fertilization

To attract a male, the female horse, or mare, urinates, raising her tail and revealing her vulva. An interested male horse, or stallion, approaching with a high head and tail and ears drooped backwards, will nicker, nip and nudge her, as well as sniff her urine to determine her sexual maturity.

This innate behaviour stimulates the mares secretion and the stallions erection. If both the mare and stallion are satisfied with each other, he will mount her and copulation will occur.

Often they will periodically repeat courtship and breeding while the mare continues to secrete oestrogen.

Mare and Foal

The mother horse, or mare, carries her foal for 11 months.

Most mares give birth in the spring to a single baby (foal), sometimes twins. Mares produce milk for their young and will feed them for several months.

Within 1 - 2 hours of birth a foal is able to stand up and walk.

When foals are born their legs are almost the same length as they are when they are fully grown - their legs are so long they find it difficult to reach down to the grass to eat.

Foaling normally takes place at night or early in the morning and is generally over in 15 minutes. Once the foal comes out, the mare will chew on the membranes/placenta to prevent the foal from suffocating and lick the newborn foal to help blood circulation. In fifteen minutes, the foal will attempt to stand and get milk from its mother. A foal should stand and nurse within the first hour of life. Foals can focus with their eyes almost as soon as they are born. The foal/filly is born with no teeth. They cut their first teeth within a week. As it gets older, the horse grows teeth. By the time the foal/filly is six to nine months, the young horse has all of its milk teeth.

At five to six years of age, the horse replaces its milk teeth with its permanent teeth. You can tell how old a horse is by its teeth. When it becomes older it becomes even easier to tell because of the 'Galvayne Groove' on the corner of the incisor of the upper jaw. Horses are fully grown by 3 - 4 years of age.

Foaling Care

Domestic mares require specific care and nutrition to ensure that they and their foals are healthy. Mares are given Rhino shots (vaccinations against Rhinopneumonitis virus which can cause abortions) in months 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 of their gestation periods. Mares are often fed more than other horses because their bodies require extra nutrition to form and nurse a foal.

A special foaling stall or shed that is large and clutter free provides the mare with a safe place to give birth. While most horse births happen without complications, many owners have foaling kits prepared in case of a birthing emergency. After birth, a foals navel is dipped in iodine to prevent infection and the newborn is monitored to ensure that it stands and nurses without difficulty.

HORSE

A Horse (Equus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus.

Equus comes from the ancient Greek word meaning quickness. Horses are mammals in the same family as zebras, mules and donkeys.

Most breeds of horses are able to perform work such as carrying humans on their backs or be harnessed to pull objects such as carts or plows. However, horse breeds were developed to allow horses to be specialized for certain tasks. Lighter horses were bred for racing or riding, heavier horses for farming and other tasks requiring pulling power. Some horses, such as the miniature horse, can be kept as pets.

The horse plays a prominent role as a figure in the ideals of religion, mythology and art and plays an important role in transportation, agriculture and warfare.

Horses come in lots of different colours and shades - take a look at some of these colours below:

Bay Black Brown Chestnut

Fleabitten Grey Skewbald Albino

Appaloosa Dun Palomino Piebald

Roan

Horse Life Span

Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. It is uncommon, but a few horses live into their 40s and occasionally, beyond. The oldest verifiable record was 'Old Billy', a horse that lived in the 19th century to the age of 62. In modern times, Sugar Puff, who had been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worlds oldest then-living pony, died at age 56.

Regardless of a horses actual birthdate, for most competition purposes, horses are considered a year older on January 1 of each year in the northern hemisphere and August 1 in the southern hemisphere. The exception is endurance riding, where the minimum age to compete is based on the horses actual calendar age.

Horse Hooves

Horses that work or travel on hard roads need their feet (hooves) protected by metal shoes. Horses hooves, like our finger and toe nails, also grow continuously and need to be trimmed. To do this, the horses shoes need to be removed and their hooves trimmed every 4 - 6 weeks. After trimming their hooves new shoes are fitted. The person who cares for a horses feet is called a blacksmith.

How Horses are measured

Horses are measured by the width of a human hand - 4 inches or 10 centimetres. Measurement is taken from the ground up to the withers, the highest point on the horses shoulder.

Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up

 to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male.

Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Males defend the pride's territory, which may include some 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) of grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands. These intimidating animals mark the area with urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their turf.

Female lions are the pride's primary hunters. They often work together to prey upon antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands. Many of these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off.

After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help to hunt until they are about a year old. Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself, and they also steal kills from hyenas or wild dogs.

Lions have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength. They once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. Today they are found only in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, except for one very small population of Asian lions that survives in India's Gir Forest.

These very large, powerful eagles are also striking in appearance. They are dark but dramatically colored with white tail, shoulders, rump, thighs and forehead.

These eagles are believed to breed only in far eastern Russia, along the coasts and surrounding islands of the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea. They are most common on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Each winter, many Steller's sea eagles migrate from their breeding grounds to Japan, and a few reach Korea or even farther afield. Other individuals do not migrate, but simply move to open water as winter approaches.

Open water provides these eagles with their main food sources along coastlines and lakes. In their breeding grounds, Steller's sea eagles subsist largely on salmon, and they both hunt and scavenge for this resource. Annual salmon runs provide an enormous bounty and Steller's sea eagle nests are typically located near coasts and rivers where these fish appear en masse.

These birds of prey hunt from a perch or from flight by diving and clutching prey in their talons. They also stand in shallow water or on the ice and grab passing fish when the opportunity arises. Like other eagles, Steller's also steal food from other birds.

In Japan, Steller's sea eagles feast on cod. In addition to fish, they eat crabs, shellfish, squid, small animals, ducks, gulls, and carrion.

Steller's sea eagles do not occur in large numbers, but their populations appear to be stable. Their feathers were once highly prized, but today these magnificent birds are protected throughout their range. They are especially revered in Japan, where they are known as O-washi

The thick-billed murre swims far better than it flies. Takeoff is awkward, but once it's airborne, it can fly at
 about 75 miles an hour (120 kilometers an hour). Among the deepest underwater divers of all birds, it uses its stubby wings to "fly" through the water, routinely reaching depths of more than 330 feet (100 meters)—sometimes even twice that—in pursuit of the fish, squid, and crustaceans it feeds on.

Covered in black feathers on its head, back, and wings and white feathers on its breast and underside, this waterbird can be found in and around Arctic waters. In the summer it breeds off the rocky coasts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Russia. But in winter—when it's not breeding—the thick-billed murre is at sea, off the edge of open ice southward to Nova Scotia and northern British Columbia. It also winters off the coasts of Greenland, northern Europe, and southward in the Pacific Ocean to northern Japan.

The thick-billed murre doesn’t build nests. Instead, the female joins others of her species in a large, noisy colony and lays a single egg on a narrow cliff ledge. She then arranges pebbles and other debris close to the egg, cementing them with feces to form a support that prevents the large egg from rolling off the ledge if it dislodges. The egg hatches in 30 to 35 days. Both parents feed the chick, caring for it until it fledges at about 21 days old. At this time, chicks make a migratory journey that is unique among birds, swimming as far as 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) in the first leg to their wintering grounds off the coast of Newfoundland.

Although thick-billed murre numbers are generally healthy, the birds are vulnerable to oil spills and gill-netting. Each year in a traditional food hunt, native people in Canada shoot the birds near breeding colonies. Others are hunted during their migration from the coast of Greenland.

Peacocks are large, colorful pheasants (typically blue and green) known for their iridescent tails. These tail feathers, or coverts, spread out in a distinctive train that is more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length and boast colorful "eye" markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. The large train is used in mating rituals and courtship displays. It can be arched into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females are believed to choose their mates according to the size, color, and quality of these outrageous feather trains.

The term "peacock" is commonly used to refer to birds of both sexes. Technically, only males are peacocks. Females are peahens, and together, they are called peafowl.

Suitable males may gather harems of several females, each of which will lay three to five eggs. In fact, wild peafowl often roost in forest trees and gather in groups called parties.

Peacocks are ground-feeders that eat insects, plants, and small creatures. There are two familiar peacock species. The blue peacock lives in India and Sri Lanka, while the green peacock is found in Java and Myanmar (Burma). A more distinct and little-known species, the Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests.

Peafowl such as the blue peacock have been admired by humans and kept as pets for thousands of years. Selective breeding has created some unusual color combinations, but wild birds are themselves bursting with vibrant hues. They can be testy and do not mix well with other domestic birds.

The northern cardinal is so well loved that it has been named the official bird of no fewer than seven U.S
states. Bright red cardinals are easily identified by even casual bird watchers, and are often seen frequenting backyards and bird feeders. When foraging elsewhere the birds eat insects, seeds, grain, fruit, and sap.

Cardinals, also called "redbirds," do not migrate and have traditionally been more common in warmer climes such as the U.S. southeast. However, in recent decades they have expanded their common range north through the United States and even into Canada. This population growth may be due to an increase in winter birdfeeders and to the bird's ability to adapt to parks and suburban human habitats.

Only males sport the brilliant red plumage for which their species is known. The color is a key to mating success—the brighter the better. Females are an attractive tan/gray.

Cardinals are active songbirds and sing a variety of different melodies.

Males can be aggressive when defending their territory, and they frequently attack other males who intrude. This tendency sometimes leads cardinals to fly into glass windows, when they charge an "intruding bird" that is really their own reflection.

Cardinals are fairly social and join in flocks that may even include birds of other species. During mating season, however, groups dissolve into pairs. Male birds feed their monogamous partners as they incubate clutches of eggs—typically three per season.

Named for their clumsy, awkward appearance when walking on land, common loons are migratory birds which breed in forested lakes and large ponds in northern North America and parts of Greenland and Iceland. They winter all along North America’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts as well as in Europe and Iceland.

Their unusual cries, which vary from wails to tremolos to yodels, are distinct to individuals and can be heard at great distances. Loon cries are most prevalent during breeding season as pairs aggressively defend their territories.

Loons have striking red eyes, black heads and necks, and white striping, checkering, and spotting on their backs. They grow up to three feet (91 centimeters) in length and weigh up to 12 pounds (5 kilograms), feeding largely on fish and invertebrates.

Their predators are diverse and can strike from all directions as they include birds like gulls, ravens, and crows, fish such as pike, and land mammals such as raccoons, weasels, and skunks.

They nest lakeside and incubate their eggs for 27 to 30 days. Hatchlings leave the nest on their first day and are able to fly in about 11 weeks.

There are many Native American legends about common loons. And to this day the Inuit legally hunt over 4,500 a year for subsistence. Loon populations are currently stable, but a number of threats loom, including human encroachment and pollution

Brown Swiss Cow

The Brown Swiss Cow is a breed of dairy cow that produces the second largest quantity of milk per year.
Their milk contains on average 4% butterfat and 3.5% protein, making their milk excellent for production of cheese. The Brown Swiss Cow is known for its long gestation period, immense size, large furry ears and an extremely docile temperament.
However, the Brown Swiss Cow is quite a resilient breed of cattle. Brown Swiss Cows are hardy and capable of exisitng with little care or feed. The Brown Swiss Cow originated on the slopes of the Alps in Switzerland and because they were bred in this harsh climate, they are resistant to the heat, cold and many other common cattle problems.
The conventional breed known as Brown Swiss cow is actually quite different from the original Schwyzer Braunvieh cattle cultivated in northern Italy and southern Germany around the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. When imported to America in the early 1800s many dairymen complained that the Brown Swiss appeared to be nothing more than another variety of Jersey cattle and the strain was subsequently bred for size to differentiate them more clearly.

Ayrshire Cow

The Ayrshire cow is another breed of dairy cow which originates from Ayrshire in Scotland.
The average mature Ayrshire cow weighs 1000 - 1300 pounds.
Ayrshire cows have distinct red markings which can be an orange to a dark brown colour, with or without coloured legs.
Ayrshire cows are known for low somatic cell counts, ability to convert grass into milk efficiently and hardiness. The Ayrshire cows' strong points are the now desired traits of easy calving and longevity.
The Ayrshire cows are also known as Dunlop cattle or Cunninghame cattle. Ayrshire cows were exported to all parts of the world and extensive cattle docks used to exist at Cunninghamhead station for loading and export purposes.

Jersey Cow

Jersey Cows are either solid brown, fawn or brown splashed with white. Jersey Cows are typically the shade of fawn, however, can vary in colour, although their underneath is often a lighter shade.
The Jersey Cow originated from the small British Island of Jersey in the English Channel. The Jersey Cow is one of the oldest dairy cows and has been pure-bred for over six centuries.
The cattle on the Island of Jersey were once known as Alderney Cattle, however, they were later referred to as just Jersey Cows. Most Jersey Cows have a broad face with prominent eyes. Jersey Cows can tolerate the heat more than other cows and are therefore found in warmer climates around the world. They are excellent grazers and have an average weight of around 00 pounds1200-900.
Bulls are also small, ranging from 1200 to 1800 pounds (540 to 820 kg), and are notoriously aggressive.
Even though Holstein cows are mainly used for dairy produce, Jersey cows are high milk produces and can produce 13 times their own body weight in milk. The milk from a Jersey Cow is very rich in butterfat and protein. Like all other cows, Jersey Cows spend 6 hours a day eating and 8 hours a day chewing cud.

Holstein Cow

The Holstein Cow is the most popular cow and is coloured black and white.
Holstein cows are the ones you are most likely to see in British countryside fields.
Holstein cows each have a unique, black and white patched hide. No two cow hides are ever the same.
A mature Holstein cow stands around 58 inches tall and weighs 1500 pounds. A Holstein calf weighs between 80 and 110 pounds at birth. The productive life of a Holstein cow is between 3 and 6 years. Most dairy farmers use Holstein cows for milk production because they are bigger and better cows

This powerful eagle is North America's largest bird of prey and the national bird of Mexico. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks. They are extremely swift, and can dive upon their quarry at speeds of more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour.
Golden eagles use their speed and sharp talons to snatch up rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels. They also eat carrion, reptiles, birds, fish, and smaller fare such as large insects. They have even been known to attack full grown deer. Ranchers once killed many of these birds for fear that they would prey on their livestock, but studies showed that the animal's impact was minimal. Today, golden eagles are protected by law.
Golden eagle pairs maintain territories that may be as large as 60 square miles (155 square kilometers). They are monogamous and may remain with their mate for several years or possibly for life. Golden eagles nest in high places including cliffs, trees, or human structures such as telephone poles. They build huge nests to which they may return for several breeding years. Females lay from one to four eggs, and both parents incubate them for 40 to 45 days. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months.
These majestic birds range from Mexico through much of western North America as far north as Alaska; they also appear in the east but are uncommon. Golden eagles are also found in Asia, northern Africa, and Europe.
Some golden eagles migrate, but others do not—depending on the conditions of their geographic location. Alaskan and Canadian eagles typically fly south in the fall, for example, while birds that live in the western continental U.S. tend to remain in their ranges year-round.

Interesting Cow Facts

The oldest cow ever recorded was a Dremon Cow named 'Big Bertha' who died 3 months just before her 49th birthday on New Years Eve, 1993.
'Big Bertha' also holds the record for lifetime breeding as she produced 39 calves.
The heaviest live birth of a calf is 225 lbs for a British Friesian cow in 1961.
Dairy cows can produce 125 pounds of saliva a day.
Dairy cows can produce up to 200 pounds of flatus (trumps and burps) a day!
Cows often have their ears pierced-with I.D. tags.
People first domesticated cows about 5000 years ago.
The Holstein cow produces the most milk of all breeds.
Cows can live to the age of 25 years old if people would let them.
A cow stands up and sits down about 14 times a day.
In an average herd, there is 1 bull to every 30 cows.
Cows can detect odours up to five miles away.
The age of a cow can be determined by counting the rings on its horns.
Cows can see colour.
There are approximately 350 'squirts' in a gallon of milk.
Cows can pick and lick their noses with their tongues.
Cows drink 25 - 50 gallons of water each day. That is nearly a bathtub full.
When the Pilgrims went to America, they took cows with them.

How to determine the age of a cow

The age of a cow is determined by examination of the teeth and less perfectly by the horns. The temporary teeth are in part erupted at birth and all the incisors are erupted within twenty days.
The first, second and third pairs of temporary molars are erupted in thirty days. The teeth have grown large enough to touch each other by the sixth month. They gradually wear and fall in eighteen months. The fourth permanent molars are through at around the fourth month. The fifth at the fifteenth month and the sixth at two years. The temporary teeth begin to fall at twenty-one months and are entirely replaced by the thirty-ninth to the forty-fifth month.

Cow Reproduction

The average cow is 2 years old when she has her first calf.
Calves are fed from the cow until they are between 8 and 9 weeks old. It is essential for a calf to be fed their mothers milk from the start as it contains antibodies that protect the new calf from diseases.
Two months before giving birth, a dairy cow takes a rest from giving milk in order to grow her calf.
During this period the cow is known as a Dry Cow. When a dairy cow gives birth, this process is called a freshening. All calves are born with horn nubs. It is common for a vet to remove these nowadays.
A young female calf is called a heifer, she is called this until she has her first calf. A young male is called a bull calf.
Did you know that cows never forget their calves. It is quite common to see them licking their grown calves just as they did when they were young.

Cows

Cows are members of the sub-family 'Bovinae' of the family 'Bovidae'. This family also includes Gazelles, Buffalo, Bison, Antelopes, Sheep and Goats.
Cows are raised for many reasons including: milk, cheese, other dairy products, also for meat such as beef and veal and materials such as leather hide. In older times they were used as work animals to pull carts and to plow fields.
In some countries such as India, cows were classed as sacred animals and were used in religious ceremonies and treated with much respect.
Today, cows are domesticated ungulates (hoofed animals with two toes on each hoof) that we see very often chewing the grass in farmers fields as we walk or drive through the countryside.
There is an estimated 1.3 billion head of cattle and 920 breeds of cow in the world today. Cows are referred to as the 'fosters mothers to the human race' because they produce most of the milk that people drink.
The mature female of the species is called a 'cow'.
The mature male of the species is called a 'bull'.
A group of cows is called a 'herd'.
A young female cow is called a 'heifer'.
A baby cow is called a 'calf'.
A cow spends up to 6 hours a day eating. Cows spend over 8 hours a day chewing thier cud which is regurigated, partially digested food. Cows each drink equivalent to a bath tub full of water a day.
Cows occupy a unique role in human history. Cows have been considered one of the oldest forms of wealth. Cows have always been of interest to man because of their amazing ability to be able to provide meat and dairy products, have been strong animals to work with and also reproduce themselves while eating nothing but grass. Amazing!