before World War II, it was discovered that crossbreeding selected pure and inbred lines could result in dramatic increases in production. Hybrids tailor-made for egg or meat production quickly ousted the old pure breeds such as the Rhode Island Red White and Brown Leghorns, Light Sussex, and the various crosses among them. Chicken broilers made by crosses involving parents derived from Cornish and Plymouth Rock have supplanted all others.</P>
    1403 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1383
    14041384<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This situation now prevails in most industrialized countries. The breeding of commercial stocks is in the hands of a few corporations for each commodity (white eggs, brown eggs, chicken broilers, turkeys) and each has national or even global distribution of its hybrid stocks.</P>
    1405 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1385
    14061386<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A BREAKTHROUGH IN POULTRY HEALTH</P>
    1407 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1387
    14081388<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Newcastle disease is endemic in developing countries and is a constant threat to poultry. Farmers dread this virus, first identified half a century ago in northern England that brings diarrhea, paralysis, and death to most poultry. It is severe, highly contagious, and can cause 100 percent mortality. When it strikes an area, farmers must kill all chickens - even healthy ones - to stop it from spreading.</P>
    1409 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1389
    14101390<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Only Australia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland and some Pacific islands are unaffected. But, although the disease is not found in Australia, certain strains of the virus are present in Australian chickens. These strains are completely harmless, but Australian researchers have found that they induce antibodies that are effective against Newcastle disease.</P>
    1411 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1391
    14121392<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In a joint project (funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), scientists from Malaysia's University of Agriculture and Australia's University of Queensland* have put this to good use. They have produced a live culture of the harmless virus that farmers can spray onto feed pellets to vaccinate their birds.</P>
    1413 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1393
    14141394<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Field tests of the new vaccine, carried out in Southeast Asia, have been extremely promising. Simply coating feeds with the virus seems to be enough to immunize some chickens, which then pass the immunity on to the others in the flock as well as to new hatchlings. In Malaysia, which has 49 million chickens and a population willing to pay a premium for tasty village poultry meat, one economist estimates that the vaccine might increase rural incomes by 25 percent.</P>
    1415 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1395
    14161396<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Conventional vaccines must be stored under refrigerated conditions, which most villages lack. But the Malaysian workers made the Newcastle disease vaccine tolerant of heat. By selective breeding, they now have strains that resist 56&Yacute;C for at least 2 hours. Thus, even in the tropics, the vaccine remains effective for several weeks without refrigeration. The researchers have also devised methods for coating the vaccine onto pelleted feeds. Because the virus can withstand heat, they use a machine designed for coating pharmaceutical tablets.</P>
    1417 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1397
    14181398<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At this stage, the project is showing every promise of producing a cheap means of reducing Newcastle disease losses among chickens throughout much of the world. Already inquiries have come from other Asian countries and from Africa, and it is hoped that the vaccine may eventually benefit many countries. </P>
    1419 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1420 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
    1421 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1399
    14221400<B><P></P>
    14231401<!--
    … …  
    14271405  </Description>
    14281406-->
    1429 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1407</B>
    14301408<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g008a.png"></center><br>
    14311409 FIGURE</P>
    1432 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1410
    14331411<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens (Gallus gallus or Gallus domesticus)1 are the world's  major source of eggs and are a meat source that supports a food  industry in virtually every country. There may be as many as 6.5 billion  chickens, the equivalent of 1.4 birds for every person on earth.2</P>
    1434 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1412
    14351413<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">No other domesticated animal has enjoyed such universal acceptance,  and these birds are the prime example of the importance of  microlivestock. Kept throughout the Third World, they are one of the  least expensive and most efficient producers of animal protein.</P>
    1436 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1414
    14371415<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">To the world's poor, chickens are probably the most nutritionally  important livestock species. For instance, in Mauritius and Nigeria more  than 70 percent of rural households keep scavenger chickens. In  Swaziland, more than 95 percent of rural households own chickens,  most of them scavengers. In Thailand, where commercial poultry  production is highly developed, 80-90 percent of rural households still  keep chickens in backyards and under houses. And in other developing  countries from Pakistan to Peru, a similar situation prevails.</P>
    1438 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1416
    14391417<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Clearly, these chickens should be given far more attention. They  represent an animal and a production system with remarkable qualities;  they compete little with humans for food; they produce meat at low  cost; and they provide a critical nutritional resource.</P>
    1440 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1418
    14411419<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Scavenger chickens are usually self-reliant, hardy birds capable of  withstanding the abuses of harsh climate, minimal management, and inadequate nutrition. They live largely on weed seeds, insects, and feeds that would otherwise go to waste.</P>
    1442 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1420
    14431421<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unfortunately, however, quantitative information about the backyard chicken is hard to obtain. Few countries have any knowledge of its actual contribution to the well-being and diet of their people. Notably lacking is an understanding of the factors limiting egg production, which is markedly low and perhaps could be raised dramatically with modest effort.</P>
    1444 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1422
    14451423<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    1446 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1424
    14471425<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    1448 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1426
    14491427<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    1450 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1428
    14511429<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens are so well known and ubiquitous that they need no further description. Varying in color from white through many shades of brown to black, they range in size from small bantams of less than 1 kg to giant breeds weighing 5 kg or more. Scavenger chickens tend to weigh about I kg.</P>
    1452 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1430
    14531431<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The indigenous chickens of Asia are probably descended directly from the wild junglefowl. Those of West Africa are believed descended from European birds brought by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century; those of Latin America probably descend from Spanish birds introduced soon after the time of Columbus.</P>
    1454 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1432
    14551433<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p81a.png"></center><br>
    14561434 figure</P>
    1457 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1435
    14581436<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    1459 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1437
    14601438<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">All countries have chickens in large numbers.</P>
    1461 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1439
    14621440<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    1463 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1441
    14641442<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">They are not endangered, but industrial stocks are replacing traditional breeds to such an extent that much potentially valuable genetic heritage is disappearing. </P>
    1465 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1443
    14661444<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    1467 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1445
    14681446<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although chickens derive from tropical species, they adapt to a wide  variety of environments. The modern Leghorn, for example, is found  from the hot plains of India to the frozen tundra of Siberia, and from  sea level to altitudes above 4,000 m in the Andes. (There are, however,  hatching problems at such high altitudes because of oxygen deficiency.)  They also occur in desert countries such as Saudi Arabia, which has a  vast poultry industry and even exports broilers. (However, the birds  need shade and a lot of water where it is hot and dry.)</P>
    1469 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1447
    14701448<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    1471 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1449
    14721450<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens are omnivorous, living on seeds, insects, worms, leaves,  green grass, and kitchen scraps.</P>
    1473 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1451
    14741452<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A commercial bird may produce 280 eggs annually, but a scavenger  may produce close to none. Commonly, a farmyard hen lays a dozen  eggs, takes three weeks to hatch out a brood of chicks, stays with the  chicks six weeks or more, and only then starts laying again.</P>
    1475 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1453
    14761454<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Egg production depends on daylength. For the highest production  rate, at least 12 hours of daylight are needed. The incubation period is  21 days. A hen can begin laying at 5 months of age or even earlier, but  in scavengers it may be much later. The average weight of the eggs is  approximately 55 g from industrial layers and approximately 40 g from  scavengers. Hatching success from breeder flocks often exceeds 90  percent. Industrial broilers can be marketed as early as 6 weeks, when  they are called "Cornish hens."</P>
    1477 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1455
    14781456<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    1479 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1457
    14801458<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These passive, gregarious birds have a pronounced social (pecking)  order. If acclimated, they remain on the premises and are unlikely to go  feral. If given a little evening meal of "scratch," they learn to come  home to roost at night.</P>
    1481 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1459
    14821460<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    1483 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1461
    14841462<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens have multiple uses. They were probably first used for cock  fighting; later they were used in religious rituals, and only much later  were raised for eggs and meat. Today, chickens can provide a family  with eggs, meat, feathers, and sometimes cash.  </P>
    1485 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1463
    14861464<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    1487 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1465
    14881466<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In different parts of the world, people keep scavenging chickens in  different ways. The managers are often women and children because  they have more time to spend at home to feed the birds and repel  predators. Some people leave the birds entirely to their own devices.  Many house them at night. Others take the birds each day to the fields,  where they may find much more food.</P>
    1489 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1467
    14901468<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are many ingenious local practices. In Ghana, for example,  farmers "culture" termites for poultry by placing a moist piece of cow  dung (under a tin) over a known termite nest. The termites burrow into  the dung, and some can then be fed to the chickens each day. Because  termites digest cellulose, this system converts waste vegetation into  meat.</P>
    1491 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1469
    14921470<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A ratio of 1 male to 10-15 females is adequate for barnyard flocks.  Hens will lay eggs in the absence of a rooster - but of course the rooster  is needed if fertile eggs are wanted.</P>
    1493 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1471
    14941472<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Removing chicks stimulates the hen to lay more eggs. This results in  more chicks being hatched, but it requires that the chicks be nurtured  and fed until they are old enough to fend for themselves.</P>
    1495 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1473
    14961474<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    1497 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1498 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1475
    14991476<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens are everywhere; every culture knows them and how to  husband them. They have been utilized for so many centuries that in  most societies their use is ingrained. Unlike the case with pork and beef,  there are few strictures against eating chicken meat or eggs.</P>
    1500 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1477
    15011478<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The meat is high in quality protein, low in fat, and easily prepared. In  many countries, the village chicken's meat is preferred to that of  commercial broilers because it has better texture and stronger flavor.  Even in countries with vast poultry industries there is a growing demand  for the tasty, "organically grown," free-ranging chicken.</P>
    1502 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1479
    15031480<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chickens are more suited to "urban farming" than most types of  livestock and can be raised in many city situations.</P>
    1504 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1481
    15051482<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds are conveniently sized, easily transported alive, and, by and  large, do not transmit diseases to humans.</P>
    1506 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1483
    15071484<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    1508 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1509 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1485
    15101486<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the problems of village  chickens are mainly those discussed below.  </P>
    1511 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1487
    15121488<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">High Hatching Mortality</P>
    1513 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1514 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1489
    15151490<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Commonly, a hatch of eight or nine village chicks results in only two  or three live birds after a few days. A survey in Nigeria, for instance,  showed that 80 percent died before the age of eight weeks. Losses  elsewhere are known to be similar. This is mostly because of starvation,  cold, dehydration, predators (hawks, kites, snakes, dogs, and cats, for  example), diseases, parasites, accidents, and simply getting lost - all of  which can be prevented without great effort.</P>
    1516 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1491
    15171492<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chronic and Acute Disease</P>
    1518 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1519 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1493
    15201494<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Poultry diseases can become epidemic in the villages because there  are few if any veterinarians. Newcastle disease, fowlpox, pullorum  disease, and coccidiosis, for example - all of which are endemic in the  Third World - can destroy the entire chicken population over large  areas. Lice and other parasites are also prevalent. Scavengers and  industrial birds seem to show no differences in their tolerance for such  diseases and parasites.</P>
    1521 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1495
    15221496<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Low Egg Production</P>
    1523 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1524 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1497
    15251498<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A survey in Nigeria showed that the annual production per hen was  merely 20 eggs. Such low production is common throughout the Third  World and is caused by a combination of low genetic potential,  inadequate nutrition, and poor management. Villagers rarely provide nest  boxes or laying areas, so that some eggs are just not found. Some birds  have high levels of broodiness, and eggs accumulating in a nest  stimulates this. There are indications, however, that some village  chickens (for example, some in China) have quite substantial egg-laying  potential when provided with adequate feed.3</P>
    1526 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1499
    15271500<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Low Egg Consumption</P>
    1528 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1529 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1501
    15301502<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the tropics, many people choose not to eat eggs. Often this is  because eggs are the source of the next generation of chickens;  sometimes it is because of superstition. Further, eggs do not keep well  because most are fertile and, exposed to constant tropical heat, undergo  rapid embryo development.  </P>
    1531 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1503
    15321504<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crop Damage</P>
    1533 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1534 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1505
    15351506<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is often necessary to confine the birds to protect young crops or  vegetable gardens.</P>
    1536 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1507
    15371508<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    1538 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1539 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1509
    15401510<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unlike the situation with small cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs, there are  few named and recognized breeds of Third World chickens. Yet, nearly  every country has at least one kind of village chicken. These have  survived there for centuries and are highly adapted to local conditions.  In village projects, these unnamed chickens deserve priority attention  before other types are sought from elsewhere.</P>
    1541 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1511
    15421512<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Generally speaking, improving the production of scavenging poultry  does not require sophisticated research. Instead, simple precautions are  sufficient. These are discussed below.</P>
    1543 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1513
    15441514<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Disease Control</P>
    1545 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1546 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1515
    15471516<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At a national or regional level, the initial approach to increasing  chicken production in tropical areas should be disease control. There are  several outstanding instances of success in this endeavor. For example,  the spectacular rise of poultry production in Singapore (from 250,000  birds in 1949 to 20 million in 1957) followed the control of Ranikhet  disease. Village flock-health programs, carried out regularly by visiting  veterinarians ("barefoot veterinarians"), might be the answer to some of  the routine health problems. Today, a prime target should be Newcastle  disease, for which there are good chances for success (see page 76).</P>
    1548 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1517
    15491518<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Management</P>
    1550 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1551 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1519
    15521520<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The first step in chicken production at the farm level is improved  management. With more care and attention, mortality can be greatly  reduced. Because incubating and brooding hens must spend the night on  the ground, they are extremely vulnerable. Even modest predator  controls can be highly beneficial. Building crude and inexpensive nest  boxes and constructing a simple holding area around them can  substantially raise production by ensuring that more chicks survive.  </P>
    1553 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1521
    15541522<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE CHICKEN'S WILD ANCESTOR</P>
    1555 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1556 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1523
    15571524<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although little known to most people, the red junglefowl has  contributed more to every nation than any other wild bird. It is  the ancestor of the chicken.</P>
    1558 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1525
    15591526<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Given its descendants importance worldwide, the neglect of  this bird is baffling. If the cow's wild ancestor, the aurochs, had  not become extinct in the 1600s, it would now be worth millions  of dollars as the ultimate source of cattle genetic diversity. Yet  the world's chicken industry remains virtually unaware of the  origin of its source of livelihood.</P>
    1560 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1527
    15611528<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like the aurochs, the red junglefowl has a wealth of wild  genes, and it deserves more recognition and protection. For one  thing the modern chicken - selectively bred in the temperate  zone - is highly susceptible to heat and humidity; the junglefowl,  on the other hand, is not. It inhabits the warmest and most humid  parts of Asia: Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand, and most of  Southeast Asia. It may also be resistant to various chicken  diseases and pests.</P>
    1562 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1529
    15631530<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This is not a rare species. Throughout the wide crescent  stretching from Pakistan to Indonesia, junglefowls are still seen  in the wild, especially in forest clearings and lowland scrub.  Although they are a prized bag for hunters, they survive by fast  running and agile flying. They are sometimes sold in village  markets, but can easily be mistaken for domesticated chickens,  which in this region are often very similar. The wild junglefowl,  however, has feathered legs, a down-curving tail, and an overall  scragginess.</P>
    1564 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1531
    15651532<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Junglefowls should be under intensive study. They are easy to  rear in captivity and do well in pens, even small ones, as long as  they are sheltered from rain and wind. One drawback is their  craze for scratching unless provided plenty of space they  promptly tear up all grass and dirt. Another is that junglecocks  are violent fighters and must be kept apart. (Cockfighting is  probably a major reason why they were initially selected, and  thus their aggressiveness is perhaps the reason we have the  chicken today.)</P>
    1566 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1533
    15671534<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These highly adaptable creatures live in a variety of habitats,  from sea level to 2,000 m. Most, however, are found in and  around damp forests, secondary growth, dry scrub, bamboo  groves, and small woods near farms and villages. They are  amazingly clever at evading capture and thrive wherever there is  some cover.</P>
    1568 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1535
    15691536<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Other junglefowl species might also provide useful poultry.  They, too, can be raised in captivity with comparative ease, as  long as the cocks are kept apart. Perhaps they might be tamed with imprinting and could prove useful as domestic fowl,  especially in marginal habitats. They are everywhere considered  culinary luxuries and their meat commands premium prices.  Moreover, several have colorful feathers, giving them additional  commercial value. These other species are:</P>
    1570 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1571 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1537
    15721538<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- La Fayette's Junglefowl (Gallus lafayettei). Avery attractive  bird of Sri Lanka, it is little known in captivity, and only in the  United States are there any number in captivity.</P>
    1573 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1574 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1539
    15751540<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Gray or Sonnerat's Junglefowl (Gallus sonnerati). A native  of India, this colorful bird produces feathers that are used in  tying the most prized trout and salmon flies. Demand is so great  that certain populations have declined, and since 1968 India has  banned all export of birds or feathers. Nonetheless, there are  several hundred in captivity in various countries.</P>
    1576 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1577 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1541
    15781542<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Green Junglefowl (Gallus varius). This is yet another striking  bird. The cock has metallic, greenish-black feathering set off by  a comb that merges from brilliant green at the base to bright  purple and red at the top. Native to Java, Bali, and the  neighboring Indonesian islands as far out as Timor, it is found  particularly near rice paddies and rocky coasts. This species, too,  can be raised without great difficulty, and there are at least 90 in  captivity in various parts of the world.  </P>
    1579 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1543
    15801544<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nutrition</P>
    1581 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1582 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1545
    15831546<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Improving poultry nutrition is also of prime importance. There are no quantitative data on the quality of a scavenging chicken's diet. Surveys are badly needed so that appropriate, low-cost supplements can be devised.</P>
    1584 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1547
    15851548<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chances are that the diet for chicks of scavenging poultry is almost always deficient in available energy. Minimal supplementation in the form of cereals or energy-rich by-products can greatly improve both egg and meat production. However, caution must always be exercised and the supplements given only to chicks. Overfed adults will give up scavenging and stay around the owner's house, without really producing much more meat or eggs.</P>
    1586 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1549
    15871550<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Genetic Improvement</P>
    1588 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1589 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1551
    15901552<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although it seems attractive to replace the scrawny village chicken with bigger, faster-growing imported breeds, it is a process fraught with difficulty. Exotic breeds lack the ability to tolerate the rigors of mismanagement and environmental stress. Many cannot avoid predators, as a result either of being overweight or of having a poor conformation for flight. The local birds, however, probably have a genetic potential that is much higher than can be expressed in the constraining environment. Thus, the environmental constraints should be tackled first.</P>
    1591 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1553
    15921554<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">However, the village birds may have a feed-conversion efficiency that is far less than ideal because they are adapted to a scavenging existence. Modern breeds imported into Ghana, for instance, showed a feed-conversion efficiency of less that 3.5:1 (weight of food eaten: growth and eggs), but the local birds had efficiencies of 11:1.4 </P>
    1593 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1555
    15941556<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Conservation</P>
    1595 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1596 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1557
    15971558<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The need for preserving genetic variability is greater in poultry, especially in chickens, than in any other form of domestic animal. North America, for instance, which years ago had 50 or more common breeds, now relies on only 2 for meat production, and the others have been largely lost. Conservation of germplasm has become a matter of serious concern, and the saving of rare breeds in domestic fowl should not be delayed. </P>
    1598 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1559
    15991560<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE SOUTH AMERICAN CHICKEN</P>
    1600 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1601 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1561
    16021562<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Early European explorers of South America were surprised to discover an abundance of unusual chickens that laid colored eggs and had feathers resembling earrings on the side of the head. While the origin of this bird - commonly called the araucanian chicken and classified as Gallus inauris - is debatable, scientists generally agree that it is pre-Columbian. There is archeological evidence that this bird is native to the Americas. It is reported to have occurred in Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Easter Island. It still occurs in the wild in southern Chile and on Easter Island.</P>
    1603 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1563
    16041564<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The araucanian has been called the "Easter-egg chicken" because it lays light green, light blue, and olive colored eggs. It lays well and has a delicious meat. In areas such as southern Chile the eggs are preferred over those of normal chickens because of their flavor and dark yellow yolk. This unusual bird has a high degree of variability; however, specimens of similar genetic background have been grouped to create "breeds" such as the White Araucanian, Black Araucanian, and Barred Araucanian. These are homozygotes and breed true.</P>
    1605 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1565
    16061566<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The araucanian has been the subject of much public interest,. clubs dedicated to its preservation have been formed in the United States, Great Britain, and Chile. Its possible exploitation as a backyard microlivestock deserves serious consideration. </P>
    1607 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1608 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1567
    16091568<B><P></P>
    16101569<!--
    … …  
    16151574  </Description>
    16161575-->
    1617 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1576</B>
    16181577<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g009a.png"></center><br>
    16191578 FIGURE</P>
    1620 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1621 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1579
    16221580<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)1 are well known, but still have much unrealized promise for subsistence-level production. Although a major resource of Asia, where there is approximately one duck per 20 inhabitants, they are not so intensively used elsewhere. On a worldwide basis, for instance, they are of minor importance compared with chickens.</P>
    1623 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1581
    16241582<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This is unfortunate because ducks are easy to keep, adapt readily to a wide range of conditions (including small-farm culture), and require little investment. They are also easily managed under village conditions, particularly if a waterway is nearby, and appear to be more resistant to diseases and more adept at foraging than chickens.</P>
    1625 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1583
    16261584<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Moreover, the products from ducks are in constant demand. Some breeds yield more eggs than the domestic chicken. And duck meat always sells at premium. A few recently created breeds (notably some in Taiwan) have much lower levels of fat than the traditional farm duck. This development could open up vast new markets for duck meat, especially in wealthy countries, where consumers are both concerned over fat in their diet and eager for alternatives to chicken.</P>
    1627 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1585
    16281586<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks are also efficient at converting waste resources - insects, weeds, aquatic plants, and fallen seeds, for instance - into meat and eggs. Indeed, they are among the most efficient of all food producers. Raised in confinement, ducks can convert 2.4-2.6 kg of concentrated feed into I kg of weight gain. The only domestic animal that has better feed conversion is the broiler chicken.</P>
    1629 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1587
    16301588<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Raised as village birds and allowed to forage for themselves, ducks become less productive but become even more cost effective because much of the food they scavenge has no monetary value. </P>
    1631 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1589
    16321590<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    1633 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1634 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1591
    16351592<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    1636 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1593
    16371594<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    1638 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1639 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1595
    16401596<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Several distinctive types have been developed in various regions. Most have lost the ability to fly any distance, but they retain a characteristic boatlike posture and a labored, waddling walk. The Indian Runner, however, has an almost erect stance that permits it to walk and run with apparent ease.</P>
    1641 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1597
    16421598<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic ducks range in body size from the diminutive Call, weighing less than I kg, to the largest meat strains (Pekin, Rouen, and Aylesbury, for example) weighing as much as 4.5 kg. For intensive conditions, the Pekin is the most popular meat breed around the world. In confinement it grows rapidly - weighing 2.5-3 kg at a market age of 78 weeks. In addition, it is hardy, does not fly, lays well, and produces good quality (but somewhat fatty) meat.</P>
    1643 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1599
    16441600<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Khaki Campbell breed is an outstanding egg producer, some individuals laying more than 300 eggs per bird per year.</P>
    1645 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1601
    16461602<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Taiwan Tsaiya (layer duck) is also a particularly efficient breed. It weighs 1.2 kg at maturity, starts laying at 120-140 days, and can produce 260-290 eggs a year. Its small body size, large egg weight, and phenomenal egg production make Brown Tsaiya the main breed for egg consumption in Taiwan. More than 2.5 million Brown Tsaiya ducks are raised annually for egg production.2</P>
    1647 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1603
    16481604<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    1649 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1650 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1605
    16511606<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The domestic duck is distributed throughout the world; however, its greatest economic importance is in Southeast Asia, particularly in the wetland-rice areas. For example, about 28 percent of Taiwan's poultry are- ducks. In parts of Asia, some domestic flocks have as many as 20,000 birds. One farm near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, rears 40,000 ducks.</P>
    1652 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1607
    16531608<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    1654 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1655 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1609
    16561610<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although ducks are abundant, some Western breeds are becoming rare. Indigenous types are little known outside their home countries and have received little study, so their status is uncertain.</P>
    1657 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1611
    16581612<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    1659 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1660 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1613
    16611614<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These adaptable creatures thrive in hot, humid climates. However, during torrid weather they must have access to shade, drinking water, and bathing water.</P>
    1662 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1615
    16631616<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks are well adapted to rivers, canals, lakes, ponds, marshes, and other aquatic locations. Moreover, they can be raised successfully in estuarine areas. Most ocean bays and inlets teem with plant and animal life that ducks relish, but (unlike wild sea ducks) domestic breeds have a low physiological tolerance for salt and must be supplied with fresh drinking water. </P>
    1664 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1617
    16651618<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    1666 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1667 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1619
    16681620<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks search for food underwater, sieve organic matter from mud, root out morsels underground, and sometimes catch insects in the air. Their natural diet is normally about 90 percent vegetable matter (seeds, berries, fruits, nuts, bulbs, roots, succulent leaves, and grasses) and 10 percent animal matter (insects, snails, slugs, leeches, worms, eels, crustacea, and an occasional small fish or tadpole). They have little ability to utilize dietary fiber. Although they eat considerable quantities of tender grass, they are not true grazers (like geese), and don't eat coarse grasses and weeds at all. Sand and gravel is swallowed to serve as "grindstones" in the gizzard.</P>
    1669 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1621
    16701622<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">When protected from accidents and predation, ducks live a surprisingly long time. It is not unusual for one to continue reproducing for up to 8 years, and there are reports of exceptional birds living more than 20 years.</P>
    1671 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1623
    16721624<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Despite large differences in size, color, and appearance, all domestic breeds interbreed freely. Eggs normally take 28 days to incubate, brooding and rearing is performed solely by the female.</P>
    1673 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1625
    16741626<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Depending on breed, a female may reach sexual maturity at about 20 weeks of age. Most begin laying at 20-26 weeks, but the best egg- laying varieties come into production at 16-18 weeks and lay profitably for 2 years.</P>
    1675 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1627
    16761628<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    1677 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1678 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1629
    16791630<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is generally well known that ducks are shy, nervous, and seldom aggressive towards each other or humans. Skilled and enthusiastic swimmers from the day they hatch, they spend many hours each day bathing and frolicking in any available water. However, most breeds can be raised successfully without swimming water.</P>
    1680 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1631
    16811632<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although wild ducks normally pair off, domestic drakes will mate indiscriminately with any females in a flock. In intensively raised flocks, I male to 6 females, and in village flocks, 1 male for up to 25 females, results in good fertility.</P>
    1682 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1633
    16831634<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most domestic ducks, particularly the egg-laying strains, have little instinct to brood. If not confined, they will lay eggs wherever they happen to be - occasionally even while swimming. To facilitate egg collection, some keepers confine ducks until noon. </P>
    1684 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1685 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1635
    16861636<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p96a.png"></center><br>
    16871637 Figure</P>
    1688 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1638
    16891639<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    1690 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1691 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1640
    16921641<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As a meat source, ducks have major advantages. Their growth rate is phenomenal during the first few weeks. (Acceptable market weights can be attained under intensive management with birds as young as 6-7 weeks of age.) Yet, even in older birds, the meat remains tender and palatable.</P>
    1693 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1642
    16941643<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Eggs from many breeds are typically 20-35 percent larger than chicken eggs, weighing on average about 73 g. They are nutritious, have more fat and protein, and contain less water than hen's eggs. They are often used in cooking and make excellent custards and ice cream. Eggs incubated until just before the embryos form feathers produce a delicacy known as balut in the Philippines. Salted eggs are popular in China and Southeast Asia.</P>
    1695 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1644
    16961645<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Feathers and down (an insulating undercoat of fine, fluffy feathers) are valuable by-products. Down is particularly sought as a filler for pillows, comforters, and winter clothing.</P>
    1697 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1646
    16981647<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks have a special fondness for mosquito and beetle larvae, grasshoppers, snails, slugs, and crustaceans, and therefore are effective pest control agents. China, in particular, uses ducks to reduce pests in rice fields.3 Its farmers also keep ducks to clear fields of scattered grain, to clear rice paddy banks of burrowing crabs, and to clear aquatic weeds and algae out of small lakes, ponds, and canals. This not only improves the conditions for aquaculture and agriculture, it also fattens the ducks.</P>
    1699 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1648
    17001649<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    1701 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1702 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1650
    17031651<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In Southeast Asia, droving is a traditional form of duck husbandry, much as it was in medieval Europe. The birds are herded along slowly, foraging in fields or riverbanks as they march to market. The journey might cover hundreds of kilometers and take as long as six months.</P>
    1704 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1652
    17051653<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This process, however, is generally declining, and most ducks are raised under farm conditions where they scavenge for much of their feed. Throughout Southeast Asia, ducks have been integrated with aquaculture.</P>
    1706 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1654
    17071655<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks can be raised on almost any kitchen wastes: vegetable trimmings, table scraps, garden leftovers, canning refuse, stale produce, and stale (but not moldy) baked goods. However, for top yields and quickest growth, protein-rich feeds are the key. Commercial duck farms rely on such things as fish scraps, grains, soybean meal, or coconut cake. Agricultural wastes such as sago chips, palm-kernel cake, and palm-oil sludge are being used in Malaysia.4</P>
    1708 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1656
    17091657<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks have a very high requirement for niacin (a B vitamin). If chicken rations are used, a plentiful supply of fresh greens must be provided to avoid "cowboy legs," a symptom of niacin deficiency.</P>
    1710 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1658
    17111659<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    1712 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1713 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1660
    17141661<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Of all domestic animals, ducks are among the most versatile and useful and have multiple advantages, including:</P>
    1715 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1716 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1662
    17171663<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Withstanding poor conditions;</P>
    1718 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1664
    17191665<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Producing food efficiently;</P>
    1720 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1666
    17211667<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Utilizing foodstuffs that normally go unharvested;</P>
    1722 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1668
    17231669<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Helping to control pests; and</P>
    1724 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1670
    17251671<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Helping to fertilize the soil.</P>
    1726 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1727 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1672
    17281673<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Also, they are readily herded (for instance, by children).</P>
    1729 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1674
    17301675<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Excellent foragers, they usually can find all their own food, getting by on only a minimum of supplements, if any. Raising them requires little work, and they provide farmers with food or an income from the sale of eggs, meat, and down.</P>
    1731 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1676
    17321677<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks can grow faster than broiler chickens if they have adequate nutrients. Like guinea fowl and geese, they are relatively resistant to disease. They also have a good tolerance to cold and, in most climates, don't need artificial heat.</P>
    1733 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1734 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1678
    17351679<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DOMESTICATING NEW DUCKS</P>
    1736 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1737 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1680
    17381681<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many species of ducks adapt readily to captivity; it is surprising, therefore, that only the mallard and the muscovy have been domesticated so far. Several wild tropical species seem especially worth exploring for possible future use in Third World farms, Because of the year-round tropical warmth, their instinct to migrate is either absent or unpronounced, and the heavy layer of fat (a feature of temperate-climate ducks that consumers in many countries consider a drawback) is lacking. Moreover, because of uniform daylength, they are ready to breed at any time of the year. Candidates for domestication as tropical ducks include:</P>
    1739 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1682
    17401683<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Whistling ducks (Dendrocygna species). These large, colorful, gooselike birds are noted for their beautiful, cheerful whistle.* They are long-necked perching ducks that are found throughout the tropics. By and large, they are gregarious, sedentary, vegetarian, and less arboreal than the muscovy - all positive traits for a poultry species.</P>
    1741 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1684
    17421685<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The black-bellied whistling duck (D. auturunalis) seems especially promising. It is common throughout tropical America (southwestern United States to northwestern Argentina) and is sometimes kept in semicaptivity. Occasionally, in the highlands of Guatemala, for instance, Indians sell young ones they have reared as pets. When hand reared, the birds can become very tame. * * They eat grain and other vegetation, require no swimming water, and will voluntarily use nest boxes. In the wild, they "dump" large numbers of eggs so that even if substantial numbers were removed for artificial hatching, the wild populations should not be affected.</P>
    1743 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1686
    17441687<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Greater wood ducks (Cairina species). The muscovy (C. moschata) was domesticated by South American Indians long before Europeans arrived (see page 124). Its counterparts in the forests of Southeast Asia and tropical Africa are, however, untried as domesticates. The white-winged wood duck (C. scutulata) is found from eastern India to Java. Hartlaub's duck (C. hartlaubi) occurs in forests and wooded savannas from Sierra Leone to Zaire. Both are rare in captivity, but might well prove to be future tropical resources. Both are strikingly similar to muscovies in size and habits, being large, phlegmatic, sedentary, and omnivorous. </P>
    1745 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1688
    17461689<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    1747 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1748 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1690
    17491691<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Predators are the most important cause of losses in farm flocks. Ducks are almost incapable of defending themselves, and losses from dogs and poachers can be high. Locking them in at night both protects the birds and prevents eggs from being wastefully laid outside.</P>
    1750 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1692
    17511693<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ducks do suffer from some diseases, mainly those traceable to mismanagement such as poor diet, stagnant drinking water, moldy feed or bedding, or overcrowded and filthy conditions. Of all poultry, they are the most sensitive to aflatoxin, which usually comes from eating moldy feed. They are also susceptible to cholera (pasteurellosis) and botulism, either of which may wipe out entire flocks. Duck virus enteritis (duck plague) and duck virus hepatitis also can cause severe losses.</P>
    1752 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1694
    17531695<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If not carefully managed, ducks can become pests to some crops, especially cereals.</P>
    1754 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1696
    17551697<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted, ducks tend to be extremely poor mothers and can be helped by using broody chicken hens or female muscovies as surrogate mothers.</P>
    1756 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1698
    17571699<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Major limitations to large-scale, intensive production are mud, smell, and noise.</P>
    1758 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1700
    17591701<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Defeathering ducks is much more difficult than defeathering chickens because of an abundance of small pinfeathers and down feathers.</P>
    1760 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1702
    17611703<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    1762 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1763 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1704
    17641705<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds already function so well that no fundamental research needs to be done. Nonetheless, there are a number of topics that could improve their production.</P>
    1765 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1706
    17661707<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For example, different types of low-cost systems need to be explored and developed. These must be low-input systems since cash is a limiting factor for most subsistence farmers. One possibility is the integration of duck and fish farming.</P>
    1767 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1708
    17681709<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A survey of all breeds is needed to determine their status and likelihood of extinction.</P>
    1769 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1710
    17701711<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One need in countries that already have ducks is to encourage the consumption of duck meat. Indonesia, for instance, has 25 million egg-producing ducks, but little duck meat is consumed.</P>
    1771 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1712
    17721713<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Research on economically significant diseases is needed. </P>
    1773 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1774 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1714
    17751715<B><P></P>
    17761716<!--
    … …  
    17811721  </Description>
    17821722-->
    1783 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1723</B>
    17841724<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g010a.png"></center><br>
    17851725 Brown Chinese Geese</P>
    1786 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1726
    17871727<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although geese (Anser spp.) were one of the first domesticated animals, they have yet to receive the level of commercial or industrial exploitation of chickens or even ducks. Thus, their global potential is far greater than is generally recognized today.</P>
    1788 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1728
    17891729<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic geese are easily managed and well suited to small-farm production; they are among the fastest growing avian species commonly raised for meat, and they have immediate application in many developing countries.</P>
    1790 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1730
    17911731<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds are especially appropriate for providing farmers a supplemental income. With little extra work they supply nutritious meat, huge eggs, and rich fat for cooking, as well as soft down and feathers for bedding and clothing. Moreover, their strident voices sound the alarm when strangers or predators approach. They are especially well suited to aquatic areas and marshy lands and are completely at home in warm shallow waterways. Nevertheless, they can thrive away from water. In fact, wherever pasture is available geese readily adapt to captivity.</P>
    1792 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1732
    17931733<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are grazers, and can be raised almost exclusively on pasture. They are excellent foragers, and on succulent grass can find most or all of their own food. With their powerful bills they pull up grasses and underwater plants and probe soil and water for roots, bulbs, and aquatic animals. Their long necks make them adept at gleaning weeds from hard-to-reach places - such as fence rows, ditches, and swampy areas that baffle larger livestock. They will also feast on vegetable trimmings, garden and table leftovers, canning refuse, and stale baked goods. Like other poultry, they pick up shattered grains of rice, wheat, barley, and other crops, which can reduce the bothersome problem of weeds volunteering in subsequent years.</P>
    1794 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1734
    17951735<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are available worldwide. In most climates, they require little or no housing. Given reasonable care and protection from predators, mortality can be extremely low. </P>
    1796 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1736
    17971737<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    1798 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1799 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1738
    18001739<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    1801 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1740
    18021741<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    1803 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1804 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1742
    18051743<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic geese come in an assortment of colors, sizes, and shapes. There are two main types, however. Descendants of the wild greylag goose (Anser anser) make up the domestic breeds common in North America and Europe, including the Embden, Toulouse, Pilgrim, American Buff, Pomeranian, Sebastopol, and Tufted Roman breeds. These are generally best suited to temperate climates. On the other hand, descendants of the wild "swan goose" (Anser cygnoides) make up the geese of Asia, including the Chinese and "African" types. These breeds seem better suited to hot climates.</P>
    1806 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1744
    18071745<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In addition to these, many European and Asian countries have their own local breeds and types, and there are even several wild species that show some potential for captive production.</P>
    1808 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1746
    18091747<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">With their long legs and webbed toes, geese are equally at home walking or swimming. Avid walkers, they march long distances to find forage, but return home at dusk. Accomplished and graceful swimmers, geese are able to take to water soon after they hatch. Despite their large size, some domestic breeds - especially the leaner ones - have retained the ability to fly.</P>
    1810 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1748
    18111749<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    1812 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1813 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1750
    18141751<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are found worldwide, but goose farming is nationally important only in Asia and Central Europe.</P>
    1815 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1752
    18161753<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    1817 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1818 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1754
    18191755<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic geese are not threatened, although much local variation among the breeds is being lost.</P>
    1820 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1756
    18211757<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    1822 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1823 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1758
    18241759<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most geese adapt well to hot climates - as long as some shade is available. Their waterproof feathers help them adapt well to high rainfall regions. They also tolerate extreme cold. (For instance, in Canada, geese are wintered outdoors in subfreezing temperatures, with merely 'e simple shelter from wind.)</P>
    1825 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1760
    18261761<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For tropical developing countries, the Chinese type, which is widely kept in Southeast Asia, is especially promising. Smaller than most geese (although ganders can weigh over 5 kg), they are the best layers, the most active foragers (making them economical and useful as weeders), the most alert and "talkative," and they produce the leanest meat. Some European breeds, such as Embden and Toulouse, have also been used in the tropics with notable success. </P>
    1827 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1762
    18281763<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DOMESTICATING GEESE</P>
    18291764<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">(Temperate Zones)</P>
    1830 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1831 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1765
    18321766<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Today's domestic geese are descended from two species: the greylag (Anser anser) and the swan goose (Anser cygnoides). These were domesticated in Europe and China, respectively. Their domestication occurred in ancient times, long before people knew about genetics, microorganisms, veterinary science, or behavior modifications such as imprinting. Today, armed with such knowledge, more geese may be amenable to domestication. Most of the 15 other wild species adapt to captivity. Compared to most birds, geese spend much time walking and swimming and are less inconvenienced by pinioning (removing the tip of the wing). Thus, they can be kept outdoors rather than in cages.</P>
    1833 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1767
    18341768<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Both of the ancestors of today's domestic geese are native to the northern temperate zone. Two more wild species that might make useful domesticates are:</P>
    1835 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1769
    18361770<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Canada goose (Branta canadensis). North America. People feeding these birds in city parks and wildlife refuges are causing many local flocks to develop. These birds no longer migrate. They are increasing in numbers each year and are well on the way to de facto domestication.</P>
    1837 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1771
    18381772<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- American swan goose (Coscoroba coscoroba). Southern South America. Although most closely allied to swans in shape and physiology, this bird resembles a muscovy (see page 124) in size and behavior. Its calm disposition, as well as its attractive red feet and bill that accent its white plumage, have made it much sought as an ornament for parks.</P>
    1839 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1773
    18401774<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    1841 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1842 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1775
    18431776<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In its diet, the goose utilizes large quantities of tender forage. It can break down plant-cell walls and digest the contents. Although it has no crop for storing food, there is an enlargement at the end of the gullet that serves as a temporary storage organ. Sand and small gravel are swallowed to aid the gizzard in grinding hard seeds and fibrous grasses. Research has shown that geese can digest 15-20 percent of the fiber in their diet, which is 3-4 times the amount that other poultry species can digest.</P>
    1844 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1777
    18451778<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The natural diet consists of grasses, seeds, roots, bulbs, berries, and fruits, normally supplemented with a little animal matter (mainly insects and snails) picked up incidentally. Most feeding takes place on land. They characteristically feed for prolonged periods, even at night.</P>
    1846 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1779
    18471780<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Females may lay for 10 years or more. It is generally believed that reproduction is best in the second year and that it remains good until the fifth year. Geese outlive other types of poultry; life spans of 1520 years are common.</P>
    1848 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1781
    18491782<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The eggs incubate in 27-31 days. The incubation time is more variable than in most poultry species, perhaps because geese have not been subjected to the selection pressure that is imposed by artificial incubators.</P>
    1850 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1783
    18511784<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    1852 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1853 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1785
    18541786<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One of the most intelligent birds, the goose has a good memory and does not quickly forget people, animals, or situations that have frightened it. While personalities and habits vary among individual specimens, there are common behavioral patterns, such as the pecking order, that allow individuals to live peaceably together.</P>
    1855 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1787
    18561788<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unless conditions are crowded or there are too many males, geese normally live harmoniously both with themselves and with other creatures. The bond between male and female is strong. Changing mates is difficult, although most geese will eventually accept a new mate after a period of "mourning."</P>
    1857 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1789
    18581790<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese nest on the ground and prefer the water's edge, but they adapt readily to man-made nesting boxes. The gander usually stands guard while the goose incubates the eggs. He then assists in rearing the goslings. Most geese become irritated if intruders approach their nest or goslings, and will even attack people and large dogs. </P>
    1859 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1791
    18601792<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    1861 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1862 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1793
    18631794<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As previously noted, these birds provide meat, eggs, fat, and down. The meat is lean, flavorful, and of outstanding quality. The fat accumulates between the skin and the flesh and can be rendered into a long-lasting oil. The eggs are large and taste much like chicken eggs. The "down" (the small, fluffy feathers that lie next to the body of adult birds) is the finest natural insulating material for clothing and bedding, and can fetch a premium price. Worldwide markets exist for both down and other goose feathers. In France, in particular, some geese are raised for their livers (foie gras).</P>
    1864 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1795
    18651796<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese can control many types of aquatic weeds in shallow water as well as grass and some types of palatable broad-leaf weeds on the banks of lakes, ponds, and canals. They can also be used as ''lawn mowers" and "weeders" among cotton, fruit trees, and other crops (see sidebar).</P>
    1866 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1797
    18671798<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Elongated necks not only allow geese to reach many different foods, they also help them keep a watchful eye on the surroundings. With their exceptional eyesight they can see great distances, and the position of the eyes gives them a wide field of vision. Geese are among the most alert of all animals, and strangers cannot calm them into silence. In the high Andes, in Southeast Asia, and in many other locations, they replace guard dogs. In Europe, they are used to guard whiskey warehouses and sensitive military installations (see page 111).</P>
    1868 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1799
    18691800<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    1870 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1871 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1801
    18721802<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Methods of caring for adult geese vary according to climate, breed, and people's experiences and needs. Overall, however, the birds cause little trouble and require little expense. They range freely without restriction, feeding themselves and returning home of their own accord. They have strong flocking instincts and can readily be herded from one area to another.</P>
    1873 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1803
    18741804<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like all young poultry, goslings are fragile. The highest mortality is caused by predators. Until the goslings are 6-10 weeks old, it is prudent to confine the parents and their young at night in a secure pen or building.</P>
    1875 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1805
    18761806<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are the only domestic fowl that can live and reproduce on a diet of grass. They cannot remain healthy on coarse dry fodder, but when grass is succulent they need little else other than drinking water. Many legumes also make excellent goose forage.</P>
    1877 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1807
    18781808<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the tropics, eggs can be laid year-round. The production seldom exceeds 40 eggs per year, although with feed supplement and simple management, the Chinese breed may yield more than 100 eggs. Geese go broody quickly. To break up broodiness, the goose can be confined for 4 6 days away from, but in sight of, the ganders.</P>
    1879 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1809
    18801810<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Goslings grow rapidly and can reach market size as early as 10-12 weeks; most geese, however, are marketed at 20-30 weeks of age, when they may weigh from 5 to 7 kg, depending on type and breed. Some young birds (also called green or junior geese), force-fed for rapid growth, are marketed at 4-6 kg when they are 8-10 weeks old.</P>
    1881 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1811
    18821812<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">If fed a good diet to maximize growth and if slaughtered at, say, 10 weeks, the Embden, Chinese, or African will have a carcass low in fat. However, the carcass normally has much more fat than other poultry.</P>
    1883 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1813
    18841814<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese must have a constant supply of reasonably clean drinking water during daylight hours. Although swimming water is not necessary, it promotes cleaner and healthier birds because they find it easier to care for their plumage.</P>
    1885 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1815
    18861816<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DOMESTICATING GEESE</P>
    18871817<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">(Tropics)</P>
    1888 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1889 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1818
    18901819<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese of the tropics have seldom if ever been considered for domestication, but they might provide poultry of considerable value. Presumably they are more heat tolerant and lack the layers of subcutaneous fat (which the ancestors of today's geese needed for warmth in the Arctic). They might thus produce lean birds that would fetch premium prices because excessive fat is the major drawback of today's commercial geese. Examples of tropical species that might be domesticable are:</P>
    1891 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1820
    18921821<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Egyptian goose (AIopochen aegyptiacus). Found throughout the African tropics, this bird is already partly domesticated. However, it is bad tempered and quarrelsome and, so far, this has limited its utility. It has therefore been kept only under semidomestication, without intensive breeding.</P>
    1893 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1822
    18941823<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Nene (Branta sandvicensis). A native of the Hawaiian Islands, this is one of the most endangered species on earth. So few specimens are in existence that farming enterprises cannot now be envisaged. Yet, should this bird prove amenable and suitable, the possibility of an economic future could boost efforts to build up its now meager populations.</P>
    1895 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1824
    18961825<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus). India and Central Asia. These smallish geese are handsome, dainty, and have a musical horn-like call. They have distinct black bars across the nape, which gives them their popular name. Hand-reared specimens breed well in captivity. Despite heavy hunting they are still abundant.</P>
    1897 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1826
    18981827<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Northern spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis gambensis). Tropical Africa (Senegal to Zimbabwe). This large bird is a ground nester, but it has long bony spurs on the wings that enable it to easily protect its eggs and young from predators.</P>
    1899 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1828
    19001829<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Semipalmated (magpie) goose (Anseranas semipalmata). Australia and New Guinea. One of the most aberrant and primitive of all waterfowl, this long-legged sturdy-billed bird has only partially webbed feet. It perches high in trees and has a loud ungooselike whistling call. </P>
    1901 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1830
    19021831<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE WADDLING WORK FORCE</P>
    1903 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1904 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1832
    19051833<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because geese relish grasses and shun most broad-leafed plants, some enterprising U.S. farmers in the 1950s began using them to rid cotton fields of grassy weeds, which are difficult to kill with herbicides. The geese were put into the fields as soon as the crop came up. A brace of birds kept an acre of cotton weeded; a gaggle of 12 would gobble as many weeds as a hard-working man could clear with a hoe.</P>
    1906 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1834
    19071835<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This method of clearing fields was so effective that by 1960 more than 175,000 geese honked their way across the carefully tended farmland, mainly in the Southwest. Seven days a week, rain or shine, the feathered field hands slaved uncomplainingly from daybreak to dusk, even putting in overtime on moonlit nights. Many toiled so diligently that they worked themselves out of a job.</P>
    1908 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1836
    19091837<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The geese cleared the fields more cheaply than hoe hands. They left the crop untouched and ate only the succulent young weeds. They did not damage crop roots (as hoes or tractors can), and they were safe and selective, unlike many herbicides. On top of all that they spread fertilizer for the farmer, and ultimately provided him meat for the market.</P>
    1910 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1838
    19111839<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Eventually, farmers found that geese could be used to weed nearly all broad-leafed crops: asparagus, potatoes, berry fruits, tobacco, mint, grapes, beets, beans, hops, onions, and strawberries, for example. Geese were used in vineyards and fruit orchards to eat both weeds and the fallen fruits that could otherwise harbor damaging insects. They were employed in fields producing trees for the forest industry and flowers for florists shops. Some growers turned goslings loose in cornfields to consume the "suckers" (cone, after all, is a grass) as well as the grain left on the ground. This eliminated the problem of corn as a weed when different crops were later planted in those fields.</P>
    1912 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1840
    19131841<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the 1970s when cotton acreage dropped and herbicides selective for the troublesome grasses were developed, the use of geese declined. But today, some organic farmers are returning to the practice. From February to June in the Pacific Northwest, fields are resounding once more to the old-fashioned racket of White Chinese geese. </P>
    1914 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1842
    19151843<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    1916 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1917 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1844
    19181845<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mature geese are independent creatures. When kept in small flocks and allowed to roam the farmyard or field, they require less attention than any other domestic bird with the possible exception of guinea fowl. In areas where grass is green for much of the year, they can be raised on less grain or concentrated feed than any other domestic fowl.</P>
    1919 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1846
    19201847<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Durability is one of their most attractive features. Along with ducks, geese seem to be the most resistant of all poultry to disease, parasites, and cold or wet weather. They also do well in hot climates as long as drinking water and deep shade are available.</P>
    1921 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1848
    19221849<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Growth is not only rapid, it is also efficient. If managed properly, goslings can produce I kg of body weight for every 2.25-3.5 kg of concentrated feed consumed.</P>
    1923 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1850
    19241851<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are not usually thought of as prolific layers. However, as noted, some strains of the Chinese breed will yield well over 100 eggs per goose per year. At 140-170 g per egg, that compares favorably with the output of laying chickens. </P>
    1925 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1852
    19261853<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p112a.png"></center><br>
    19271854 figure</P>
    1928 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1855
    19291856<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    1930 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1931 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1857
    19321858<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds are messy and their loud trumpeting is often irritating. However, unless they have been teased or mistreated or if they are nesting or brooding young, they are not aggressive. But kilo for kilo, they are stronger than most animals, and a harassed or angry adult can express its displeasure effectively with powerful bill and pounding wings.</P>
    1933 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1859
    19341860<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Excessive concentrations of geese on ponds or along creeks encourages unsanitary conditions, muddies water, hastens bank erosion, and destroys plant life. Where sanitation is poor, salmonellosis can devastate geese and be transmitted, via meat and eggs, to humans. Coccidiosis and gizzard worm are other infections.</P>
    1935 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1861
    19361862<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Defeathering geese is more difficult than plucking chickens because there are two coats (feathers and down) to remove.</P>
    1937 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1863
    19381864<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In some situations, geese may need a diet supplement (such as grain) if they are grazing vegetation exclusively. A balance must be struck: too much supplement and they will quit foraging and become too fat; too little and they grow slowly and may suffer malnutrition.</P>
    1939 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1865
    19401866<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Geese are not fully mature until two years of age. Their overall reproductive rate, therefore, is lower than that of other poultry. </P>
    1941 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1867
    19421868<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    1943 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1944 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1869
    19451870<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Poultry researchers worldwide should begin studies to clarify the role that geese could play in helping to feed Third World nations. Studies might include:</P>
    1946 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1947 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1871
    19481872<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Management practices for tropical areas;</P>
    1949 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1873
    19501874<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Breeding and management for increased egg production;</P>
    1951 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1875
    19521876<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Incubation techniques;</P>
    1953 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1877
    19541878<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Nutrition supplementation (for example, vitamins, minerals, energy, specific amino acids) needed by grazing geese;</P>
    1955 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1879
    19561880<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Physiology of digestion and reproduction;</P>
    1957 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1881
    19581882<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Clarifying the inheritance of various traits;</P>
    1959 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1883
    19601884<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Genetic selection for specific meat, eggs, growth factors, or disease resistance;</P>
    1961 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1885
    19621886<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Comparative studies of the relative efficiency (especially of feed utilization) of the various types and breeds for specific climates in underdeveloped countries;</P>
    1963 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1887
    19641888<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Weeding tropical crops with geese; and</P>
    1965 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1889
    19661890<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Studying diseases and cross-infection with other birds. </P>
    1967 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1968 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1891
    19691892<B><P></P>
    19701893<!--
    … …  
    19751898  </Description>
    19761899-->
    1977 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1900</B>
    19781901<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g011a.png"></center><br>
    19791902 FIGURE</P>
    1980 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1903
    19811904<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For Third World villages, the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) could become much more valuable than it is today. The bird thrives under semi-intensive conditions, forages well, and requires little attention. It retains many of its wild ancestor's survival characteristics: it grows, reproduces, and yields well in both cool and hot conditions; it is relatively disease free; it requires little water or attention; it is almost as easily raised as chickens and turkeys; and it is a most useful all-round farm bird.</P>
    1982 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1905
    19831906<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The guinea fowl's potential to increase meat production among hungry countries should be given greater recognition. The birds are widely known in Africa and occur in a few areas of Asia, but they show promise for use throughout all of Asia and Latin America and for increased use in Africa itself. Strains newly created for egg and meat production in Europe - notably in France - show excellent characteristics for industrial-scale production. Also, many semidomestic types in Africa deserve increased scientific assessment as scavenger birds.</P>
    1984 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1907
    19851908<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Meat from domestic guinea fowl is dark and delicate, the flavor resembling that of game birds. It is a special delicacy, served in some of the world's finest restaurants. Several European countries eat vast amounts. Annual consumption in France, for example, is about 0.8 kg per capita.'</P>
    1986 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1909
    19871910<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl also produce substantial numbers of eggs. In Africa, these are often sold hard-boiled in local markets. In the Soviet Union, they are produced in large commercial operations. In France, guinea fowl strains have been developed that not only grow quickly but lay as many as 190 eggs a year.</P>
    1988 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1911
    19891912<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Outside Europe, virtually all guinea fowl are raised as free-ranging birds. These find most of their feed by scratching around villages and farmyards. Their cost of production is small, and they yield food for subsistence farmers. In Europe, on the other hand, most are raised in confinement, with artificial insemination, artificial lighting, and special feeding. In the main, this is to produce meat for luxury markets.</P>
    1990 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1913
    19911914<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl production is beginning to increase all over the world. During the last 20 years, for example, many of Europe's chicken farmers and breeders, wishing to diversify, have switched to this bird. The United States is now studying ways to establish industrial production, and both Japan and Australia are increasing their flocks. Nonetheless, there is still a vast untapped future for this bird.</P>
    1992 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1915
    19931916<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    1994 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    1995 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1917
    19961918<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide. This species is robust and resilient and adapts to many climates.</P>
    1997 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1919
    19981920<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    1999 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2000 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1921
    20011922<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl are somewhat larger than average scavenger-type chickens: adults weigh up to 2.5 kilograms. They have dark-grey feathers with small white spots. Their heads are bare with a bony ridge (helmet) on top, which makes them look something like vultures. The short tail feathers usually slope downwards.</P>
    2002 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1923
    20031924<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The chicks, known as "keels," resemble young quail. They are brown striped with red beaks and legs. The sexes are indistinguishable until eight weeks of age. After that, the males' larger helmets and wattles and the cries of the different sexes can be identified. Both sexes give a one-syllable shriek, but females also have a two-syllable call.</P>
    2004 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1925
    20051926<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like the chicken, the guinea fowl is a gallinaceous species and possesses the characteristic sternum with posterior notches and a raised "thumb."</P>
    2006 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1927
    20071928<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Among domestic types are pearl, white, royal purple, and lavender. Pearl is the most common, and is probably the type first developed from the wild West African birds. Its handsome feathers are often used for ornamental purposes. The white is entirely white from the time of hatching and has a lighter skin. </P>
    2008 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1929
    20091930<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p117a.png"></center><br>
    20101931 figure</P>
    2011 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1932
    20121933<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    2013 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2014 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1934
    20151935<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Europe dominates industrial production. France, Italy, the Soviet Union, and Hungary all raise millions of guinea fowl under intensive conditions, just as they raise chickens. Elsewhere, guinea fowl have become established as a semidomesticated species on small family farms. Native flocks are found about villages and homes in parts of East and West Africa, and free-ranging flocks can be seen in many parts of India, notably Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh. During the slavery era, they were introduced from Africa to the Americas to be used for food. In Jamaica, Central America, and Malaysia, the birds have reverted to the wild state and are treated as game.</P>
    2016 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1936
    20171937<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    2018 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2019 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1938
    20201939<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl are abundant; in most places even wild populations are not threatened.</P>
    2021 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1940
    20221941<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    2023 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2024 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1942
    20251943<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl are native to the grasslands and woodlands of most of Africa south of the Sahara where they occupy all habitats except dense forests and treeless deserts. Being native also to temperate South Africa, they appear to have an inherent adaptability to both heat and cold. However, in cool climates, regardless of daylength, they will not begin egg production until temperatures exceed 15&Yacute;C. </P>
    2026 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1944
    20271945<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    2028 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2029 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1946
    20301947<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl accept many foods: grains, leaves, ant eggs (for which they will tear anthills open), and even carrion.</P>
    2031 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1948
    20321949<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Normally, they lay their first egg at about 18 weeks of age. Unlike many wild birds, which produce a single clutch a year, guinea hens lay continuously until adverse weather sets in.2 Free-range "domestic" guinea hens lay up to 60 eggs a season. And well-managed birds under intensive management lay close to 200. The eggs weigh approximately 40 g. Shells are stronger than those of chickens and are usually brown, but can be white or tinted.</P>
    2033 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1950
    20341951<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The guinea hen goes broody after laying, which can be overcome by removing most of the eggs. A clutch of 15-20 is common. The incubation period is 27 days.</P>
    2035 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1952
    20361953<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    2037 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2038 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1954
    20391955<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds never become "tame," but neither do they leave the premises. Although they stray farther than chickens do, they always return. They like to hide their eggs in a bushy corner, often in hollows scratched in the ground. They can fly, although even in the wild they do not fly far. They prefer to roost on high branches and (unless pinioned) can be hard to catch during the day.</P>
    2040 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1956
    20411957<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although wild guinea fowl live in groups, they are monogamous by nature and tend to bond in pairs. However, in domestication a single male may serve four or more females.</P>
    2042 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1958
    20431959<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    2044 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2045 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1960
    20461961<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted, guinea fowl are valuable sources of both meat and eggs. They can also be used to control insect pests on vegetable crops.3</P>
    2047 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1962
    20481963<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl are good "watch animals"; they have fantastic eyesight, a harsh cry, and will shriek at the slightest provocation. Their agitation on sighting dogs, foxes, hawks, or other predators have saved the lives of many a chicken, duck, and turkey. They are brave and will attack even large animals that threaten them.4 </P>
    2049 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1964
    20501965<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    2051 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2052 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1966
    20531967<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl can be kept in confinement using the methods for raising battery chickens. In this system, breeding stock are housed in cages and artificially inseminated. It gives the best egg production and fertility but requires housing, equipment, and skilled labor.</P>
    2054 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1968
    20551969<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds can also be kept in a semidomestic state in and around the farmyard. In such cases they are penned until they are 12 weeks old. Unaccustomed to foraging for natural food, they constantly return to their artificial food supply. Eventually, however, they learn to subsist by scavenging.</P>
    2056 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1970
    20571971<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds have been called "the worst parents in the world," and are almost incapable of looking after their keets.5 Because the females are such indifferent mothers, the eggs are best hatched in incubators or under other birds, to avoid the keets' being lost by their natural mothers. In many African countries, eggs are hatched under chickens.</P>
    2058 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1972
    20591973<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Keets are often kept indoors until they are 3-4 weeks old to protect them from predators and wet weather. Sexual maturity can be delayed to as late as 32 weeks of age by holding the birds in windowless housing and controlling the lighting. This improves egg size and hatchability and reduces early mortality. </P>
    2060 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2061 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1974
    20621975<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">GUINEA FOWL AND THE ANCIENTS</P>
    2063 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2064 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1976
    20651977<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The earliest reference to guinea fowl can be found in murals in the Pyramid of Wenis at Saqqara in Egypt, painted about 2400 B.C. Aviaries were quite fashionable at the time, and wealthy landowners maintained guinea fowl within their walled gardens. A thousand years later, by the time of Queen Hatshepsut (about 1475 B.C.), the junglefowl (the ancestor of the chicken) had arrived, and from then on it was raised on a substantial scale. Records of this period refer to "walk-in" incubators, constructed of mud bricks and heated by cameldung fires. The largest could hold up to 90,000 eggs (mainly from junglefowl but some from guinea fowl) and hatching rates of up to 70 percent were claimed.</P>
    2066 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1978
    20671979<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">By 400 B.C., guinea fowl were well established on farms in Greece. Later, they rose to importance in ancient Rome. Pliny the elder (in his Natural History, published 77 A.D.) stated that they were the last bird to be added to the Roman menu and that they were in great demand, both eggs and flesh being considered great delicacies. The emperor Caligula offered them as sacrifices to himself when he assumed the title of deity.</P>
    2068 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1980
    20691981<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The guinea fowl then died out in Europe but was reintroduced by the Portuguese navigators returning from their African explorations in the late 1400s. They gave it the name pintada or "painted chicken" and this changed to pintade in French, while the name "Guinea fowl" (fowl from Africa) stayed in English, and gallina de Guinea in Spanish. Coincidentally, guinea fowl and turkeys were both introduced to England between 1530 and 1550, and the English, smitten with the original French misnomers, were left sorting out "Ginny birds" and "Turkey birds" for the remainder of the century. Both birds were adopted with great enthusiasm, and within 150 years they had utterly displaced the peafowl and swan as the major table birds for festive occasions.</P>
    20701982<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Adapted from R.H.H. Belshaw, 1985 Guinea Fowl of the World</P>
    2071 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1983
    20721984<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    2073 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2074 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1985
    20751986<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Compared with the farmyard chicken the guinea fowl's advantages are:</P>
    2076 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2077 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1987
    20781988<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Low production costs;</P>
    2079 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1989
    20801990<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Premium quality meat;</P>
    2081 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1991
    20821992<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Greater capacity to utilize green feeds;</P>
    2083 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1993
    20841994<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Better ability to scavenge for insects and grains;</P>
    2085 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1995
    20861996<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Better ability to protect itself against predators; and</P>
    2087 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     1997
    20881998<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Better resistance to common poultry parasites and diseases (for example, Newcastle disease and fowlpox).</P>
    2089 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2090 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     1999
    20912000<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Surprisingly, this semidomestic bird, which has been farmed for centuries, retains the characteristics (feather morphology, hardiness, social behavior) of its wild ancestor - even when subjected to the most modern intensive-rearing methods employing battery cages and artificial insemination. Thus, it thrives under semicaptive conditions and needs little special care. The birds forage well for themselves and do not require much attention; their meat is tasty and they produce substantial numbers of eggs. Unlike chickens, they don't scratch to get insects out of the soil, so they are less destructive to the garden.</P>
    2092 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2001
    20932002<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    2094 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2095 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2003
    20962004<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In backyard production the guinea fowl is supreme, but when produced intensively it costs more to raise than chickens. In Europe, for instance, day-old keets cost about twice as much as day-old broiler chicks. (The major reason is that guinea fowl produce fewer hatching eggs and require a longer feeding period.) Guinea fowl are also more expensive to feed. Their feed conversion (for meat production at the marketing age) is about 3.3-3.6 as compared with a broiler's feed conversion of 1.8-1.9. Moreover, guinea fowl take about twice as long to reach marketable size: they are marketed for meat at age 12-14 weeks, compared with 7-8 weeks for the broilers. Therefore, the selling price of guinea fowl in the Western world is up to twice that of broilers.</P>
    2097 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2005
    20982006<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Guinea fowl are nervous and stupid. They can be difficult to catch' and when panicking they can easily suffocate their keets.</P>
    2099 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2007
    21002008<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">They are susceptible to some of the common diseases of chickens and turkeys. Salmonella is the most prevalent, but others are pullorum disease, staphylococcus, and Marek's disease. </P>
    2101 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2009
    21022010<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE GUINEA FOWL'S WILD COUSINS</P>
    2103 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2104 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2011
    21052012<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The domesticated guinea fowl is descended from just one subspecies of the family's seven known species and numerous subspecies. Some of the others may also have promise as poultry. They, too, generally occur in flocks in bushy grasslands and open forests in Africa. All feed on vegetable matter such as seeds, berries, and tender shoots, and on invertebrates such as slugs. They rarely fly except to roost. They acclimatize well are easy to maintain in captivity, and can survive long periods away from water.** Their disposition is tame and nonaggressive, and they mix well with other birds.</P>
    2106 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2013
    21072014<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wild subspecies closely related to the domestic guinea fowl that might make future poultry in their own right include the following:</P>
    2108 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2109 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2015
    21102016<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Gray-breasted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris galeata). This subspecies is the principal ancestor of domestic guinea fowls. It is found throughout West Africa and probably has many valuable genetic traits. There is much variation in the size and other characteristics among the various individuals. People along the Gambia, Volta, and Niger rivers have long traditions of breeding these birds.</P>
    2111 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2017
    21122018<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Tufted guinea fowl (Numida meleagris meleagris). This subspecies is quite large and has black plumage thickly spotted with white dots. It is the probable ancestor of the birds reared in ancient Egypt and in the Roman empire (see page 120). Hill farmers in the southern Sudan sometimes breed them in captivity.</P>
    2113 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2019
    21142020<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Mitred guinea fowl (Numida meleagris mitrata). Probably the most popular game bird in East Africa, this type has a bright blue-green head and red wattles. It was once a common sight in the wild but it has now been decimated by overhunting. It is now most numerous in the Masai lands of Kenya and Tanzania. It has been kept in a semidomesticated form in Zanzibar for several centuries. Zoos and aviaries around the world have imported it, and it has bred well for them.</P>
    2115 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2021
    21162022<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wild guinea fowl that are different species from the domestic one but that are still worth considering as potential poultry include the following:</P>
    2117 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2023
    21182024<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Black guinea fowl (Phasidus niger or Agelastes niger). This bird of the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa is the size of a small chicken. It has sooty black plumage, a naked head, and a pink or yellow neck. It is seldom hunted because the meat tastes dreadful but this is probably because of a particularly pungent fungus they eat in the forest. Raised on fungus-free forages, these birds are probably very palatable. </P>
    2119 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2025
    21202026<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Crested guinea hen (Guttera spp.). Three species. These strange-looking birds have a thick mop of inky black feathers above their black, naked faces. Widely distributed in the thickly forested areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike the other species, they prefer the rainforest. They have a musical trumpeting call. At least one species has bred well in Europe. For example, a flourishing colony has been established in the Walsrode Bird Park in Germany.</P>
    2121 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2027
    21222028<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Vulturine guinea fowl (Acryllium vulturinum). The largest of all guinea fowl, this species is found in parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, and East Africa. One of the most striking looking of all birds, its head is bare and blue, its body black with white spots, and its breast bears long bright cobalt-blue patches on either side. This has been reared as an aviary bird in both Europe and America and might make a useful domesticate.</P>
    2123 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2029
    21242030<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    2125 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2126 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2031
    21272032<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Agencies involved in international economic development should undertake guinea fowl assessment trials, evaluations, and coordinated introductions to stimulate programs for small farmers and for industries in dozens of countries.</P>
    2128 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2033
    21292034<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Breeders have been working to improve guinea fowl only since the 1950s. There is a need for more information on growth rate, health, egg production, feed conversion, body weight, carcass yield, laying intensity, fertility, hatchability, and egg weight - especially under free-ranging conditions.</P>
    2130 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2035
    21312036<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Husbandry research should also be directed towards feeds and feeding systems for growing and breeding stock. Other efforts are needed to increase the hatchability of eggs under natural conditions (under guinea hens or surrogate mothers), and to identify the best lighting regimes (both sexual maturity and rate of lay are influenced by changes in daylength).</P>
    2132 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2037
    21332038<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The guinea fowl that has become an important domesticated bird throughout the civilized world is descended from just one of seven known species in the family. These birds generally occur in flocks in bushy grasslands and open forest in Africa and Madagascar, and some of the others may also have promise as poultry (see sidebar opposite). </P>
    2134 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2135 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2039
    21362040<B><P></P>
    21372041<!--
    … …  
    21422046  </Description>
    21432047-->
    2144 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2048</B>
    21452049<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g012a.png"></center><br>
    21462050 FIGURE</P>
    2147 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2051
    21482052<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy (Cairina moschata), a unique ducklike species of the South American rainforest, belongs to a small group of waterfowl that perch in trees. In poultry science, however, it is normally grouped with domestic ducks for lack of a better classification.</P>
    2149 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2053
    21502054<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Except in France, Italy and Taiwan muscovies have received little modern research. But their promise can be judged from the fact that they account for 50 percent of the duck meat consumed in France - about 60,000 tons per year - and they are often consumed in Italy and Taiwan as well.</P>
    2151 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2055
    21522056<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For Third World subsistence farming, muscovies have excellent possibilities. There is probably no better choice for a meat bird that requires minimal care and feed. Tame, quiet, and able to forage for much of their keep, they are inherently hardy, vigorous, and robust. They have heavily fleshed breasts and are highly prized for their meat, which is dark, more flavorful, and less fatty than that of common ducks. An average muscovy gives more meat than a chicken of the same age, and it also survives hot, wet environments better. In addition, muscovies are better parents than the domestic duck. Females are probably the best natural mothers of any poultry species, as measured by their success at incubating their eggs and caring for their young.</P>
    2153 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2057
    21542058<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">All in all, this bird deserves more attention than it has received so far in Third World livestock projects. Dispersed around the warm and hot regions of the world, muscovies already exist in small numbers in backyards and villages, much like the domestic chicken in previous centuries. Despite a lack of research, the present unimproved stocks are already impressive meat yielders. Used more widely and more intensively, they could contribute much to poor people's meat supplies. </P>
    2155 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2059
    21562060<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crossing the muscovy with the common duck produces a hybrid that combines many of the advantages of both. This cross, known as "mulard," or "mule duck" in English, is raised in France for its liver and meat and is produced in quantity in Taiwan (see sidebar, page 132). It, too, has a major future role.</P>
    2157 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2061
    21582062<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    2159 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2160 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2063
    21612064<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies are suitable for use almost anywhere that chickens can be kept. Moreover, their tropical ancestry and inherent robustness give them an advantage in hot and humid climates.</P>
    2162 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2065
    21632066<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    2164 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2165 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2067
    21662068<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although a muscovy somewhat resembles a goose, it is one of the greater wood ducks of tropical South America. It was domesticated in pre-Columbian times, most likely in the rainforests of Colombia. Related wild types, looking very much like the muscovy, still occur in South American wetlands, particularly mangrove swamps.</P>
    2167 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2069
    21682070<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Males have mature live weights of 5 kg and females about 2.5 kg. Both have broad and rounded wings. The adults have patches of bare skin around the eyes, rather than feathers. Much of this is covered in "caruncles," which superficially resemble warty outgrowths. The feet have sharp claws. Both sexes raise a crest of feathers when alarmed.</P>
    2169 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2071
    21702072<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is much color variation among the various muscovy populations including types that are called white, colored, black, blue, chocolate, silver, buff, and pied.2 The most common types (they are not considered breeds) are the white and the colored. The white produces a cleaner looking carcass, but the colored is the most popular meat type in France. Its plumage is an iridescent greenish black, except for white forewings.</P>
    2171 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2073
    21722074<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    2173 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2174 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2075
     2076
    21752077<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The native range of the muscovy's probable wild ancestor covers much of Central America and northern South America. The domestic form also occurs over most of Latin America - from southern Chile to the northern limits of traditional culture in lowland Mexico - including the Caribbean, where it was present shortly after Columbus landed.3 The birds can be observed among the domestic fowl in the high Andes, for example, and are feral in southern coastal areas of the United States.</P>
    2176 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2078
    21772079<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Carried across the Atlantic, probably in the early 1500s, the domesticated muscovy spread quickly in Europe, and thence to North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Today, it finds favor with the food-loving French as "canard de Barbarie," and France has the greatest concentration of muscovies in Europe.</P>
    2178 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2080
    21792081<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Down the centuries the muscovy became popular in tropical Asia (especially the Philippines and Indonesia) and in China and Taiwan. Throughout Indonesia (where it is known as "entok") it is popular with villagers for incubating eggs from ducks, geese, and chickens. It is now spreading into Oceania, and has recently gained particular favor in the Solomon Islands.</P>
    2180 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2082
    21812083<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies are also known in Africa and can be found in many villages, especially in West Africa.</P>
    2182 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2084
    21832085<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    2184 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2185 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2086
    21862087<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Not endangered.</P>
    2187 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2088
    21882089<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    2189 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2190 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2090
    21912091<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wild muscovies occur mainly along tropical jungle streams, but domestic muscovies are found in many environments from the heat of Central America to the cold of Central Europe. They also tolerate dry conditions, but they thrive best where climates are both hot and wet.</P>
    2192 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2092
    21932093<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    2194 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2195 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2094
    21962095<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies utilize high-fiber feeds better than chickens and common ducks, and eat larger quantities of grass. They also consume other green vegetation and readily snap up any insects they can find. If quality forage is available, only a small daily ration of grain or pellets is required for them to reach peak production.</P>
    2197 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2096
    21982097<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovy females normally hatch and raise large broods efficiently. It is not unusual to see them with a dozen or more fragile ducklings in tow - many of them adopted from other species. They bravely protect their young and have been known to beat off cats, dogs, foxes, and other marauders.</P>
    2199 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2098
    22002099<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Normally, muscovies are healthy and live and breed for many years. They suffer few diseases, especially when free ranging. However, they seem to be more susceptible to duck virus enteritis (duck plague) than common ducks.</P>
    2201 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2100
    22022101<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p129a.png"></center><br>
    22032102 figure</P>
    2204 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2205 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2103
    22062104<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    2207 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2208 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2105
    22092106<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">While appearing to be slow and lethargic, muscovies can be quick and agile when one tries to catch them. Females are strong fliers and readily clear a standard fence. Males frequently become so ponderous that they cannot get airborne without an elevated perch or the aid of a strong wind. Although they forage over a larger area than chickens, they generally neither decamp nor wander as far as common ducks.</P>
    2210 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2107
    22112108<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domesticated muscovies are either solitary or live together in small family groups, but sometimes in winter they flock together on bodies of water. They swim and dive well.</P>
    2212 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2109
    22132110<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds seldom make loud noises. A drake's voice resembles a muffled "puff"; females are almost mute. However, both can hiss or make a soft sound not unlike that of sleigh bells.</P>
    2214 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2111
    22152112<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy is polygamous (a young male will try to mate with almost any fowl, including chickens). Mating can occur on land or in water. Males are pugnacious and tolerate no opposition. Because of this, they do not do well in close confinement.</P>
    2216 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2113
    22172114<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A BETTER FLY TRAP</P>
    2218 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2219 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2115
    22202116<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy is a voracious omnivore that is particularly fond of insects. For years, some Canadian farmers have sworn that a few muscovies took care of all fly problems on their farms. In 1989, Ontario biologists Gordon Surgeoner and Barry Glofcheskie (see Research Contacts) decided to put this to the test.</P>
    2221 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2117
    22222118<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Starting with laboratory trials, the entomologists first put a hungry five-week-old muscovy into a screened cage with 400 living houseflies. Within an hour it had eaten 326. Later, they placed four muscovies in separate cages containing 100 flies each. Within 30 minutes over 90 percent of the insects were gone. It took flypaper, fly traps, and bait cards anywhere from 15 to 86 hours to suppress the populations that much.</P>
    2223 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2119
    22242120<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Moving to fleld tests, the researchers placed pairs of twoyear-old muscovies on several Ontario farms. Videotapes showed the birds snapping at houseflies and biting flies about every 30 seconds and being successful on 70 percent of their attempts. With that efficiency, they achieved 80-90 percent fly control in enclosures such as calf rooms or piggeries. The birds were given only water and had to scavenge for all their food. Females seemed to eat about 10 percent more flies than males, and individuals of any age between eight days and two years were equally effective.</P>
    2225 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2121
    22262122<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds fit the practical needs for farmyard fly control. They stayed close to piglets and calves, to which flies are particularly attracted. They even snatched flies off the hides of resting animals without waking them up. On one farm, the birds huddled between sleeping piglets and were accepted by the sow lying beside them. This was noteworthy because most fly-catching devices (chemical, electrical, or mechanical) must be kept far from animals.</P>
    2227 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2123
    22282124<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">To the Canadians, the economic advantages are clear. A 35-cow dairy needs $150-$590 worth of chemicals for controlling flies during the fly season; muscovy chicks, on the other hand, cost less than $2 each, eat for free, and can be sold for a profit of 200-400 percent.</P>
    2229 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2125
    22302126<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The researchers point out that employing muscovies does not eliminate all need for insecticides, but it reduces the amounts required. And muscovies are biodegradable, will not cause a buildup of genetic resistance, and taste better than flypaper. Indeed, their meat is excellent, and the naturally mute birds seldom make any noise.</P>
    2231 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2127
    22322128<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Reportedly, muscovies are kept in some houses in South America to control not only flies, but also roaches and other insects.</P>
    2233 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2129
    22342130<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    2235 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2236 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2131
    22372132<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy is generally raised only for its meat, which is of excellent quality and taste. In stews it is hard to distinguish from pork; cured and smoked it is similar to lean ham.4 The fat content is low.</P>
    2238 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2133
    22392134<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovy eggs are as tasty as other duck eggs, and a muscovy female can supply a large number if she is kept from sitting.</P>
    2240 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2135
    22412136<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds are useful for clearing both terrestrial and aquatic weeds.5</P>
    2242 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2137
    22432138<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Down feathers are used, like those of other ducks, in clothing and comforters.</P>
    2244 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2139
    22452140<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    2246 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2247 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2141
    22482142<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies may be raised like common ducks. An ideal grouping is one male to five or six females. </P>
    2249 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2143
    22502144<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Except in Taiwan, France, Hungary, and a few other European countries, they exist predominantly in small flocks in farmyards and village ponds. However, they can be reared under intensive conditions in a shed or pen that is well lighted and equipped with low roosts and bedding. Under such conditions, they may be fed diets recommended for rearing common ducks or given coarse feeds, including whole grain. If chicken rations are used, fresh greens must be provided to avoid "cowboy" legs, a symptom of niacin deficiency.</P>
    2251 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2145
    22522146<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although they thrive in areas where there is abundant water, they do not require access to swimming water. They prefer to nest under cover and will use nesting boxes. A normal clutch size is 9-14 eggs; however, clutches of up to 28 can occur. There may be 4 clutches annually, and (when the hen does not have to brood the ducklings) some muscovies have laid 100 eggs in a year.6</P>
    2253 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2147
    22542148<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The egg weight, which increases with the female's age, ranges from 65 to 85 g. The eggs require 33-35 days to hatch, a week longer than the common duck's. Hatching success of 75 percent or more is common.</P>
    2255 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2149
    22562150<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Compared with domestic ducks early growth is slow, which is perhaps why muscovies have not enjoyed wider industrial use. However, after the slow period they grow rapidly and, because they forage on a broader range of vegetation than common ducks, they can scavenge a large proportion of their diet at little or no cost.</P>
    2257 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2151
    22582152<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">When raised intensively, females average 2 kg and males 4 kg at 11-12 weeks of age. Females may reach sexual maturity by 28 weeks of age; males require a month more.</P>
    2259 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2153
    22602154<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE MULE DUCK OF TAIWAN</P>
    2261 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2262 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2155
    22632156<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In parts of Europe, hybrids between muscovies and common ducks are reared for fattening. However, Taiwan has made the most outstanding use of this "mule duck." Thanks in part to this muscovy hybrid, Taiwan's duck industry has grown rapidly in the last decade. The total value of duck products now exceeds $346 million per year. Much of the boom in duck production is due to improved feeding disease control and management systems, but much is also due to the performance of the mule duck. </P>
    2264 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2157
    22652158<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This hybrid is now Taiwan's major meat-duck breed, and about 30 million are consumed each year. Indeed, the duck industry has been so successful that Taiwan is increasingly exporting frozen duck breast and drumstick meat to Japan. It now provides 24 percent of the duck meat eaten in Japan— most of it coming from mule ducks. Also, Taiwan is exporting partially incubated mule-duck eggs throughout Southeast Asia. And mule ducks supply most of the raw material for Taiwan's large feather industry.</P>
    2266 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2159
    22672160<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Taiwan farmers have been producing mule ducks for 250 years, but the recent jump in production is due to the use of artificial insemination to overcome the natural reticence of the different species to mate. Fortunately, artificial insemination is well developed and is a standard part of farming practice in Taiwan.</P>
    2268 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2161
    22692162<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mule ducks are successful because they have less fat than a broiler chicken and they grow faster. Indeed, they can reach a market weight of 2.8 kg at 65 - 75 days of age, depending upon the weather, season, and management. In part, this fast growth is because they are sterile and waste no energy in preparing for a sexual existence or in laying eggs.</P>
    2270 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2163
    22712164<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The usual cross employs a muscovy male and a domesticduck female. The domestic breeds most employed for muleduck production are White Kaiya (Pekin male x White Tsaiya female), Large White Kaiya (Pekin male x White Kaiya female) and colored Kaiya. Both sexes of the hybrid offspring weigh about the same.</P>
    2272 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2165
    22732166<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crosses between a muscovy hen and a domestic drake are much rarer (traditionally, this was because of the different mating behavior of the two species, but even with artificial insemination available they are not much used) and the males of these hybrids are much heavier than the females. Females of this cross do lay eggs, but the eggs are small (about 40 g) and their embryos do not develop.</P>
    2274 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2167
    22752168<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are almost 300 duck-breeding farms in Taiwan, annually producing more than 600,000 female domestic ducks for use in producing mule ducks. Some farmers combine duck raising with fish farming. The excrete of 4,000 ducks on one hectare of pond can provide 30,000 tilapia with 20 percent of their feed. It helps the farmer get rid of waste as well as giving him fresh fish to sell. </P>
    2276 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2169
    22772170<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    2278 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2279 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2171
    22802172<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted, the muscovy is an extremely good forager and thrives under free-ranging conditions. Unlike other ducks, it grazes on grass and leaves and will maintain itself on pasture. Apparently, it can digest bran and other fibrous feeds better than common ducks can.</P>
    2281 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2173
    22822174<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The males are larger than all but the largest strains of table duck. They have exceptionally broad, well-muscled breasts and provide one of the leanest meats of any waterfowl.</P>
    2283 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2175
    22842176<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy is apparently more resistant to diseases that regularly decimate other poultry. This is one reason why villagers favored them: when chickens die, muscovies often survive.</P>
    2285 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2177
    22862178<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The female's strong parental qualities help assure the survival of ducklings with a minimum of human intervention. Her ability to incubate and hatch most other poultry eggs is an added advantage to small farmers who have neither the capital to buy, nor the knowledge to operate, artificial incubators.</P>
    2287 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2179
    22882180<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unlike other ducks, muscovies are not easily alarmed, and fright does not affect their egg production and laying. Indeed, they are so phlegmatic that automobiles can be major causes of death.</P>
    2289 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2181
    22902182<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    2291 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2292 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2183
    22932184<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because they are a tropical species, these birds are much less tolerant of cold than common ducks and require more protection from freezing weather.</P>
    2294 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2185
    22952186<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy's feed conversion is not as good as the chicken's. Also, compared with some other meat-duck breeds, muscovies have a slower rate of growth and require about 4 6 weeks longer to attain maximum development of breast muscles.</P>
    2296 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2187
    22972188<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies can be difficult to handle. If their legs are free, the handler may be badly lacerated by the claws.</P>
    2298 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2189
    22992190<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although adults have a fair homing ability, muscovies may wander away when local forage is sparse, and young birds may be carried long distances downstream, never to return.</P>
    2300 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2191
    23012192<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because they feed on greenery, they can devastate gardens if the plants are very young.</P>
    2302 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2193
    23032194<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Muscovies can be unsuspected carriers of poultry diseases, so that healthy-looking muscovies may infect the other species.</P>
    2304 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2195
    23052196<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    2306 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2307 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2197
    23082198<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Poultry scientists should unite in efforts to advance technical knowledge and public appreciation of this bird. Governments and researchers should begin evaluations of local varieties and their uses and performances. The experiences of France, Italy, Eastern Europe, and Taiwan should be gathered and made available for a worldwide readership.</P>
    2309 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2199
    23102200<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is important that the many muscovy varieties within the countries of Latin America - where the bird has a centuries-long history of domestication - be maintained and studied. Many superior varieties and specimens may be awaiting discovery.7</P>
    2311 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2201
    23122202<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The muscovy's nutritional requirements, range and confined systems of management, and disease vulnerability are poorly understood and need study. Especially needed are ways to increase growth rate. </P>
    2313 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2314 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2203
    23152204<B><P></P>
    23162205<!--
    … …  
    23212210  </Description>
    23222211-->
    2323 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2212</B>
    23242213<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g013a.png"></center><br>
    23252214 FIGURE</P>
    2326 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2215
    23272216<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons (Columba livia)1 are durable birds that can be raised with little effort. Able to survive in inhospitable climates, they fend for themselves - often ranging over many square kilometers to locate seeds and edible scraps. They have been raised for centuries, especially in North Africa and the Middle East. In parts of North America and Europe, they are produced as a delicacy for the gourmet market. But raising pigeons for food is not nearly as widespread as it could be; indeed, in modern times its potential has hardly been touched. Farmed pigeons are particularly promising as urban microlivestock because they require little space and thrive in cities.</P>
    2328 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2217
    23292218<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Young pigeons (squab) grow at a rapid rate. Their meat is finely textured, has an attractive flavor, and is often used in place of game fowl. Tender and easily digested, it commands premium market prices. In many areas, the continuing demand is unfilled.</P>
    2330 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2219
    23312220<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons are traditionally raised in dovecotes - "houses" that protect the birds from the elements and from predators. This system allows free-ranging flight and requires almost no human intervention. Dovecotes are a good source of both squab and garden manure, and they continue to be used, especially in Egypt. On the other hand, pigeons can also be raised in confinement - usually in enclosed yards - with all their needs supplied by the farmer. There are, for example, pigeon farms in the United States with up to 35,000 pairs of breeding birds.</P>
    2332 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2221
    23332222<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeon production may never rise enough to compete with commercial poultry as a major source of food, but for Third World villages these birds could become a significant addition to the diet as well as a source for substantial supplemental income. </P>
    2334 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2223
    23352224<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    2336 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2337 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2225
    23382226<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    2339 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2227
    23402228<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    2341 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2342 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2229
    23432230<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons have small heads, plump, full-breasted bodies, and soft, dense plumage. They weigh from about 0.5 to nearly I kg. A few large breeds (Runts, for instance, which commonly weigh 1.4 kg) are the size of small domestic chickens.</P>
    2344 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2231
    23452232<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many breeds have been developed for meat production. They produce squab that grow quicker and have larger breasts than unselected birds.</P>
    2346 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2233
    23472234<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    2348 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2349 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2235
    23502236<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The wild ancestor of the common pigeon - domestic, wild, or feral -  is thought to be the rock pigeon or rock dove of Europe and Asia. Today its domestic descendants are bred in virtually every country, and those that have gone feral (reverted to the wild) occur in most of the world's cities and towns.</P>
    2351 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2237
    23522238<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    2353 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2354 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2239
    23552240<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">They are abundant. However, as with most other domestic species there is concern over the decline and loss of certain breeds. Societies have been organized (notably in the United Kingdom) to preserve rare types.</P>
    2356 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2241
    23572242<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p138a.png"></center><br>
    23582243 Natural habitat of the rock dove ancestor of the domestic pigeon</P>
    2359 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2244
    23602245<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    2361 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2362 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2246
    23632247<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The domestic pigeon can be raised equally well in temperate and tropical zones. Indeed, this adaptable species can be kept anywhere that wild pigeons exist, including arid and humid regions. It should be noted, however, that cold climates do not favor squab production and hot climates promote vermin and disease.</P>
    2364 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2248
    23652249<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    2366 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2367 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2250
    23682251<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The pigeon's natural diet consists mostly of seeds, but includes fruits, leaves, and some invertebrates. Feral pigeons consume a wide array of materials, including insects, bread, meat scraps, weed seeds, and many kinds of spilled grains at mills, wharves, railway yards, grain elevators, and farm fields.</P>
    2369 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2252
    23702253<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For the first four or five days of life, the young are fed "crop milk." This substance, common to pigeons and doves,2 is composed of cells from the lining of the crop and is very high in fats and nutritional energy. The phenomenal growth rate of young squab has been attributed to crop milk and to its early replacement (within 8-10 days) with concentrated foods, regurgitated by both parents. The parents feed the squab for about four weeks before pushing it out of the nest to prepare for the next clutch.</P>
    2371 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2254
    23722255<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In domestic birds, sexual maturity (as measured by age at first egg) is reached at 120-150 days. Life span can be 15 years, although growth and egg production decline rapidly after the third year.</P>
    2373 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2256
    23742257<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    2375 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2376 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2258
    23772259<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Wild pigeons often nest on cliff sides. Domestic pigeons prefer to nest around buildings, in nooks and shelves and under the eaves - that is, in "pigeonholes."</P>
    2378 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2260
    23792261<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In domestic varieties, the pair-bond often lasts until severe illness or death. Sometimes, however, a vigorous male will "invade" a nest and mate with the females there. Both sexes take nearly equal part in nest building, incubation, and caring for the young. Typically, there are two eggs to a clutch. Eight clutches a year is not uncommon for a breeding pair. The incubation period is 17-19 days.</P>
    2380 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2262
    23812263<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unlike most birds, pigeons drink by inserting their beaks into water and sucking up a continuous draft. </P>
    2382 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2264
    23832265<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Courtship is characterized by cooing, prancing, and displays of spread, lowered tail feathers. "Bow and coo" exhibitions are unique to pigeons and doves and differ among species.</P>
    2384 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2266
    23852267<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    2386 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2387 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2268
     2269
    23882270<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons are usually raised exclusively for meat. The squab are harvested just before full feather development and before the youngster has started to fly, usually at 21-30 days of age. At this time the ratio of flesh to inedible parts is highest; once flying begins, the meat becomes tougher. Weight depends upon breed, nutrition, and other factors, but usually ranges from 340 to 680 g.</P>
    2389 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2271
    23902272<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons are extensively used for scientific research, notably in physiology and psychology. They are also widely kept as pets for plumage and for racing. The pigeon's unique homing ability was recognized in Roman times, and the birds have been trained to return to the dovecote from as far away as 700 km. Even today, homing pigeons are used to carry messages, especially during war.</P>
    2391 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2273
    23922274<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    2393 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2394 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2275
     2276
    23952277<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons are easily trained to recognize "home." The wing feathers are clipped and the birds are fed close to the dovecote; by the time they refledge, their homing instinct has been developed. Alternatively, newly captured pigeons may be trained by confining them to the dovecote for at least one week. At first, a little grain is provided in the morning (this is to ensure the birds will return to the coop). The birds can obtain the rest themselves.</P>
    2396 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2278
    23972279<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Any waterproof house that is easy to clean is suitable for keeping pigeons. Many traditional dovecotes are built of earthenware pots. In Asia and Europe, wooden pigeon towers are generally used.</P>
    2398 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2280
    23992281<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unlike chickens, pigeons do not prefer communal roosts. Instead, they prefer nesting shelves, of which there should be two for each breeding pair. The shelves are usually placed in dark corners and are fitted with low walls to keep eggs from rolling out.</P>
    2400 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2282
    24012283<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Grit is important in the diet, both to provide minerals and to allow the birds to grind feed in their gizzards.</P>
    2402 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2284
    24032285<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Commercial squab breeds are often kept permanently in pens, a process that requires care and experience. Growers expect an average of 12-14 squab per pair per year, although much depends on environment and management. </P>
    2404 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2286
    24052287<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds need fresh water daily and water for bathing at least weekly. Since they feed their young by regurgitation, the adults must have a continuous supply of clean drinking water. Orphan squab can be fed egg yolk until old enough to consume adult feeds.</P>
    2406 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2288
    24072289<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Like all poultry, confined pigeons must be provided enough supplemental feed to ensure a balanced diet. A mixture of whole grains can be fed for maximum production. It is important that grains be dry and free of mold (pigeons will not thrive on mash). Peas, beans, or similar pulses make good supplements.</P>
    2408 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2290
    24092291<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CARRIER PIGEONS</P>
    2410 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2411 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2292
     2293
    24122294<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most people consider message-carrying pigeons to be a quaint anachronism. But in a few countries (both developed and developing) carrier pigeons are making a comeback, and in the future they may be used routinely once again.</P>
    2413 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2295
    24142296<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">New techniques are making this process far more practical than before. For example, in the past the pigeons would be flown in one direction only. They were transported away from home and at the appropriate time released to find their way back. That was very limiting. But it has since been found that pigeons can be trained to carry messages in two directions: flying from one point to another and then back again. They will do it twice a day, and with almost perfect reliability. The key is to place the feeding station at one end and the nest at the other. This limits the pigeon's range, but they still can handle round-trip distances up to 160 km.</P>
    2415 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2297
    24162298<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">With a little ingenuity, there is no need for a person to monitor the stations to receive the messages as the bird arrives. One simple technique is to arrange the station with one-way doors - one opening inwards, the other outwards. Placing a bar across the outward door means that the bird cannot get out until someone releases it. Thus the message can always be retrieved.</P>
    2417 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2299
    24182300<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This system has been employed in Puerto Rico and Guatemala, but it could be used almost anywhere. In many parts of the Third World, in particular, there are remote areas with no phones and with hilly, rough terrain where delivering messages can take hours of strenuous travel. Some locations are subject to unexpected isolation by natural calamities or military or terrorist actions.</P>
    2419 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2301
    24202302<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In Puerto Rico, for instance, we kept pigeons in a village 32 km from the capital. The pigeons could get downtown in 20-30 minutes. It took us 1.5-2 hours each way by road. What was easy for the birds was a major trip for us. Pigeons carried the villagers' requests for certain foods and medicines. Our contact in the city then sent up the supplies by bus. The birds never let us down.</P>
    2421 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2303
    24222304<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Carrier pigeons are useful for more than just flying far and fast. They have been bred for racing and their large pectoral muscles make them excellent meat producers - much better than the common pigeons normally raised for food. A pair of carriers typically will raise 12 - 16 young each year, and those not needed for message carrying can be butchered at 28 days of age - yielding meat that is nutritious and considered a delicacy in many countries.</P>
    2423 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2305
    24242306<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">David Holderread</P>
    2425 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2426 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2307
     2308
    24272309<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Every day on the northwest coast of France, Petit Gendamme, a black and white carrier pigeon, flies on average 23 km between hospitals on his blood delivery route. Trussed in tiny hand-sewn harnesses, he and a flock of carrier pigeons set out (except during the hunting season) with little red tubes of blood secured to their breasts.</P>
    2428 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2310
    24292311<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">"It's a simple, effective, and cost-saving transport system," said Yves Le Henaff, head of the Avranches Hospital laboratory, Cotentin, France, a central blood-testing center that serves a number of isolated medical centers along the coast.</P>
    2430 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2312
    24312313<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The service becomes particularly valuable during the summer tourist rush, when travellers flock to the seashore to visit nearby Mont Saint Michel, crowding the small country roads and increasing the risk of traffic accidents.</P>
    2432 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2314
    24332315<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds' average flight time between the hospitals of Avranches and Granville, for example, a distance of about 27 km, is 20 minutes, including the time for harnessing up. And with a favorable western wind their best time can reach 11 minutes.</P>
    2434 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2316
    24352317<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">While gasoline costs the equivalent of $0. 75 a lifer in France, hospital officials say that a few grains of corn is all it takes to run this operation. According to Le Henaff, who supervises the carrier pigeon operation, the hospital is saving up to $46 a day on gas and auto maintenance.</P>
    2436 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2318
    24372319<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The 40-year-old Le Henaff got the idea five years ago from an article in a scientific journal describing a similar experiment in Britain. A year later, he and an associate called on the local seamstress to design a light harness that could hold a tube, which, when filled, weighs approximately 39 g.</P>
    2438 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2320
    24392321<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The flock now consists of 40 veteran fliers and 20 carrier pigeons in training.</P>
    2440 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2322
    24412323<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">And what if the winged creatures stray en route? Le Henaff has devised a fall-back option: two pigeons carry two different test tubes containing the same blood sample.</P>
    2442 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2324
    24432325<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds fly every day of the year with the exception of the three-month autumn hunting season. Since the beginning of the experiment four years ago, there have been two casualties. Le Henaff believes the birds probably met their fate in some Normand's oven.</P>
    2444 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2326
    24452327<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sometimes weather is a factor, and heavy fog can keep the delivery team grounded.</P>
    2446 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2328
    24472329<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">So far, the new job seems to benefit the pigeons, too. Unlike sickly city pigeons, whose average life span is about four years, well-cared-for carrier pigeons can live up to 15 years, Le Henaff said. "And how many people do you know who are willing to stay with the same outfit for that long?"</P>
    24482330<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sabine Maubouche</P>
    24492331<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Washington Post</P>
    24502332<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">December 2, 1986</P>
    2451 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2333
    24522334<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    2453 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2454 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2335
     2336
    24552337<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Under extensive conditions - where the birds are released each day to feed themselves - almost no land is needed. Under intensive conditions, where the birds spend their lives in confinement, a mere half hectare can be enough space to raise 2,000 pairs.</P>
    2456 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2338
    24572339<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Free-ranging pigeons forage over a wider area than most domestic fowl because they fly out to find their feed. Nutrient requirements3 are similar to those of chickens and other fowl (making allowance for the energy needed for flying), so commercial feed and other supplements - if needed at all - are generally available.</P>
    2458 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2340
    24592341<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In dovecote culture, pigeons require little or no handling. They brood the young with little intervention. Although not continuous, the production of meat from these fast-growing, rapidly reproducing birds is more sustained than with most livestock.</P>
    2460 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2342
    24612343<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Almost nowhere are there taboos against consuming pigeon meat. Prices received for squab are normally high, and in most places the demand is constant. The only limitation in some areas is the absence of an effective market, which is usually easy to create.</P>
    2462 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2344
    24632345<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Squab contains a larger proportion of soluble protein and a smaller proportion of connective tissue than most meats and is therefore good for invalids and people with digestive disorders.</P>
    2464 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2346
    24652347<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As many hobbyists can testify, raising pigeons can be gratifying.</P>
    2466 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2348
    24672349<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    2468 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2469 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2350
     2351
    24702352<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Pigeons are subject to few diseases. However, worms, lice, diarrhea (coccidiosis), canker (trichomoniasis), and salmonella (paratyphoid) occur at some time in most domestic breeds. Salmonella exists in low levels in most flocks and will flare up if birds are stressed. Treatments recommended for domestic chickens are usually suitable for pigeons. </P>
    2471 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2353
    24722354<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">By flying over a wide area and eating grains and other foods, pigeons can cause conflicts with farmers. Indeed, in the 13th century the aristocracy's pigeons became a major grievance of the peasants who saw their seed devoured. On the other hand, "croppers" (breeds with large crops) were developed to steal grain from the lord's fields. The pigeon returned home and his crop was emptied of the grain, which was used by the peasant to make bread.</P>
    2473 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2355
    24742356<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds can become nuisances. They leave droppings in annoying places, some people find them too noisy, and a few people are severely allergic to "pigeon dust."</P>
    2475 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2357
    24762358<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Every conceivable type of predator can be expected; therefore, precautions must be taken. The dovecote must be well protected against rats, which are the principal enemy of the eggs and the squabs.</P>
    2477 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2359
    24782360<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nesting birds need a high-protein diet to raise squab at the high rates of gain that are possible.</P>
    2479 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2361
    24802362<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    2481 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2482 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2363
     2364
    24832365<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Poultry researchers should study the increased role pigeons might play in Third World economic development. Nothing comparable to the sophisticated selection employed with the domestic chicken has so far been attempted. Given such attention the gains could be great.</P>
    2484 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2366
    24852367<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Among pressing research needs are:</P>
    2486 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2487 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2368
     2369
    24882370<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Breeding. This needs to be better understood. For example, the effects of hybridization and inbreeding need clarification.</P>
    2489 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2371
    24902372<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Environmental limits. Little work has been done outside the temperate regions.</P>
    2491 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2373
    24922374<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Diseases. These deserve increased attention.</P>
    2493 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2494 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2375
     2376
    24952377<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is also the potential of "dovecotes" for wild pigeons. Numerous local species are well adapted to local conditions, and these deserve to be tested for "domestication."4 Many wild species quickly lose their fear of man, and in time they can even become too fat to fly. Wild pigeons are already found throughout the humid tropics and are trapped for meat and rearing in New Guinea and other places. They are already an important food source for many subsistence farmers and shifting cultivators, and with some dovecote management could provide a greater, more dependable source of food and income. The potential for domesticating local pigeon species, especially those suited to the tropics, deserves exploration. </P>
    2496 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2497 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2378
     2379
    24982380<B><P></P>
    24992381<!--
    … …  
    25042386  </Description>
    25052387-->
    2506 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2388</B>
    25072389<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g014a.png"></center><br>
    25082390 FIGURE</P>
    2509 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2391
    25102392<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Native to Asia and Europe, quail' (Coturnix coturnix2) have been farmed since ancient times, especially in the Far East. They reproduce rapidly and their rate of egg production is remarkable. They are also robust, disease resistant, and easy to keep, requiring only simple cages and equipment and little space. Yet they are not well known around the world and deserve wider testing.</P>
    2511 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2393
    25122394<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail are so precocious that they can lay eggs when hardly more than 5 weeks old. It is said that about 20 of them are sufficient to keep an average family in eggs year-round. Quail eggs are very popular in Japan, where they are packed in thin plastic cases and sold fresh in many food stores. They are also boiled, shelled, and either canned or boxed like chicken eggs. Quail eggs are excellent as hors d'oeuvres and they also are used to make mayonnaise, cakes, and other prepared foods.</P>
    2513 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2395
    25142396<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In France, Italy, the United States, and some countries in Latin America (Brazil and Chile, for example) as well as throughout Asia, it is the meat that is consumed. It is particularly delicious when charcoal broiled. One company in Spain annually processes 20 million quail for meat.</P>
    2515 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2397
    25162398<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many of the domesticated strains seem to have originated in China, and migrating Chinese carried them throughout Asia. Today, millions of domestic quail are reared in Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indochina, Philippines, and Malaysia, as well as in Brazil and Chile. </P>
    2517 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2399
    25182400<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Commercial production is carried out, as in the chicken industry, in specialized units involving hatcheries, farms, and factories that process eggs and meat. However, quail have outstanding potential for village and "backyard" production as well. It is this aspect that deserves greater attention.</P>
    2519 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2401
    25202402<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    2521 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2522 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2403
     2404
    25232405<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    2524 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2406
    25252407<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    2526 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2527 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2408
     2409
    25282410<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail come in various sizes. The smaller types are used for egg production, whereas the larger ones are better for meat. Adult females of improved meat strains may weigh up to 500 g. </P>
    2529 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2411
    25302412<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are several color varieties. However, mature females are characterized by a tan-colored throat and breast, with black spots on the breast. Mature males, which are slightly smaller than females, have rusty-brown throats and breasts. All mature males have a bulbous structure, known as the foam gland, located at the upper edge of the vent.</P>
    2531 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2413
    25322414<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the United States, the Pharaoh strain is the bird of choice for commercial production. Other available strains tend to be bred more for fancy than for food.</P>
    2533 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2415
    25342416<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail eggs are mottled brown, but some strains have been selected for white shells. These eggs are often preferred by consumers and are easier to candle (the process of holding eggs up to a light to check for interior quality and stage of incubation). An average egg weighs 10 g - about 8 percent of the female's body weight. (By comparison, a chicken egg weighs about 3 percent of the hen's body weight.) Quail chicks weigh merely 5-6 g when hatched and are normally covered in yellowish down with brown stripes.</P>
    2535 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2417
    25362418<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    2537 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2538 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2419
     2420
    25392421<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The ancestral wild species is widely distributed over much of Europe and Asia as well as parts of North Africa. Although domestic quail are now available almost everywhere, Japan is probably the world leader in commercial production; quail farms are common throughout its central and southern regions.</P>
    2540 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2422
    25412423<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    2542 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2543 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2424
     2425
    25442426<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Not endangered. </P>
    2545 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2427
    25462428<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p149a.png"></center><br>
    25472429 figure</P>
    2548 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2430
    25492431<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    2550 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2551 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2432
     2433
    25522434<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail are hardy birds that, within reasonable limits, can adapt to many different environments. However, they prefer temperate climates; the northern limit of their winter habitat is around 38&Yacute;N.</P>
    2553 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2435
    25542436<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    2555 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2556 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2437
     2438
    25572439<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A quail's diet in the wild consists of insects, grain, and various other seeds. To thrive and reproduce efficiently in captivity, it needs feeds that are relatively high in protein.</P>
    2558 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2440
    25592441<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The females mature at about 5-6 weeks of age and usually come into full egg production by the age of 50 days. With proper care, they will lay 200-300 eggs per year, but at that rate they age quickly. The life span under domestic conditions can be up to 5 years. However, second-year egg production is normally less than half the first year's, and fertility and hatchability fall sharply after birds reach 6 months of age, even though egg and sperm production continue. Thus, the commercial life is only about a year.</P>
    2560 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2442
    25612443<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Crosses between the wild and domestic stocks produce fertile hybrids. Repeated backcrossing to either wild quail or domestic quail is successful.</P>
    2562 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2444
    25632445<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    2564 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2565 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2446
     2447
    25662448<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Only females hatch the eggs and raise the chicks. Males go off and court other females when their partners begin the nesting process.</P>
    2567 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2449
    25682450<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    2569 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2570 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2451
     2452
    25712453<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail eggs taste like chicken eggs. They are often served hard boiled, pickled, fried, or scrambled. Because of their size they make attractive snacks or salad ingredients. They provide an alternative for some people who are allergic to chicken eggs. On frying, the yolk hardens before the albumen.</P>
    2572 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2454
    25732455<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail meat is dark and can be prepared in all of the many ways used for chicken. The two meats are similar in taste, although quail is slightly gamier.</P>
    2574 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2456
    25752457<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because of its hardiness, small size, and short life cycle, quail are now commonly used as an experimental animal for biological research and for producing vaccines - especially the vaccine for Newcastle disease, to which quail are resistant. </P>
    2576 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2458
    25772459<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Many fanciers and hobbyists have also become interested in raising this adaptable species as a pet. Science teachers find it an excellent subject for classroom projects. </P>
    2578 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2460
    25792461<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">QUAIL IN JAPAN</P>
    2580 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2581 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2462
     2463
    25822464<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In some areas of Japan, quail are widely raised for their eggs and meat. However, Japanese originally valued the quail as a songbird. Tradition has it that about 600 years ago people began to enjoy its rhythmic call. In the feudal age, raising song quail became particularly popular among Samurai warriors. Contests were held to identify the most beautiful quail song and birds with the best voices were interbred in closed colonies. Even photostimulation was practiced to induce singing in winter.</P>
    2583 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2465
    25842466<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Around 1910, enthusiastic breeders produced the present domestic Japanese quail from the song quail. It was created as a food source and became a part of Japanese cuisine. During World War II it was almost exterminated, but Japanese quail breeders restored it from the few survivors and from birds imported from China. The original song quail, however, were lost. In the 1960s, commercial quail flocks rapidly recovered and Japan's quail population again reached its prewar level of about 2 million birds. </P>
    2585 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2467
    25862468<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A QUAIL IN EVERY POT: AN OLD DELICACY FINDS A NEW PUBLIC</P>
    2587 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2588 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2469
     2470
    25892471<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For centuries, quail were considered a great delicacy: a dish that only eminent chefs would cook and diners with an appreciative palate could enjoy. These small migratory birds, which are found in one variety or another throughout the world, were available until recently almost exclusively to hunters in the wild.</P>
    2590 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2472
    25912473<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">But now quail are in danger: in danger of becoming commonplace.</P>
    2592 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2474
    25932475<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In the last few years, quail have gone from being rarefied to a supermarket specialty item. They are on menus in the most elegant restaurants and the most casual cafes and bistros.</P>
    2594 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2476
    25952477<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Why so much interest?</P>
    2596 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2478
    25972479<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail are now available semi-boneless, which makes them faster and easier to cook, and easier to eat as well. The breastbones are removed by hand before the birds are packaged and shipped to stores. The bones in the wings and legs remain.</P>
    2598 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2480
    25992481<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A stainless-steel V-shaped pin - invented and patented by a restaurant chef who wanted a way to keep quail flat for grilling— is inserted into the breast. The pin can be left there throughout cooking and removed just before serving.</P>
    2600 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2482
    26012483<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">While whole quail might require 45 minutes to cook, the semi-boneless variety can be grilled in less than 10 minutes, or pan-roasted, braised or sauteed in less than 20 minutes.</P>
    2602 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2484
    26032485<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The flavor of farm-raised quail has also helped bring them into the mainstream. Most farm-raised quail have tender meat like the dark meat of chicken, whose flavor is enjoyed by many people.</P>
    2604 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2486
    26052487<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">And at a time when people are searching for foods, specifically animal protein, with low fat and cholesterol, quail fills the bill. The Agriculture Department says that quail skin has about 7 percent fat, about the same as dark meat of roasted chicken without the skin.</P>
    26062488<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Judith Banrett Adapted from The New York Times </P>
    26072489<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">June 21, 1989</P>
    2608 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2490
    26092491<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    2610 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2611 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2492
     2493
    26122494<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is necessary to keep quail in battery cages on wire floors because males secrete a sticky foam (from the foam gland) with their feces; on a solid floor, this adheres to the feet and collects dung, leading to crippling and breakage of eggs.</P>
    2613 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2495
    26142496<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Adult quail can live and produce successfully if they are allowed 80 cm2 of floor space per bird. However, for reproduction about twice that is needed to allow for mating rituals.3 If properly mated, high fertility rates and good egg hatchability can be expected. To obtain fertile eggs, one male is needed for roughly six females.</P>
    2615 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2497
    26162498<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Eggs hatch in about 17 days. Chicks require careful attention. Brooding temperatures of between 31 C and 35 C  are needed for the first week and above 21 C for the second week. From the second week on, chicks can survive at room temperature. (These temperatures are similar to those required for common chickens.) In cold climates, supplemental heat may be needed as well as protection from cool drafts.</P>
    2617 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2499
    26182500<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Clean water must be provided at all times, with care taken to prevent the chicks from drowning in their water troughs. Shallow trays, jar lids, or pans filled with marbles or stones may be used.</P>
    2619 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2501
    26202502<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    2621 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2622 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2503
     2504
    26232505<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail production can be started with little money. These easy-care birds can be housed in small, simple, inexpensive cages.</P>
    2624 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2506
    26252507<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted, they are resistant to Newcastle disease.</P>
    2626 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2508
    26272509<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">SIX OF ONE, HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER</P>
    2628 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2629 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2510
     2511
    26302512<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The fact that chickens can be crossed with quail has been known for some time, but there has been little attempt to develop the fertile hybrids. Now Malaysia has begun a project aimed at producing a new poultry bird - a cross between a cockerel and a hen quail. Zainal Abidin bin Mohd Noor, of the Department of Veterinary Services in Kuala Lumpur, is creating a strain that produces eggs of good quality and meat with the flavor of both parents. The new bird is intermediate in size between chicken and quail which is convenient because it is about right for an individual helping.</P>
    2631 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2513
    26322514<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The crossbreeding is done through artificial insemination. The progeny exhibit a range of appearances, sizes, and plumage colors, depending on the strains of cockerel and quail hens used. In the Malaysian research, cockerels have been local Ayam Kampung Bantam, Hybro, and Golden Comet hybrids. The quails have been local inbred Japanese quail (IJQ) and imported meat strain quail (IMSQ).</P>
    2633 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2515
    26342516<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The trials show that the hybrids derived from the IMSQ flocks grew faster and bigger than those from the IJQ cross. The best have been the Hybro x IMSQ crosses, which weigh 475 g at 10 weeks of age. The best of the IJQ group weighed 290 g during the same period.</P>
    2635 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2517
    26362518<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This type of "tropical game hen" might be a way to introduce hybrid vigor into poultry production.</P>
    2637 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2519
    26382520<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The researchers who developed the hybrid have named it the "yamyuh." </P>
    2639 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2521
    26402522<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    2641 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2642 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2523
     2524
    26432525<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although generally disease resistant, quail are affected by several common poultry diseases, including salmonella, cholera, blackhead, and lice. They also suffer epidemic mortality from "quail disease" (ulcerative enteritis), which can, however, be controlled with antibiotics.</P>
    2644 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2526
    26452527<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail seem to require more protein than chickens, and produce best when given feed that is fairly high in protein.4 However, they also perform satisfactorily when fed rations designed for turkeys. They have high requirements for vitamin A, which they do not store.</P>
    2646 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2528
    26472529<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail are not suitable as free-ranging "scavengers." They must be kept confined, which is a major constraint. Unlike chickens or pigeons, they have no homing instinct and will not remain on a given site; if released, they will be lost. In addition, since they nest on the ground, they are highly susceptible to predation; they must be protected, especially where certain animals, the mongoose for example, are common.</P>
    2648 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2530
    26492531<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Artificial incubation is essential. Natural incubation using the female is futile; the females do not go broody and rarely incubate their eggs. The shells are extremely thin, but the eggs can be incubated under a small chicken hen, such as a bantam.5 The eggs are also subject to minute fractures. However, the shell membrane is extremely tough and unfertilized eggs are generally unaffected, but the cracks cause fertilized embryos to dehydrate and die. This is a serious limitation. Whenever quail husbandry is introduced, artificial incubation should be included.</P>
    2650 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2532
    26512533<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    2652 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2653 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2534
     2535
    26542536<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Quail deserve to be included in all poultry research aimed at helping the Third World. Through its international scientific program, Japan, in particular, could apply to developing nations its vast experience with quail farming.</P>
    2655 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2537
    26562538<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Experiences with quail in the tropics (for example, Japanese farmers in the Amazon Basin) and in tropical highlands (for instance, in India, Nepal, or Central Africa) should be collected and assessed to improve understanding of the environmental limits to Third World quail farming.</P>
    2657 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2539
    26582540<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Cooperation between commercial and laboratory quail breeders should be encouraged. Mutants found at the commercial level would be useful for laboratory work. Conversely, introducing new stocks could help the farmer. In both cases, more genetic diversity might also lead to the production of hybrid vigor, and genetic variability would be conserved.</P>
    2659 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2541
    26602542<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sex-linked genes, if they can be found, would be useful to the commercial quail breeder for the rapid sexing of newly hatched chicks. This could lead to more efficient production techniques, like those in the chicken industry.</P>
    2661 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2543
    26622544<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although virtually all work to date has been on the Japanese quail, other species and subspecies warrant research and testing. </P>
    2663 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2664 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2545
     2546
    26652547<B><P></P>
    26662548<!--
    … …  
    26712553  </Description>
    26722554-->
    2673 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2555</B>
    26742556<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g015a.png"></center><br>
    26752557 FIGURE</P>
    2676 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2558
    26772559<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is well-known in North America and Europe, but in the rest of the world, especially in developing countries, its potential has been largely overlooked. Partly, this is because chickens are so familiar and grow so well that there seems no reason to consider any other poultry. Partly, it is because modern turkeys have been so highly bred for intensive production that the resulting birds are inappropriate for home production.</P>
    2678 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2560
    26792561<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Nevertheless, there is a much wider potential role for turkeys in the future. There are types that thrive as village birds or as scavengers, but these are little known even to turkey specialists. These primitive types are probably the least studied of all domestic fowl; little effort has been directed at increasing their productivity under free-ranging conditions. However, they retain their ancestral self-reliance and are widely used by farmers in Mexico. That they are unrecognized elsewhere is a serious oversight.</P>
    2680 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2562
    26812563<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Native to North America, the turkey was domesticated by Indians about 400 BC, and today's Mexican birds seem to be direct descendants.' Unlike the large-breasted, modern commercial varieties, they mate naturally and they retain colored feathers and a narrow breast configuration. Their persistence in Mexico after 500 years of competition with other poultry highlights their adaptability, ruggedness, and usefulness to people.</P>
    2682 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2564
    26832565<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds complement chicken production. They are able to thrive under more arid conditions, they tolerate heat better, they range farther, and they have higher quality meat. Also, the percentage of edible meat is much greater than that from a chicken. Turkey meat is so low in fat that in the United States, at least, it is making strong inroads into markets that previously used chicken exclusively. </P>
    2684 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2566
    26852567<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Turkeys are natural foragers and can be kept as scavengers. Indeed, they thrive best where they can rove about, feeding on seeds, fresh grass, other herbage, and insects. As long as drinking water is available, they will return to their roost in the evening.</P>
    2686 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2568
    26872569<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Appreciation for the turkey could rise rapidly. Interest already has been shown by several African nations. A French company has created a strain of self-reliant farm turkeys and is exporting them to developing countries.2 Researchers in Mexico are displaying increased interest in their national resource. And as knowledge and breeding stock continue to be developed, it is likely that village turkeys will become increasingly popular around the world.</P>
    2688 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2570
    26892571<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    2690 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2691 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2572
     2573
    26922574<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    2693 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2575
    26942576<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    2695 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2696 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2577
     2578
    26972579<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Modern turkey breeding has been so dominated by selection for increased size and muscling that commercial turkeys have leg problems and cannot mate naturally (they are inseminated artificially). These highly bred birds are adapted for large-volume intensive production, and must be raised with care. As noted, this chapter emphasizes the more self-reliant, less highly selected turkeys found in Mexico and a few other Latin American countries. They do not require artificial insemination, and with little attention can care for themselves and their young.</P>
    2698 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2580
    26992581<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fully grown "criollo" turkeys of Mexico are less than half the size of some improved strains. Males weigh between 5 and 8 kg; females, between 3 and 4 kg.3 They vary in color from white, through splashed or mottled, to black. The skin of the neck and head is bare, rough, warty, and blue and red in color. A soft fleshy protuberance at the forehead (the snood) resembles a finger. In males it swells during courtship. The front of the neck is a pendant wattle. A bundle of long, coarse bristles (the beard) stands out prominently from the center of the breast.</P>
    2700 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2582
    27012583<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    2702 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2703 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2584
     2585
    27042586<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The unimproved domestic turkey is essentially limited to central Mexico and scattered locations throughout nearby Latin American countries. Some village birds are also kept in India, Egypt, and other areas, but these are descended from semi-improved strains exported from North America and Europe in earlier times. Generally speaking, few turkeys are found in tropical countries outside Latin America.</P>
    2705 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2587
    27062588<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    2707 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2708 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2589
     2590
    27092591<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domesticated turkeys are not endangered; there are estimated to be about 124 million in the world. However, the wild Mexican varieties, ancestors to the first domesticated turkeys sent to Europe, may now be endangered since their distribution in southwestern Mexico has been greatly reduced. Certainly, some primitive domestic strains in the uplands of central Mexico are also being depleted. A separate type, independently domesticated by the Pueblo Indians of the southwestern United States, seems to have disappeared entirely.</P>
    2710 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2592
    27112593<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    2712 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2713 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2594
     2595
    27142596<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Turkeys can be reared virtually anywhere. Their natural habitat is open forest and wooded areas of the North American continent, but in Mexico they are raised from sea level to over 2,000 m altitude, from  rainforest to desert, and from near-temperate climates to the tropics.</P>
    2715 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2597
    27162598<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="p159a.png"></center><br>
    27172599 The original distribution of the turkey and the occellated</P>
    2718 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2600
    27192601<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    2720 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2721 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2602
     2603
    27222604<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The range of diet is broad. Turkeys eat greens, fruits, seeds, nuts,  grasses, berries, roots, insects (locusts, cicadas, crickets, and  grasshoppers, for example), worms, slugs, and snails.</P>
    2723 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2605
    27242606<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Reproduction is generally seasonal and is stimulated by increasing  daylength. (A minimum daylength of 12 hours is required.) The birds  can reach sexual maturity at six months of age and may start breeding at  this time. Ten days after first mating, the hen searches out a nest and  commences laying. Industrial birds in temperate climates lay, on  average, 90 eggs a year. The nondescript type of turkey in the tropics  seldom lays more than 20 small eggs (weighing about 60 am) before  going broody.</P>
    2725 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2607
    27262608<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    2727 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2728 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2609
     2610
    27292611<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic turkeys walk rather than fly, and find almost all their food  on the ground. They can, however, fly short distances to avoid  predators.</P>
    2730 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2612
    27312613<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The commercial birds have lost many abilities for survival in the wild;  they can no longer exist without human care. However, village types  can do well with little management.</P>
    2732 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2614
    27332615<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Turkeys prefer to make their own nests but can be induced to lay in a  convenient spot if provided with nest boxes.</P>
    2734 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2616
    27352617<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    2736 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2737 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2618
     2619
    27382620<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These birds are raised almost exclusively for meat. In many countries,  they are a treat for holidays, birthdays, and weddings. In their native  range of Mexico and Central America, the "unimproved" birds are  usually produced as a cash crop for market. They receive little care or  feed, and thus they are almost all profit - providing a significant income  supplement to many rural homes.  </P>
    2739 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2621
    27402622<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    2741 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2742 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2623
     2624
    27432625<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The principles of turkey management (nutrition, housing, rearing' and prevention of disease, for example) are basically the same as those for other poultry.</P>
    2744 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2626
    27452627<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In Mexico, turkeys are usually kept under free-ranging conditions around houses and villages. Some shelter and kitchen scraps are occasionally provided. A number of them, however, are confined in backyards as protection from marauders and for shelter against rain and wind.</P>
    2746 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2628
    27472629<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One male can service up to 12 females. Roomy nests are needed. (As a rule, turkeys require three times the space occupied by chickens.) Most range turkeys are corralled when they begin to lay, so as to protect them from predators. Eggs may be gathered to prevent broodiness and thereby increase production. The eggs may be kept for several days (cool, but not refrigerated) if turned daily, and then may be placed under a chicken hen. (A setting chicken can be used this way to hatch up to nine eggs at a time.) Hatching takes 28 days.</P>
    2748 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2630
    27492631<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As in other birds, newly hatched turkeys (poults) must be kept warm during the first weeks of life. Until they begin foraging and have full access to pasture they are usually fed broken grain or fine mash, as well as finely chopped, tender green feed.</P>
    2750 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2632
    27512633<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although free-ranging turkeys are simple to raise, confined turkeys require more complex management. The birds need uncrowded, well ventilated conditions and should be on a wire or slatted floor to reduce parasitic infections. Any feeds recommended for chicks are suitable, but the protein content should be somewhat higher; that is, about 27 percent. They can be fed mixed grains, corn, and chopped legume hay. It may be necessary to provide vitamin supplements and antibiotics and take steps to prevent coccidiosis.</P>
    2752 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2634
    27532635<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">"AN INCOMPARABLY FINER BIRD"</P>
    2754 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2755 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2636
     2637
    27562638<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The turkey was domesticated in Mexico some time before the Conquest. It is the one and only important domestic animal of North American origin. When the Spanish arrived, they found barnyard turkeys in the possession of Indians in all parts of Mexico and even in Central America. However, the Aztecs and the Tarascans, originating in west-central Mexico, seemed to have achieved the highest development of turkey culture, and it is probable that turkeys were domesticated in the western highlands, perhaps in Michoacan. Wild turkeys of that region are morphologically very similar to the primitive domestic bronze type. Both the Aztecs and Tarascans kept great numbers of the birds, including even white ones. They paid royal tribute to their respective kings in turkeys, according to the Relacion de Michoacan. The Tarascan king fed turkeys to the hawks and eagles in his zoo. The economy of some highland tribes was based on the cultivation of corn and the raising of turkeys.</P>
    27572639<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A. Starker Leopold</P>
    2758 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2640
    27592641<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE INDUSTRIAL TURKEY</P>
    2760 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2761 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2642
     2643
    27622644<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The modern domesticated turkey is thought to be descended from two differing wild subspecies, one found in Mexico and Central America and the other in the United States. The southern type is small, whereas the U.S. native is larger and has a characteristic bronze plumage.</P>
    2763 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2645
    27642646<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Mexican turkeys were exported to Europe soon after the Conquest, and spread rapidly. In the 17th century, some were returned to North America, where they interbred with the eastern subspecies of wild turkey, producing a heavier bird, which was then re-exported to Europe.</P>
    2765 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2647
    27662648<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These types underwent little change until this century, when the Englishman Jesse Throssel bred them for meat quality. In the 1920s, he brought his improved birds to Canada, where their large size and broad breasts quickly made them foundation breeding stock. Crossed with the narrow-breasted North American types, these heavily muscled meat birds quickly supplanted other varieties.</P>
    2767 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2649
    27682650<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">About the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began the scientific development of a smaller meat turkey derived from a more diverse genetic base. By the 1950s, the Beltsville Small Whites predominated in the home consumption market in the United States.</P>
    2769 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2651
    27702652<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    2771 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2772 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2653
     2654
    27732655<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds are efficient and generally take care of themselves. They tolerate dry, hot, or cold climates and forage farther than chickens. They are large, fast growing, highly marketable, low in fat, and tasty. </P>
    2774 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2656
    27752657<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">THE TURKEY'S TROPICAL COUSIN</P>
    2776 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2777 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2658
     2659
    27782660<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The ocellated turkey (Agriocharis ocellata) occurs in Yucatan, Guatemala, and Belize. It is much like the common turkey in size, form, and behavior: however, unlike the common turkey, which in Mexico lives in the high mountain pine and oak forests, the ocellated turkey inhabits bushy, semiforested lowlands. This splendid bird lacks the kind of beard sported by the common turkey gobbler, is generally more metallic in appearance, and has brighter coppery colors. The chief character is a neck and head that are bare, blue, and profusely covered with coral-colored pimples. It also has a yellow-tipped protuberance growing on the crown between the eyes.</P>
    2779 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2661
    27802662<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This species is worthy of investigation by poultry researchers because it might prove to be domesticable. It was possibly domesticated by the Mayas, whose ruins often include appropriately sized stone enclosures whose soil has elevated levels of phosphorus and potassium. Even today, in the rural Peten area of Guatemala, ocellated turkeys are sometimes kept around houses as scavengers.</P>
    2781 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2663
    27822664<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    2783 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2784 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2665
     2666
    27852667<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Young birds are readily affected by temperature changes and must be protected from the sun as well as from sudden chills, such as may occur at night. They are particularly susceptible to dampness, especially if associated with cold. One peculiarity is the turkey's aversion to any change in feeding routine or the nature of the food.</P>
    2786 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2668
    27872669<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Young turkeys are susceptible to parasitic infestation as well as to the same type of bacterial and virus diseases as chickens (for example, fowlpox and coccidiosis). Blackhead, a devastating disease of young turkeys, is carried by a common parasitic nematode, and can be contracted from chickens. Medicines are available to prevent or treat most disease and pest problems.</P>
    2788 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2670
    27892671<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    2790 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2791 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2672
     2673
    27922674<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Turkey development is almost nonexistent in the Third World (and much of the rest of the world, too). Although commercial turkeys are highly developed in some countries, little or no research has been conducted on the criollo turkey. Research on physiology, disease, and husbandry of the criollo turkey should be given high priority.</P>
    2793 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2675
    27942676<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The need for conservation of genetic variability is perhaps more critical in this species than in almost any other domesticated animal. The unimproved types in Mexico should be collected and assessed, and a program to conserve the stocks should be initiated. An analysis should also be made of the traditional management and performance of these birds. In addition, the four or five recognized turkey subspecies should be evaluated for their potential as seed stock for Third World countries. </P>
    2795 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2677
    27962678<B><P></P>
    27972679<!--
    … …  
    28022684  </Description>
    28032685-->
    2804 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2686</B>
    28052687<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g016a.png"></center><br>
    28062688 FIGURE</P>
    2807 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2689
    28082690<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Several preceding chapters have discussed the possibilities of domesticating certain wild birds.l Here, briefly, are highlighted other wild species with qualities that might make them suitable for sustained production. It should be understood that their practical use in the long run is pure speculation; they are included here merely to guide those interested in exploring the farthest frontiers of livestock science.</P>
    2809 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2691
    28102692<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Collectively, poultry have become the most useful of all livestock— and the most widespread. Yet only a handful of species are employed. Of the 9,000 bird species, only a few (for instance, chickens, ducks, geese, muscovies, pigeons, and turkeys) have been domesticated for farm use. Strictly speaking, all birds are edible - at least none have poisonous flesh - so it seems illogical to conclude that these are the only likely candidates. Perhaps they are not even the best.</P>
    2811 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2693
    28122694<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At first sight there may seem to be little need for new species, but poultry meat is in ever increasing demand and there are many niches where the main species are stricken by disease, or are afflicted by heat, humidity, altitude problems, or other hazards. For these areas, a new species might become a vital future resource. Perhaps some could even become globally important. The modern guinea fowl, for example, is a relative newcomer as a worldwide resource (see page 120).</P>
    2813 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2695
    28142696<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The birds now used as poultry were domesticated centuries ago by people unaware of behavior modification, nutrition, genetics, microbiology, disease control, and the other basics of domestication. Today we can tame species that they couldn't. In particular, the new understanding of "imprinting" may make the domestication of birds easier today than ever before. </P>
    2815 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2697
    28162698<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In this highly speculative concept, the birds described on the following pages are worth considering. They all eat vegetation and tend to live in flocks, which makes them likely to be easy to feed and to keep in crowded conditions. Most are sedentary, nonmigratory, and poor fliers. All but three (tinamous, sand grouse, and trumpeters) are gallinaceous.</P>
    2817 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2699
    28182700<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Gallinaceous birds are already the most important to people. The best known are chickens, turkeys, quail, and guinea fowl. But there are about 240 other species. Most are chickenlike: heavy bodied with short, rounded wings, and adapted for life on the ground. Although some are solitary, many are sociable. Basically vegetarian, they also eat insects, worms, and other invertebrates. The young birds are extremely precocious, walking and feeding within hours of hatching. All of these are advantageous traits for domestication.</P>
    2819 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2701
    28202702<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Game birds are also emphasized here. Many today are considered gourmet delights, and this should give them a head start in the marketplace. Indeed, some are already being raised in a small way on game farms and are at least partly on the way to domestication.</P>
    2821 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2703
    28222704<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CHACHALACAS</P>
    2823 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2824 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2705
     2706
    28252707<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These brownish birds (Ortalis vetula and nine other species) are found throughout Central and South America, and, given research, could possibly be raised on a large scale. A sort of "tropical chicken," they tame easily, live together in dense populations, and protect their chicks extremely well. They commonly scavenge around houses and people often put out scraps to feed them.2 The chicks are easily hatched, grow fast, and can be fed standard chicken rations.3</P>
    2826 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2708
    28272709<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is already considerable demand for these birds. Everywhere they are found, they are prized as food. In some areas they constitute the single most important game species, and are heavily hunted to supply local communities. Although they have less meat than a chicken, it is tastier and darker.</P>
    2828 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2710
    28292711<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Chachalacas are very adaptable. They occur mainly around forest edges and thrive in the thickets that appear after tropical forests have been felled. They do well close to humans, and their populations are not threatened, despite much hunting. Indeed, they seem well adapted to existence around villages and towns. Although not strong fliers, they are one of the few tree-roosting gallinaceous species. Primarily fruit eaters, they also consume tender leaves, twigs, and buds, and they scratch up the ground, presumably for insects.</P>
    2830 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2712
    28312713<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although excitable and noisy, chachalacas become remarkably tame when fed by people. In a few cases, full domestication has almost been reached. Farmers like to have chachalacas around and have even used them to guard domestic chickens. These very raucous and fearless birds will take on all potential threats, even weasels.4</P>
    2832 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2714
    28332715<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">GUANS</P>
    2834 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2835 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2716
     2717
    28362718<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Close relatives of the chachalacas, guans5 are glossy black birds about the size of small geese. They are highly gregarious and perhaps could be raised in larger numbers. They commonly live around houses, farms, and settlements in their native region of tropical America.</P>
    2837 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2719
    28382720<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unlike most game birds, guans are chiefly tree dwellers, but they also feed on the ground. Some 12 species are known. All are relentlessly hunted for food and sport - their tameness and inability to fly far or fast making them easy targets. The rapid destruction of tropical forests threatens their populations in some parts of their range. Conservation projects and specific plans of action are being proposed for the most threatened species. Perhaps for the other species, game-ranching projects or even outright domestication might provide just the right incentive for their protection and multiplication.</P>
    2839 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2721
    28402722<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CURASSOWS</P>
    2841 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2842 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2723
     2724
    28432725<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Curassows are also relatives of guans and chachalacas, but they are even larger - up to 1 m tall and 5 kg in weight. At least seven species are found over the vast area from northern Mexico to southern South America.6 Among them are Latin America's finest game birds.</P>
    2844 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2726
    28452727<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It might be possible to produce curassows in organized farming or ranching. They are commonly called "tropical turkeys" because they look like and run like turkeys. Indeed, Latin Americans normally refer to them as "pavos" or "pavones," as if they were the real thing. Their plumage ranges from deep blue to black, invariably with a purple gloss, and all have rather curly crests on their heads. They are not good fliers and spend most of their time on the ground.</P>
    2846 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2728
    28472729<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Curassows are increasingly hunted; their tropical forest habitat is shrinking, and the subsequent loss of populations is a calamity. They are special targets, not only because they are large but also because their light-colored flesh makes exceptional eating.</P>
    2848 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2730
    28492731<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is hope that these large wild fowls can be raised and managed in organized programs. Even now, people commonly keep them around their farms and villages. For example, on a number of Venezuelan ranches, yellow-raped curassows can be seen wandering around the cattle yards as if they were chickens.7</P>
    2850 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2732
    28512733<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FOREST BIRD RANCHING</P>
    2852 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2853 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2734
     2735
    28542736<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This report has intentionally focused on intensive farming - the type where people bring feed to animals in captivity. However, where this normal type of farming is of marginal value, `'ranching'' free-ranging birds may often be a more effective option. In this, the farmer simply monitors and improves the condition of the range and devises methods to harvest the birds on a sustainable basis. </P>
    2855 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2737
    28562738<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">"Bird ranching" may today have outstanding merit, particularly in tropical rainforests. Hence, in this chapter we emphasize birds of the jungle. These might help make standing rainforests profitable producers of income, and thereby provide economic incentives to stop felling trees for cow pastures. Indeed, forest birds might become part of a whole new "salvation farming'' that makes forests more valuable than fields. It is a technique that may contribute to preserving both bird life and its vitally valuable habitat.</P>
    2857 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2739
    28582740<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">MEGAPODES</P>
    2859 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2860 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2741
     2742
    28612743<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Megapodes (family Megapodiidae) include some of the world's most interesting birds. They have temperature-sensitive beaks and employ nature's own heat sources as incubators. The best-known species build piles of leaves and use the heat of decomposition to incubate their eggs. The species of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, however, take advantage of sun-warmed sand or even geothermal activity.</P>
    2862 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2744
    28632745<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">People have long revered these birds. Aborigines in Australia, Melanesians in New Guinea, and many Micronesians all protect the bizarre nesting sites, and "farm" them for eggs. Local people consider the large eggs special delicacies, and sometimes the egg-laying sites are owned and exploited for generations without a single bird being killed for food.8</P>
    2864 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2746
    28652747<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Programs that provide sustainable supplies of eggs have been established in Papua New Guinea. One is near Mt. Tovarvar, a simmering volcano on the island of New Britain. Here, megapodes gather in large numbers to lay eggs in the hot sands. They dig until they locate sand that is exactly 32.7&Yacute;C, before laying their huge (more than 10 cm long and 6 cm wide) pink eggs. Each year the villagers dig up some 2O,OOO eggs, which are an important source of protein and cash income. The government now regulates the harvest in a way that protects the bird population while supplying a nourishing food.</P>
    2866 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2748
    28672749<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Megapodes are found in only a few parts of the world, but projects such as those in Papua New Guinea provide hope and guidance not only for the sustainable "ranching" of megapodes, but also for other species elsewhere. Many wild birds yield locally important products— down, colored feathers, eggs, meat, and skins, and they make excellent songbirds and pets, for example. Their management on a sustainable basis may in certain cases be the key to turning local people into the most dedicated conservationists of all.</P>
    2868 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2750
    28692751<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">PARTRIDGES AND FRANCOLINS</P>
    2870 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2871 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2752
     2753
    28722754<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Partridges include many small game birds native to the Old World. They are robust, precocious, and larger than quails. Some lay many eggs - the European partridge, for example, lays up to 26 in a clutch. Newly hatched chicks are soon able to feed themselves and can fly within a few weeks, sometimes even within the first few days.</P>
    2873 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2755
    28742756<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Species that may make useful poultry include:</P>
    2875 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2757
    28762758<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The European (or gray) partridge (Perdix perdix); </P>
    2877 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2759
    28782760<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The rock partridge (Alectoris), bantamlike birds of Africa; and</P>
    2879 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2761
    28802762<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The chukar (A. graeca). </P>
    2881 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2763
    28822764<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A native of the vast area from southeastern Europe to India and Manchuria, the chukar is stocked as a game bird in many countries. It is now produced routinely under poultrylike husbandry in many parts of the United States, not only for hunting clubs, but also for expensive food markets. The birds are generally raised on turkey rations and dress out at about 500 g after 18 weeks. They sell for more than broiler chickens and are a profitable sideline for increasing numbers of poultry farmers.9</P>
    2883 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2765
    28842766<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A group of closely related birds are the francolins (genus Francolinus), of which there are 34 species in Africa and 5 in West and South Asia. These adaptable birds are sturdy, live in a variety of habitats, and tend to be rather noisy. Basically, they are partridges with leg spurs. They are highly regarded as a food source and are hunted and trapped wherever they are found.</P>
    2885 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2767
    28862768<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Francolins are much like quail, but are several times larger. Arabs introduced one of the most beautiful species (Francolinus francolinus) into southern Spain, Sicily, and Greece during the Middle Ages. However, it was hunted so heavily that it soon became extinct in Europe. More recently, francolins have been introduced to the Soviet Union.'&Yacute;</P>
    2887 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2769
    28882770<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Francolins inhabit steppes, savannas, primeval forests, and mountains. They thrive in cultivated land with much cover. The clutch consists of 6-8 hard, thick-shelled eggs. In recent times at least one program to domesticate them for food has been started in Africa.11</P>
    2889 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2771
    28902772<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">MALAYSIA'S MOBILE MOUSETRAP</P>
    2891 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2892 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2773
     2774
    28932775<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although the report emphasizes microlivestock as food suppliers, it should be realized that small animals - even wild ones - can have other important uses as welt The following interesting example, with possible worldwide implications, comes from recent experiences in Malaysia. *</P>
    2894 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2776
    28952777<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Certain rodents are major pests on farms and plantations. Now, however, Malaysian zoologists are finding that owls, particularly barn owls (Tyto alba), can help control them. An owl pair and its chicks annually consume 1,500 or more rodents. This is not new knowledge; indeed, on farms throughout the world the barn owl has always been a welcome guest. What is new is that Malaysians are showing how outstandingly effective this process is, and they have initiated major projects to attract and maintain these feathered friends. </P>
    2896 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2778
    28972779<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Barn owls are found in many parts of the world, but were formerly almost unknown in Peninsular Malaysia. In 1969, however, a pair began nesting in an oil-palm plantation in Johore State. Since then, these birds have steadily increased in numbers and have spread throughout most of the peninsula. Today, the population is increasing remarkably quickly as more and more managers erect nest boxes for the owls to live in.</P>
    2898 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2780
    28992781<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The owls are proving to be a good way to remove rats and are notably effective in plantations of oil palm. They perch on fronds and fly under and between the rows of trees. A cost of $1 - $2 per hectare per year is all that is required to install nest boxes, a negligible outlay for the control of such a serious and expensive problem.</P>
    2900 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2782
    29012783<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It is believed that the barn owls hunt mainly in plantations and other agricultural areas and not in the rainforest. Barn owls are, after all primarily adapted to open spaces and not dense forest.</P>
    2902 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2784
    29032785<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Perhaps this experience can be replicated and adopted in other locations and with other crops. Grain crops - notably rice - are particularly prone to the ravages of rodents, and one trial has commenced in Selangor State in a rice area. The concept of using owls for rodent control is also catching on in the United States. Indeed owl nest boxes are being erected in Central Park in the heart of New York City.</P>
    2904 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2786
    29052787<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">PHEASANTS</P>
    2906 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2907 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2788
     2789
    29082790<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One pheasant, the red junglefowl, gave the world the chicken (see page 86). The other 48 species may have some potential, too. These are rarely seen forest birds; all but one are confined to Asia.13 Because they are prolific they can sustain heavy predation, and many species, notably the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), are constantly hunted.</P>
    2909 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2791
    29102792<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">People in several countries have learned to exploit pheasants on farms and estates. As a result, there is a vast amount of information on how to rear and manage these birds. So far, however, it has been applied only to sport hunting in wealthy societies; the potential of raising pheasants for the mass market should now be seriously addressed.</P>
    2911 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2793
    29122794<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The most dramatic-looking pheasant, the peacock (Pavo cristatus), is raised as a poultry species in Vietnam. The meat of the young birds is considered outstanding. In fine restaurants in New York, a peacock dinner is reputed to cost $150. Common peafowls are considered sacred in many parts of India, where they have become so tame that they are essentially domesticated. They also control snakes.</P>
    2913 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2795
    29142796<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">QUAIL</P>
    2915 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2916 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2797
     2798
    29172799<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic quail have been previously described (page 146)J but dozens of wild quail species and subspecies occupy many different habitats and ecological niches in almost all parts of the world. Out of all this genetic wealth only one species - the Japanese quail - is widely used. Yet many other species seem easy to raise, becoming exceedingly tame after about the sixth generation.</P>
    2918 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2800
    29192801<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The management and even perhaps intensive production of these various local quails might provide long-term benefits for many developing nations. Quail meat ranks among the finest.14 Some of these lesser-studied birds are more meaty than the Japanese quail or have other possibly useful traits. Much is known about rearing a few of them because they are used in sport hunting or laboratory research. The possibility of domestication, therefore, is not farfetched.</P>
    2920 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2802
    29212803<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Particular quail that might be considered for domestication are the lesser-known subspecies of Coturnix coturnix. These subspecies are found in various places, including the following:</P>
    2922 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2804
    29232805<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Europe (C. c. coturnix breeds in the area ranging from northern Russia to North Africa and from the British Isles to Siberia. In winter it migrates to tropical Africa, Asia, and southern India.)</P>
    2924 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2806
    29252807<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The Azores (C. c. conturbans) </P>
    2926 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2808
    29272809<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands (C. c. confisa) </P>
    2928 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2810
    29292811<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Cape Verde Islands (C. c. inopinata) </P>
    2930 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2812
    29312813<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- East Africa (C. c. erlangeri) </P>
    2932 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2814
    29332815<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Tropical Africa, southern Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius (C. c. africana) </P>
    2934 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2816
    29352817<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Japan (C. c. japonica, the most probable ancestor of the domesticated quail)</P>
    2936 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2818
    29372819<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- China (C. c. ussuriensis, a possible ancestor of the domesticated Japanese quail)</P>
    2938 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2820
    29392821<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">TINAMOUS</P>
    2940 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2941 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2822
     2823
    29422824<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tinamous are quail-like birds of Central and South America's forests and grasslands. They are, however, much larger than quail and resemble small chickens, with plump bodies and no visible tail. There are more than 40 species, and all are much sought for food because their meat is tender and flavorful. The breast is surprisingly large, and its flesh is pale and translucent. One species, the great tinamou (Tinamus major), has been called "the most perfect of birds for culinary purposes." Frozen tinamous from Argentina were formerly sold in the United States under the name "South American quail."</P>
    2943 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2825
    29442826<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tinamous are found mainly in tropical areas, but are also widely distributed in Argentina and Chile. They dwell in varied habitats: rainforests, thickets, bushlands, savannas, and grasslands up to 5,000 m altitude in the Andes. Some species sleep in trees, others on the ground. They spend their days creeping about in heavy cover, flying only when forced.</P>
    2945 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2827
    29462828<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At least some species tame readily. Indeed, during the nesting period males become so tractable that they can be picked up off the nest. At the turn of the century, many tinamous were raised as game birds in France, England, Germany, and Hungary. However, for reasons unknown, subsequent attempts to settle them in Europe have failed. Tinamous have been raised in Canada without undue difficulty; they showed little or no stress under captivity and there were few losses.15</P>
    2947 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2829
    29482830<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tinamous may also prove suitable for egg production. They lay clutches of 16-20 spectacular-looking shiny eggs that seem to be made of sky-blue and bright-green ceramic.</P>
    2949 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2831
    29502832<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">SAND GROUSE</P>
    2951 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2952 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2833
     2834
    29532835<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Sand grouse (mainly Pterocles species) are highly adapted to life in arid regions - desert, dry grasslands, arid savanna, and bushveld. Their entire body (including most of the bill and feet) is covered with dense down, which in the desert insulates them from the burning heat of midday and the freezing cold of night. It also protects the nostrils against blowing sand and dust.</P>
    2954 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2836
    29552837<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These pigeonlike birds are found throughout the drier regions of Africa and Asia - for instance, the Sahara, Kalahari, Namib, Arabian, and Thar deserts. They live mainly on small seeds, and sometimes flocks of thousands may be seen at waterholes, flying in for a drink from up to 80 km away. For peoples of the driest spots on earth, these birds may make a useful food species: for one thing, they are not endangered. Indeed, they are proliferating as drought and overgrazing is increasing the amount of dry, desolate rangeland that they prefer. The bore holes provided for livestock have both boosted their populations and afforded a place where these wide-ranging birds can be easily captured. When nesting, sand grouse are highly vulnerable to foxes, jackals, mongooses, and other predators. Protection of the nesting sites may be the key to maintaining their populations if harvesting schemes are introduced.</P>
    2956 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2838
    29572839<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">TRUMPETERS</P>
    2958 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2959 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2840
     2841
    29602842<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Trumpeters (Psophia species) might prove to be a useful species for sustainable production within tropical forests. As "tree poultry," these relatives of cranes could help provide meat without destroying the trees, as is now done to raise cattle.</P>
    2961 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2843
    29622844<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">These chicken-sized birds inhabit South America's jungles.16 They are nonmigrating, ground-dwelling, and are often kept as pets, notably by Amerindians. Under human protection, trumpeters become very tame. They recognize strangers and challenge them with a loud cackle. 17 </P>
    2963 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2845
    29642846<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fully adapted to the forest environment, they can run fast, but fly poorly. In the wild, this makes them easy targets for hunters. Because of this and the fact that they make excellent eating, they are approaching extinction in some areas.</P>
    2965 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2847
    29662848<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">No attempts have been made to rear these birds in numbers, but this should be tried. They feed mainly on plant materials, particularly berries of all kinds. They also relish grasshoppers, spiders, and centipedes, and are particularly fond of termites.</P>
    2967 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2849
    29682850<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Trumpeters require trees; they completely avoid cultivated land. Thus, as the destruction of forests in South America continues, their habitat is shrinking. Although their existence is not as yet threatened, the long-term prognosis is bleak. If managed in "forest-ranching" programs, however, they might be saved from extinction and thriving populations built up. </P>
    2969 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2851
    29702852<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Interest in rabbits continues to increase. It is now widely recognized that the raising of small animals in developing countries has great potential as a means of improving human nutrition and economic security. The famines in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia starkly illuminate the need for maximum efficiency in food production to maintain the quality of human life. Rabbit raising contributes to meeting these needs.</P>
    29712853<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">P.R. Cheeke, N.M. Patton, S.D. Lukefahr, and J.I. McNitt Rabbit Production </P>
    2972 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2854
    29732855<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits are especially well adapted to backyard rearing systems in which capital and fodder resources are usually limiting factors in animal production. When rabbits are reared according to the techniques appropriate to the environment they can do much to improve the family diet of many of the most needy rural families, while at the same time supplying them with a source of income. With more advanced technology rabbit production can also help to supply big city meat markets.</P>
    29742856<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Food and Agriculture Organization The Rabbit: Husbandry, Health, and Production </P>
    2975 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2857
    29762858<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g017a.png"></center><br>
    29772859 FIGURE</P>
    2978 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2979 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     2860
     2861<B>
    29802862<!--
    29812863</Section>
    … …  
    29862868  </Description>
    29872869-->
    2988 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2989 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2870</B>
     2871
    29902872<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Contrary to popular opinion, the domestic rabbit is a substantial part of the world's meat supply. Annual production of rabbit meat is estimated to be one million metric tons, and the total number of rabbits is approximately 708 million.' However, rabbits are now intensively raised for food only in temperate, mostly industrialized, nations. France, Italy, and Spain, for example, have long consumed rabbit meat; West German production was 20,000 tons each year; Hungary raises rabbits in large numbers (two of its commercial rabbitries have more than 10,000 does each); and the United States raises almost 8.5 million rabbits each year for consumption in homes and restaurants.2</P>
    2991 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2873
    29922874<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In most developing countries, on the other hand, rabbits are not well known - at least compared with other livestock. But they have great promise there, and in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in interest. For those developing countries where information is available, rabbit meat production almost doubled between 1966 and 1980. For instance, several African countries - among them Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia - now have national rabbit-raising programs. A number of Asian countries - such as the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam - are also encouraging rabbit farming. And some Latin American countries - Mexico, Costa Rica, and El Salvador, for instance - are actively promoting rabbits for subsistence farmers.</P>
    2993 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2875
    29942876<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ghana is also extensively promoting rabbit farming. Although able to produce all the cereals its population needs, it cannot produce enough meat to satisfy demand. In response, the government organized "Operation Feed Yourself." The National Rabbit Project was created </P>
    2995 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2877
    29962878<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hares</P>
    2997 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    2998 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2879
     2880
    29992881<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The common hare (Lepus europus) has not been domesticated, but it is nevertheless a major cash crop of several countries. In Argentina, for example, there is a booming, million-dollar enterprise that exports hundreds of thousands of carcasses, mainly to Germany where they are sold as game meat. For Argentine campesinos, many of whom have few sources of livelihood, trapping hares provides a vital income. In New Zealand, too, hare has become an export item.</P>
    3000 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2882
    30012883<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A closely related species (Lepus capensis) is native to Africa, and perhaps could be "ranched in the same fashion.</P>
    3002 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2884
    30032885<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rainforest Rabbit</P>
    3004 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3005 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2886
     2887
    30062888<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The forest rabbit, or tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis), is commonly eaten in its native habitat, which extends from southern Mexico to southern Brazil. It occurs in various hot and humid areas of Central and South America and probably within the Amazon Basin itself. Thus, this creature seems a possible candidate for a "tropical rabbit" that can be raised under sweltering conditions, perhaps even in rainforest regions. Although it seems to be heat resistant, it has an especially fine fur.</P>
    3007 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2889
    30082890<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Little is now known about the tapeti. It is rather secretive and its natural history and even its range are still uncertain. However, its populations appear stable and it is not threatened with extinction. It produces litters of 1 - 5 young after a 44-day gestation, and may bear 4 litters a year. This may seem a lot, but compared with other wild rabbits, the litter size is small and the gestation period long. under this program to provide farmers with breeding stock and practical information on rearing rabbits. (To qualify for the purchase of new breeding stock, would-be rabbit raisers are required to take an intensive three-day course in rabbit husbandry, which is provided at no charge.) With both official and popular support, the rabbit's potential for Ghana has been enhanced through media campaigns complete with radio jingles (examples: "Get the bunny money!" "Grow rabbits - grow children." "Get into the rabbit habit!"), television spots, and large posters. Already, rabbit breeding is included in school curricula and rabbit meat is available in school lunches.</P>
    3009 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2891
    30102892<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Other countries have mounted similar campaigns. In Mexico, for instance, teachers raise rabbits in rural schools as a way of training students; scores of government officials have taken to breeding rabbits in their homes; and several army units are raising rabbits as mess-hall substitutes for costly beef, pork, and chicken. In Nigeria, farmers can now acquire rabbits from 18 government rabbit-breeding centers, which distribute thousands of animals each year. In Costa Rica, the government has similarly established a series of breeding, distribution, and rabbit-farming training centers. And in El Salvador, the technology of rabbit production is being transferred to farmers via the army.</P>
    3011 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2893
    30122894<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Although rabbits are ideal microlivestock in a general sense, rabbit rearing has many problems and limitations. Poor management is a common difficulty. Unlike the traditional method of keeping scavenger animals, rabbits have to be contained and cannot be left to find their own food. Raising rabbits requires more skills, more time, and much more effort than raising barnyard chickens or other familiar scavengers.</P>
    3013 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2895
    30142896<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For all that, rabbits produce more food than scavenging animals; they are less likely to damage crops because they are kept confined; they live exclusively on forage, which tends to grow vigorously in tropical zones; and they generally produce a more valuable product. The rabbit's potential is far from exploited, and rabbit farming will have to increase enormously before its promise for the small farms of the world is realized.</P>
    3015 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2897
    30162898<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is, however, an increasing concern over a recent outbreak of an exceptionally virulent viral rabbit disease - hemorrhagic tracheopneumonis, which attacks the lungs and lung tissue, killing 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. The virus, which has ravaged the animals in parts of Asia and Europe, was identified in China five years ago in Angora rabbits imported from Germany. It spread to Korea in 1986, and in early 1988 moved through southern and eastern Europe and spread as far as Egypt. It has also been identified in Mexico. Vaccination may become a future prerequisite of rabbit rearing in many countries. </P>
    3017 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2899
    30182900<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FAST FOOD</P>
    3019 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3020 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2901
     2902
    30212903<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The order Lagomorpha includes more than 60 small quickmaturing, and rapidly reproducing species. It seems illogical to think that only one is useful as microlivestock. In principle, any rabbit, hare, or pike could be raised in captivity. All are clean, fast growing and rapid breeding. They are opportunistic feeders and can digest fibrous vegetation. Their meat tastes better than chicken and does not carry the stigma of rodent. The animals are small inoffensive, efficient at foraging, and generally tolerant of difficult environments. In theory, at least, they could be raised on vegetation not used by people or by many domesticated livestock.</P>
    30222904<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Species worthy of exploratory research include the following.</P>
    3023 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3024 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2905
     2906
    30252907<B><P></P>
    30262908<!--
    … …  
    30302912  </Description>
    30312913-->
    3032 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2914</B>
    30332915<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g018a.png"></center><br>
    30342916 FIGURE</P>
    3035 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2917
    30362918<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)1 is suited to small-scale production and backyard farming. It is easily maintained, requires scant space, makes minimal demands on the family budget, and thrives on plant materials that are usually disdained by humans. It utilizes forage efficiently. even coarse vegetation that is high in fiber, and under ideal conditions it can grow so rapidly that its rate is only slightly lower than that of broiler chickens.2</P>
    3037 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2919
    30382920<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The rabbit's capacity for reproduction is legendary. In theory, a single male and four females can produce as many as 3,000 offspring a year, representing some 1,450 kg of meat - as much as an average sized cow.3 The meat is pink, delicately flavored, and is usually considered a premium product that provides variety in the diet. It has more protein and less fat and calories per gram than beef, pork, lamb, or chicken.</P>
    3039 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2921
    30402922<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some breeds are raised for their wool. The long-haired Angora, for instance, yields a luxury fiber that makes a soft, lustrous fabric. It sells at high prices and makes these animals very valuable.</P>
    3041 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2923
    30422924<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbit pelts also bring cash. They are used in fur coats and other luxury garments. In addition, rabbit feet and tails are used in good luck charms and many curios.</P>
    3043 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2925
    30442926<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AREA OF POTENTIAL USE</P>
    3045 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3046 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2927
     2928
    30472929<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Worldwide.</P>
    3048 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2930
    30492931<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">APPEARANCE AND SIZE</P>
    3050 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3051 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2932
     2933
    30522934<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits are well known for their long ears, fluffy tails, and long hind legs. Many commercial breeds are white, although colored types are sometimes chosen because of special qualities in their meat or pelts.</P>
    3053 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2935
    30542936<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are many breeds and much genetic diversity within and between breeds. (Almost 160 varieties are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association.) However, in both North America and Europe, the New Zealand White has traditionally displaced most other breeds for commercial meat production. This medium-weight breed bears large litters, is a good milk producer, and has good mothering ability. It reproduces best under intensive farming and, among purebreds, yields the most meat. A full-grown New Zealand White weighs 4-5 kg, giving about 2 kg of meat at 8-10 weeks of age. Large breeds include the Flemish Giant or the Checkered Giant, which weigh more than 6 kg at maturity.</P>
    3055 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2937
    30562938<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Hybrids are rapidly replacing purebreds in Europe for commercial production. Specific crosses of breeds have been shown experimentally to be more productive overall compared with purebred New Zealand Whites.</P>
    3057 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2939
    30582940<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Different meat breeds are preferred in various countries. For example, in Ghana the most popular are Flemish Giants, New Zealand Whites, Yellow Silvers, and Checkered Giants; in Tanzania and Nigeria, New Zealand Whites and Dutch are preferred; in China, Chinchillas and Japanese Large Whites are the most widely consumed. Some smaller breeds - for instance, the Polish - are also valuable for husbandry.</P>
    3059 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2941
    30602942<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Some Third World strains have already evolved. They show high tolerance to local conditions (for example, the Baladi - the main strain of the Sudan and the Near East - and the Criollo of Mexico). The Baladi has a small body and relatively low production, but it is hardy and tolerates harsh conditions.</P>
    3061 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2943
    30622944<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Specialized breeds have been developed for wool, fur, and laboratory research. The Angora wool breed has already been mentioned. The Rex breed produces a high-quality pelt used in furs.</P>
    3063 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2945
    30642946<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DISTRIBUTION</P>
    3065 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3066 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2947
     2948
    30672949<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The wild ancestor of the domestic rabbit was originally restricted to Spain and Portugal. Today, its descendants are found worldwide.</P>
    3068 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2950
    30692951<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">STATUS</P>
    3070 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3071 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2952
     2953
    30722954<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Plentiful.</P>
    3073 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2955
    30742956<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HABITAT AND ENVIRONMENT</P>
    3075 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3076 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2957
     2958
    30772959<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Domestic rabbits are best suited to temperate climates, but they do well in tropical and subtropical conditions if hutches are constructed and sited to take advantage of shade and cooling breezes. Ventilation is important (but care must be taken to avoid direct exposure to cold drafts). Prolonged exposure to temperatures higher than 30&Yacute;C reduces both fertility and growth. Apparently, all breeds tolerate heat equally well. However, heat is shed through the ears, and the longer the ear, the more heat a rabbit will tolerate. Lop-eared varieties withstand heat poorly.</P>
    3078 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2960
    30792961<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BIOLOGY</P>
    3080 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3081 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2962
     2963
    30822964<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits eat fibrous vegetation. In addition to normal feces, they produce special droppings called cecotropes. Softer and smaller than the regular fecal pellets, they are excreted in clusters and are swallowed as soon as they are eliminated. Cecotropes are rich in bacterial protein, and this double digestion (coprophagy) enables the animals to utilize the fermentation products formed in the cecum. This process is rather like that of ruminants, and rabbits are sometimes called pseudoruminants.4</P>
    3083 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2965
    30842966<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Breeding begins at 4-6 months of age and may continue up to age 4, occasionally to age 6. Gestation takes 28-32 days. Females can conceive within 24 hours after giving birth and can produce a second litter merely 4 weeks later. With good feed and early rebreeding, 9 or more litters a year are possible. (Such a rate is only achievable under exceptional management, however.) Litter size depends on breed and body weight. Small breeds average 4 young per litter; large breeds 810. Births occur at any time of the year, but production slackens when the weather is exceptionally cold or hot, when feed is scarce, or when days are short. Extremes of heat or cold can also affect the survival of the young.</P>
    3085 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2967
    30862968<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits raised under subsistence conditions are likely to produce 4 or 5 litters a year, with an average of 5-8 young per litter' depending on management and feed quality.5 Annual production of about 20 weaned offspring per female per year under tropical and subtropical conditions is common. The young remain in the nest until they are 2-3 weeks old. Their eyes open at approximately 10 days of age. About 4 months are required to produce a 2-kg market rabbit under subsistence conditions. </P>
    3087 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2969
    30882970<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">BEHAVIOR</P>
    3089 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3090 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2971
     2972
    30912973<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits that receive human handling are very gentle and can be trained to live inside people's houses and even use a "litter box."</P>
    3092 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2974
    30932975<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">USES</P>
    3094 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3095 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2976
     2977
    30962978<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits are multipurpose animals yielding the following products:</P>
    3097 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2979
    30982980<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Meat. Delicious hot or cold, fancy or plain, it can be breaded and fried, broiled, baked, or barbecued.</P>
    3099 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2981
    31002982<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Wool. The fineness of rabbit hair is an asset in the production of wool, which is the plucked or shaved hair of the long-haired Angora breed. It is usually mixed with fine Merino sheep wool to give more substance and to improve its wearing quality. An average Angora rabbit produces about 850 g of wool each year. (Some specimens produce as much as 1,000 g.)</P>
    3101 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2983
    31022984<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Fur. The fur is dense.</P>
    3103 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2985
    31042986<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Leather or vellum. Rabbit hide has the tension and strength required for tiny drive-belts in tape recorders and other delicate machines.</P>
    3105 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2987
    31062988<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Fertilizer. Rabbit manure often contains high proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, and it comes in convenient drypellet form.</P>
    3107 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2989
    31082990<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">- Tourist charms. In many societies, rabbits are connected with good luck. Feet and tails are used for car decorations, key chains, charms, and mementos that appeal to tourists.</P>
    3109 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2991
    31102992<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits are also used in biochemical and physiological research.</P>
    3111 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2993
    31122994<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HUSBANDRY</P>
    3113 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3114 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     2995
     2996
    31152997<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits can be housed in hutches ranging from sophisticated commercial cages to simple packing crates with a few ventilation holes and rough troughs for food and water. In all cases, watertight roofing is essential. A floor space of only 0.25 m&Yacute; is sufficient for one rabbit, but about 1 m&Yacute; is recommended for a female and her young.</P>
    3116 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     2998
    31172999<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Starting small-scale rabbit production is generally inexpensive. An almost infinite variety of backyard feeding and drinking equipment can be made from various scrap items, such as old bottles. The main criteria are that cleaning should be easy and spillage minimized.</P>
    3118 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3000
    31193001<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In practice, diets can be based largely on herbage: grass, leaves, legumes, crop residues, and kitchen scraps. However, the diet must be wholesome, and caged rabbits fed on forage usually need some grain or agricultural by-products (rice bran, for instance) as a dietary supplement. Supplementation is particularly important for newborns and lactating females, whose diet must contain about 16 percent protein and at least 18 percent fiber. When "noncommercial" feeds are used, salt must be added to prevent salt deficiency.</P>
    3120 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3002
    31213003<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Because of higher protein content, legumes (for instance, alfalfa, cowpea, vetch, or pea) are better than grass. Alfalfa is particularly valuable, and in the Sudan and Mozambique it is already grown extensively for feeding rabbits. On diets consisting of alfalfa and rye grass, weaned New Zealand Whites have demonstrated growth rates of 38-39 g per day in animals weighing up to 2 kg.</P>
    3122 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3004
    31233005<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ADVANTAGES</P>
    3124 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3125 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3006
     3007
    31263008<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits, as mentioned, can utilize almost any type of edible vegetation. Also, despite their diminutive size, they can collectively produce as much meat per unit of forage as large livestock, or even more (see page 183).6</P>
    3127 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3009
    31283010<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There is much genetic diversity. Differences in growth rate, fertility, maternal ability, milk production, disease resistance, heat resistance, and other features have been noted. This is useful, since a wide genetic base enhances the likelihood of success of selection programs.</P>
    3129 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3011
    31303012<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbits are easy to handle and can be raised under primitive conditions. They require little financial investment and their husbandry is easily accomplished in the home by women and children.</P>
    3131 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3013
    31323014<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The animal's rapid reproduction is a big advantage.</P>
    3133 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3015
    31343016<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    3135 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3136 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3017
     3018
    31373019<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tropical conditions produce special problems. There, rabbits must be protected from heat and rain. Stress brought on by high temperatures, high humidity, and wet conditions can lead to respiratory disorders and even sudden death.</P>
    3138 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3020
    31393021<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Most diseases are caused by poor management. Dirty or wet cages lead to diarrhea, sores, mites, and ringworm, all of which can cause serious losses. Enteritis (diarrhea) often kills 20 percent or more of all rabbits before they attain market age and weight. A major disease problem in most countries is coccidiosis, which is particularly harmful to young rabbits. Again, damp and unsanitary conditions increase the susceptibility; better management can control it. </P>
    3140 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3022
    31413023<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In some countries - notably Australia and New Zealand - escaping rabbits have become a serious menace and have destroyed crops and grazing lands. Because of this threat, it is illegal to import rabbits into some countries.</P>
    3142 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3024
    31433025<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">At present, many people are unaccustomed to eating rabbit. Indeed, where commercial ventures have been established in areas with an otherwise plentiful meat supply, there have been financial failures. However, where rabbit meat is familiar, there is usually great demand for it. Also, in poorer areas where animal protein is in short supply, the tasty pink meat is widely appreciated.</P>
    3144 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3026
    31453027<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">HOW RABBITS WERE DOMESTICATED</P>
    3146 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3147 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3028
     3029
    31483030<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">For 30 or 40 million years the wild species Oryctolagus Cuniculus lived only in the area that today is Spain. Caves there contain Stone Age drawings of it. Phoenician traders landing on the Iberian Peninsula in about 1100 B.C. found huge numbers of these wild rabbits. The little animals were unknown to them and they mistook them for the hyraxes they had seen in Africa. (Although small and rabbitlike, the hyrax is actually related to elephants.) Since the Semitic name for hyrax was shaphan ("one who hides"), the Phoenicians named the peninsula l-shepan-im, from which the Latin name Hispania developed. Thus, "Spain" actually means "island of hyraxes," even though these African animals have never occurred there.</P>
    3149 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3031
    31503032<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Given the rabbit's reproductive powers and adaptability it is surprising that it hadn't spread beyond Spain, but dense forests covered most of Europe after the last Ice Age. The rabbit, which is suited to open country, only spread rapidly after man had cleared most of the trees. Even then, the natural spread was slowed by the Pyrenees mountains blocking the way into the rest of Europe.</P>
    3151 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3033
    31523034<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ancient Romans became acquainted with rabbits after they invaded Spain, and they eagerly added wild rabbit meat to their banquets. The meat was so popular that around 1 A.D. Roman voyagers released a pair of rabbits onto the Balearic Islands. In time, these produced so many offspring that the islanders had to appeal to the Roman emperor for help. They even asked to be moved to another country if the emperor could not get rid of the plague of rabbits!</P>
    3153 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3035
    31543036<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Eventually, Romans in Italy, France, and other parts of the European mainland began raising rabbits for meat. They kept them in special cages called leporaria. Their rabbits were probably not truly domesticated; instead they were netted in the wild and caged for fattening before being prepared for the table. The Romans had little incentive to domesticate an animal that could be so easily captured.</P>
    3155 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3037
    31563038<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tne rabbit was the last farm animal to be domesticated. It seems likely that this did not begin until the Christian era when monks in French monasteries began taming rabbits. In those days, rabbit embryos and newborn young were considered delicacies, called "laurices." In 600 A.D. the Pope declared that laurices were "not meatp," and permitted them to be eaten during fasts and in monasteries of strict discipline where meat was forbidden. Within a few years, the animal was domesticated, </P>
    3157 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3039
    31583040<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION NEEDS</P>
    3159 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3160 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3041
     3042
    31613043<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Government-sponsored rabbit-research stations and programs are found in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom.</P>
    3162 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3044
    31633045<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rabbit husbandry is well known, but much basic research is needed; for example, specific nutrient requirements, breed comparisons, disease control, reproductive management, and efficient housing and equipment. There is a particular need to reduce the labor required for feeding, breeding, caging, and cleaning.</P>
    3164 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3046
    31653047<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">With the increasing number of rabbit programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, there is a need to share information and ideas among the various countries. The exchange of experiences with rabbit breeding, health and nutrition, and the practical experiences and field studies could be of great value.</P>
    3166 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3048
    31673049<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Further research in rabbit nutrition is necessary to identify nutrient requirements more precisely. Moreover, links between nutrition and disease should be clarified.</P>
    3168 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3050
    31693051<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Further research into the cause and prevention of enteritis is needed. (At present, this condition is prevented by maintaining a fiber level in the diet of at least 18 percent and keeping the energy level relatively low.)</P>
    3170 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3052
    31713053<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Legume shrubs could be an answer to the feed problems in the dry season. Deep-rooted shrubby legumes, such as gliricidia or leucaena, remain green well into the dry season and have high protein contents. Rabbits find the leaves of leucaena palatable (see companion report Leucaena: Promising Forage and Tree Crop for the Tropics. National Academy Press. Washington, D.C. 1984), and they are fairly resistant to mimosine (a sometimes toxic amino acid found in leucaena foliage). More research on this promising approach is needed.</P>
    3172 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3054
    31733055<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As noted earlier (page 181), a killer virus has recently appeared. Studies into its epidemiology and control are most important. </P>
    3174 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3056
    31753057<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Outsiders who hope to improve conditions in underdeveloped areas, sometimes . . . introduce new food avoidances to the communities they came to help [if outsiders] show repugnance toward consuming goats, . . . rats, . . . crows, insects, intestines and blood, then the people they are educating may likewise give up those . . . foods and lose valuable proteins.</P>
    31763058<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Calvin W. Schwabe</P>
    31773059<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Unmentionable Cuisine</P>
    3178 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3179 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3060
     3061
    31803062<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">You can count on the fingers of one hand the domestic animals that produce virtually all of mankind's meat and milk - a selection made more than 10,000 years ago by our Neolithic ancestors. Yet the earth teems with thousands of species of animals; why limit ourselves to cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep? Given the world's shortages of energy and water and arable land, why not try to domesticate wild animals? The effort would save many species from extinction, provide the world with more food, and introduce gentle farming to fragile environments.</P>
    31813063<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">N.D. Vietmeyer</P>
    3182 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"> </P>
     3064
    31833065<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><center><img src="g019a.png"></center><br>
    31843066 FIGURE</P>
    3185 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3186 <B><P ALIGN="CENTER"></P>
     3067
     3068<B>
    31873069<!--
    31883070</Section>
    … …  
    31933075  </Description>
    31943076-->
    3195 </B><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3196 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3077</B>
     3078
    31973079<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rodents are the world's most widespread, adaptable, and prolific group of mammals. They reproduce well, grow fast, learn quickly, and adapt to a wide variety of local conditions. Many convert vegetation into meat efficiently, digesting some fiber, even though their stomach, like man's, is a simple one.</P>
    3198 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3080
    31993081<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It seems probable, therefore, that some species would make suitable microlivestock - a notion supported by the previous domestication of the guinea pig, laboratory rat and mouse, gerbil, and hamster. Indeed, "ranching" rodents might be an effective way to increase food supplies in remote areas. It could also be a mechanism to ensure the survival of rare rodents whose natural habitats are being rapidly destroyed.</P>
    3200 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3082
    32013083<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">RODENTS AS FOOD</P>
    3202 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3203 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3084
     3085
    32043086<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rodents are already common foods in many countries and are valued items of commerce. It has been estimated that 42 of 383 cultures eat rodents.! But the fact that they are a major meat source is almost unrecognized. This is due in part to cultural misunderstanding. Rodents suitable for human food or other products do not live in filth, like common rats. They are clean and vegetarian. Like rabbits, they eat grass and grains.</P>
    3205 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3087
    32063088<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In some regions of the world, cooked rodent meat is regarded as the epitome of dining. In many countries, local rodent species are the most eagerly sought meats. City markets in different parts of Latin America carry guinea pig, pace, capybara, and vizcacha. Markets in Asia may carry rice rats, cloud rats, and bandicoot rats. Those of rural Africa are filled with "bushmeats" - usually including grasscutters, giant rats, and several other rodent species. These are often preferred to the meat of domestic stock and fetch higher prices than beef. And the amounts of rodent bushmeat available are not minor. In one year, for example, hunters in Botswana have brought to market 3.3 million kg of meat of the rodent called springhare (see page 278).</P>
    3207 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3089
    32083090<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fondness for rodent meat is not restricted to the tropics. In the United States, squirrel was once a much sought treat. Fat, nut-fed grey squirrels went into Brunswick stew, which has been called the most famous dish to emerge from the campfires and cabins of Colonial America. Thomas Jefferson liked it. Today, squirrel is the country's number two game animal (after deer), and many are still eaten.</P>
    3209 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3091
    32103092<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Ancient Romans kept fat dormice in captivity, serving them as a delicacy. "The fat dormice are fattened up in barrel-like pots like those in country houses," wrote Varro (116-27 BC). "One feeds these animals large amounts of acorns, chestnuts, or other nuts."2 This small rodent remains a prized food in Europe and still appears on tables in certain areas. The meat is regarded as a delicacy because it tastes of almonds and other nuts. Often it is roasted, broiled, and cooked with its cracklings.</P>
    3211 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3093
    32123094<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Rodents have seldom been included in livestock programs or economic development plans. Yet human appetite has actually caused the extinction of a number of species. Caribbean Indians ate several endemic rodents (one of which was as big as a bear), and may have caused several species to become extinct just before the time of Columbus. Others may soon follow the same dismal route, including the beautiful cloud rat of the Philippines, the hare-like mare of Argentina, the vizcacha of southern South America, and the gentle hutias of the Caribbean.</P>
    3213 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3095
    32143096<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The guinea pig is described in a later chapter, but as it is the epitome of a rodent microlivestock species, some historical background is given here. It was domesticated for food use at least 7,000 years ago, probably in what is now the central highlands of Peru and Bolivia. With only llama and deer available, the prehistoric Andean peoples had few readily available sources of meat. They adopted wild cavies, and found that these rangeland rodents (which are more closely related to porcupines than to rats or mice) were gentle, manageable, and easy to rear. By the time the Spaniards arrived in the 1500s, the "cuy"  (pronounced "coo-ee," like the faint cry it makes) was a major food from  Argentina to the Caribbean.</P>
    3215 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3097
    32163098<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This impressed the conquistadores, who introduced cuys into Europe,  where they also became a delicacy.3 Within a century, these easily  transported animals began to appear on tables in many parts of the  Spanish empire. Guinea pigs are now reared in campesino huts in the  mountains of central Mexico, in the Philippines, and in several African  nations, along with other areas of the world.</P>
    3217 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3099
    32183100<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Elsewhere, guinea pigs came to be used only as house pets and  laboratory animals. Although during World War II Mussolini's  government urged Italians to keep them to supplement their meager  meat rations, their use as food was largely ignored in most parts of the  world.</P>
    3219 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3101
    32203102<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DOMESTICATION</P>
    3221 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3222 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3103
     3104
    32233105<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The idea of domesticating rodents may seem radical, but  domestication projects are already under way with capybara in  Venezuela (see page 206), pace in Panama (see next page and page  262), giant rat in Nigeria (see page 224), and the grasscutter in Ghana  (see page 232). Rodent husbandry is not complicated and the animals'  environmental requirements seem relatively simple and easy to satisfy.  Moreover, rodents are not usually fastidious feeders, and being  essentially vegetarian will readily accept a wide variety of commonly  available foodstuffs.</P>
    3224 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3106
    32253107<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">LIMITATIONS</P>
    3226 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3227 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3108
     3109
    32283110<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As with most animals with which man is in close contact, rodents can  transmit human diseases.4 With care, however, managed rodents need  not be any more dangerous to care for or to eat than pigs or  horses - both of which are worldwide food resources.  </P>
    3229 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
     3111
    32303112<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">DOMESTICATING RODENTS</P>
    3231 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></P>
    3232 <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</P>
     3113
     3114
    32333115<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">To domesticate the pace (see page 262) would seem to be impossible. These large rodents of Central and South America are nocturnal and fiercely territorial; they have low fecundity and take 10 months to reach weaning, and they have tender skin that is easily damaged Most researchers have written them off as candidates for domestication. But at least two have undertaken to beat the odds. We pr