4. Name the methods employed in animal breeding. According to you which of the methods is best? Why?
The term animal breeding refers to the selective breeding of interrelated animals to create new combinations of characters. The methods of animal breeding are divided into two categories i.e. natural methods of animal breeding and controlled breeding experiments. The natural methods of breeding are as follows:
Out-breeding - It refers to the process of the mating of unrelated animals which may be between individuals of the same breed but having no common ancestor for 4-6 generations or between different breeds or different species.
Out-crossing - The term outcrossing is the mating of animals of the same breed with no common ancestor for 4-6 generations. The offspring produced in such a way is referred to as outcross.
Cross-breeding - In cross-breeding superior male of one breed is allowed to mate with the superior female of another breed
Interspecific hybridisation- Interspecific hybridisation refers to the mating of Individuals of different species.
The controlled breeding experiments may be carried out in two ways i.e. artificial insemination and multiple ovulation embryo transfer.
Artificial insemination- This is the process of artificially introducing the semen collected from a superior male is injected into the oviducts of a female. This method is used in case of complications
Multiple ovulation embryo transfer - In this method of animal breeding females are injected with FSH and LH hormones that cause superovulation (production of 6-8 eggs) in them. later on, these females are fertilised to form multiple offspring through artificial insemination. The fertilised eggs are then obtained and induced in surrogate mothers so that superovulation can again take place. This method is used for improving the herd. Controlled breeding experiments are considered better than natural methods as through them we can obtain animals with desirable characteristics.