Gestation and Lactation Period
In mammals, gestation is the time between conception and birth, during which the embryo or fetus is developing in the uterus. The time interval of a gestation is called the gestation period.
- The length of gestation varies from species to species. The shortest known gestation is that of the Virginian opossum, about 12 days, and the longest that of the Indian elephant, about 22 months.
- Usually, smaller animals have shorter periods of gestation than larger ones except few cases. Another factor is that, in many species with restricted breeding seasons, gestation is adjusted so that birth coincides with the period when food is most abundant.
- Animals that live in the open tend to have longer gestations and to bear young that have reached a state of greater maturity than do animals that can conceal their young in underground burrows or in caves.
- In animals such as the rabbit or pig, which bear many young at a time, gestation is shorter for larger litters than for smaller ones.
- Heredity also influences gestation; for example, in cattle the mean gestation period for Holstein-Friesians is 279 days; for Brown Swiss, 290 days; other breeds fall between these extremes.
Gestation & Lactaion Period of some common Animals
Mammal Average Gestation Period (days) Lactation period (days) Cattle (Bos taurus) 283 305 Domestic Goat (Capra hircus) 150 284 Domestic Pig (Sus domesticus) 113 - Domestic Rabbit 31 - Sheep (Ovis aries) 150 100 Domestic cat 64 - Domestic Dog 61 - River Buffalo 305-320 200-300 Swamp Buffalo 320-340 200-300
Lactation Period
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young.
The length of milk producing period after calving is known as lactation period. The optimum lactation period is 305 days.
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