Chapter 864
The Significance of Bloodline and Genealogy
Yue Feng wasn't exaggerating at all when he said that.
As mentioned earlier, wild-caught breeding birds and raptors cannot be artificially inseminated or artificially fertilized. The only hope is to provide them with suitable opportunities to naturally mate with other birds of their kind and then reproduce.
However, second-generation chicks raised with their parents using double-marking artificial breeding have far fewer restrictions.
These offspring of the double-marked birds have no concept of species difference; humans and their parent birds are the same species, so artificial sperm collection and artificial insemination are possible.
To expand on this further, in modern pig farms, many breeding sows no longer need to be bred by boars. They may only need a small tube of high-quality boar sperm to successfully conceive and produce offspring.
The same principle applies to raptors with double markings, except that raptors have a relatively short estrus window, making it difficult to maintain estrus year-round. Furthermore, the sperm obtained from breeding birds cannot be preserved for a long time, which presents some objective limitations on a technical level.
Even so, it's enough.
To put it somewhat loosely, as long as you obtain healthy sperm from the breeding birds, all you need to produce a large number of hybrid falcons is sexually mature and estrus-bound female breeding birds!
When the time comes, we can use technology to fertilize suitable female birds in batches, and obtain fertilized eggs from 'single parent' breeding.
If you combine it with technological means such as incubators, it will be even simpler.
Of course, these are all things to be discussed later. At present, we don't have that kind of scale. It's enough to have both parent birds and humans involved in feeding and raising the chicks.
"If everything goes smoothly, how long will it take for this little one to reach sexual maturity?"
Jinlong seemed somewhat expectant when he heard Yue Feng's generous promise.
Yue Feng said with a smile, "Male birds mature relatively late, and on average, it takes two to three years for them to be confident that everything will go smoothly!"
Of course, there are exceptions.
If they develop early and have sufficient nutrition, a male breeding bird that is one and a half years old has a chance!
The probability is much higher if the child is over two years old! They will definitely reach sexual maturity by age three!
This little one's father is a two-year-old first-generation white male falcon! The feed at the breeding farm is quite good; there's a constant supply of blood and goat food, so the breeding bird has never gone hungry and has developed early!
"Okay, then it'll be at least two years from now!"
"Haha, two years? That's just a blink of an eye! Think about how long we've known each other!"
Yue Feng grinned, and with his free left hand, he casually touched the little one's lip.
The little thing knew its owner was playing with it, so it very obediently fluffed its feathers, gently hooked and nibbled at Yue Feng's fingers with its mouth, while making soft humming sounds from its throat.
"If you put it that way, there's nothing wrong with it! How long do you plan to stay in the capital this time?"
"I'll stay for ten days or half a month!"
Brother Jun, have you been busy lately? I didn't come here for anything too important. I mainly went to the club's venue to take a look at the actual construction progress.
Also, I need to check on the falcon chicks I brought back in the spring!
When I go back, I'll have to take one or two breeding birds back to the farm!
"Only Brother Jun could get this falcon chick back. If we go to Inner Mongolia, Gansu, or Xinjiang to look for it, it won't be easy!"
Upon hearing that Yue Feng planned to take two falcon chicks back to Northeast China, Jin Long asked with some confusion, "You already have the second-generation dual-inscription falcons and gyrfalcons, why do you need falcons?"
This thing is neither as big nor as good a hunter as a gyrfalcon!
Yue Feng explained with a smile, "If we only consider single indicators like hunting instincts and size, the saker falcon is indeed inferior to the Altai falcon and the gyrfalcon. But breeding raptors is not as simple as you think!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Jinlong scratched his head, not understanding what Yuefeng meant.
Yue Feng patiently explained, "You might not understand what I mean by raptor breeding and hybridization, so let me answer in a way that you can understand!"
Among your friends or acquaintances, there must be some who keep pigeons or dogs, right?
"That's true. A childhood friend of mine has a retired dad who raises hundreds of pigeons at home. Apparently, there are different breeds and a lot of stories about them!"
Yue Feng nodded: "That's right. In fact, if you want to do a good job in raptor breeding, you also need to have this concept!"
Look, the farm I have in hand doesn't actually have many cards left to play!
A pair of mutated grey-backed falcon chicks, closely related species, are only one year old! They won't reach sexual maturity until at least next year!
Another breed is a pure second-generation gyrfalcon chick, bred from two wild-caught birds, the Great Black Hawk and the Little White Hawk!
Another species is the rare Altai Grey Falcon from last autumn! It hybridized with a second-generation Gyrfalcon to produce the hybrid falcon we have today!
If we trace it back by bloodline, there are essentially these three directions! The second and third types are still related by blood, and there's a chance that crossbreeding will lead to issues with kinship!
Breeding birds of prey is not as simple as breeding pigeons or hunting dogs. They only go into heat once a year, and at most they can have one successful brood. If you count artificial egg-stealing, you can count two broods at most!
If we don't consider the issue of inbreeding in the future, the problems with the lineage and bloodline will be exposed in just a few generations!
In the future, the best breeding birds will all be related, and the more they breed, the more likely they will be to develop deformities and various genetic diseases!
Adding falcon chicks to subsequent breeding programs can greatly increase the margin for error.
After the genes of new bird species are diluted, and after one or two generations, pairing and breeding will greatly reduce the probability of problems in offspring!
This is a consideration from the perspective of raptor lineage.
In addition, introducing new offspring from the perspectives of offspring predatory instincts and quality can also increase the range of options available for selection.
The saker falcon is smaller and less adept at hunting than the gyrfalcon, but it may have a greater tolerance for high temperatures. Additionally, it may offer advantages in other unforeseen factors such as disease resistance, egg production, and plumage color.
After Yue Feng's professional explanation of raptor breeding, Jinlong and Li Fulin exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a sense of awe and wonder.
Jinlong nodded slightly, giving Yue Feng a thumbs-up with heartfelt admiration: "Alright! You're a professional at this! I reckon there's no one else in the country who can do what you're doing right now!"
"Don't worry about it. If you need anything, just let us know. We might not be able to help with other things, but we can lend a hand with getting permits or handling paperwork!"
While they were talking, dinner was almost ready in the kitchen.
The aunt that Jinlong arranged to come from his own home to help last time has come to Yuefeng's place again to help take care of his daily life.
Upon hearing the invitation, the three washed their hands and prepared to eat. They chatted and drank while enjoying the hot home-cooked dishes, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
After a hearty meal and drinks, Jinlong stayed at Yuefeng BJ's house until 10 p.m. before driving away.
Uncle Li and Yue Feng rested in the main room of the north house, while Auntie stayed in the same bedroom in the east wing as before.
After seeing Jinlong off, Yuefeng fed Xiaobudian meat with the eagle feed he had stockpiled at home, and then went to bed to rest.
Soon, the fatigue from the train journey took hold, and Yue Feng drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Yue Feng woke up from his sleep upon hearing the shouts.
When Little Dot goes to sleep at night, Yue Feng doesn't like to put a hat on it. This little chick has only been out of the nest for a short time, and every morning when it doesn't see anyone and is hungry, it will routinely make a fuss for a while.
Yue Feng got out of bed, dressed, and went into the living room.
Upon seeing its owner, the little creature immediately raised its bark and fluttered its wings to beg for food.
"Alright, alright, weren't you fed last night? Are you hungry again after just one night?"
Yue Feng reached out and took the little one, then stroked its fur to soothe it a few times, and the little guy's crying for food quickly subsided. At this moment, Li Fulin also came out of the house after getting dressed, carrying a very handsome little pine nut in his hand.
This little pine cone was caught by Little Eagle Liu himself; it was the main hunting eagle that Li Fulin used to cage the big eagle to feed the big blue dragon.
The ten persimmon-shaped dried meat pieces are not large, but their appearance is quite good. When the meat is tucked in, it looks as round and plump as a small radish.
Li Fulin held an eagle in his left hand and carried a small eagle pouch with a copper coin pattern on his back.
Judging from this, it seems they took advantage of the window of opportunity when sparrows came down to forage at dawn to go out and relax.
"Uncle Li, good morning! Are you going out to relax?" Yue Feng greeted him politely.
"Yes! Catching ten or so birds a day is enough, taking about an hour each way. It's like getting some exercise in the morning!" Li Fulin said truthfully.
"Auntie prepared breakfast for us, why don't you eat it before you go?" Yue Feng asked.
"No need, you don't need to wait for me, just eat at home first! I'll be back in a bit! I usually cook when I get home by myself, so I have plenty of time!"
"Alright, you go ahead then. I'll stay home for a while. I don't have anything to do this morning, so I'll go to Uncle Liu's house. Let's go together. I brought some local mountain products with me, so I'll give some to my uncle!"
"Okay, let's go together then! Are we still going to the club?"
"Let's go to the club around noon or in the afternoon! Jinlong gets up late this morning, let's ride with him!"
"okay!"
……
After a brief discussion, Li Fulin carried Songzi out of the house, while Yue Feng led the little one into the yard.
In June, the morning temperature was already quite high. Yue Feng moved a square table into the yard and ate the breakfast prepared by his aunt outdoors.
As for the little guy, after spending dozens of hours on the train huddled in a cage, he had long wanted to stretch his arms. As soon as Yue Feng let go of the eagle in the yard, the little guy couldn't wait to fly into the sky.
It had plenty of stamina and climbed quite rapidly. After reaching an altitude of about 100 meters, it spread its wings and used the airflow to circle around the courtyard of the traditional courtyard house to observe the surrounding area.
Yue Feng was quite confident in the little guy's affection for him. He lowered his head, held his bowl, and ate his porridge, occasionally glancing up at the black dots in the sky.
After a meal, the little guy's playtime is almost over.
Yue Feng wiped his hands with a towel, then whistled towards the sky. The next second, the little guy swooped down almost in a straight line with a whistling sound and landed on Yue Feng's arm.
Gaa gaa gaa!
The little guy flapped its wings, making begging sounds and gestures. Yue Feng held out the prepared meat bowl and fed the eagle by hand.
This morning, I fed them the meat of a big-eyed thief, which was carefully broken into small pieces. The bones and fur were also mixed in with the meat.
The little guy has a genetic predisposition to rodent food, so he ate with great relish. He devoured a large-eyed thief, and his crop bulged, just about 80% full.
Having filled its belly, the little one became noticeably quieter, squatting on Yue Feng's arm and occasionally preening its feathers, looking quite content.
Yue Feng put the eagle cap on it and placed it on the large eagle perch in the yard. Then he went to the south wing, picked up a broom, and started cleaning the large blue dragon's cage.
Normally, Ying arranged for Li Fulin to take care of him so that he wouldn't cause any trouble. Now that Li Fulin has come to Beijing, Yue Feng doesn't feel that he is any better than anyone else.
Serving Ying Yuefeng didn't feel like work; on the contrary, he enjoyed it.
He opened the cage door, and after people came in, he opened the second door inside before taking a broom and sweeping the cage.
To be honest, there weren't any stubborn stains in the cages that required much cleaning.
The big blue dragon wasn't afraid of people. It just glanced at Yue Feng and then continued to squat on the high pole, loosening its feathers and resting.
Yue Feng swept up all the feathers that the eagle had shed from the ground, and then cleaned up the sand basin and water basin under the window.
After completing a simple cleaning, Yue Feng went to the bottom of the high bar and picked up a still damp ball of hairy food.
This hair must have just come out of the big blue dragon this morning; it's not completely dry yet.
Yue Feng pinched the food ball, slightly pried it open with his fingertips, glanced at it a few times, and then brought it to his nose for a brief sniff.
The food ball was very refreshing and had a slightly sour smell, which is the smell of normal digestive juices.
Everything was normal with the food ball, and Yue Feng's last bit of worry vanished without a trace.
Using live food to make cages for eagles has both advantages and disadvantages.
While eagles are indeed in good condition due to ample food and blood, they are also susceptible to minor ailments common to other birds.
For example, certain bacteria, or parasites.
Eagles may not show any symptoms after eating these potentially harmful foods in the short term, but in the long run, they will have a significant impact. In this case, it is necessary to eliminate potential risks through daily observation and examination of the feather shafts.
Uncle Li put a lot of effort into taking care of the eagles, feeding them live prey for a period of time before feeding them, minimizing the risks as much as possible.
Here's a little digression.
Since even catching live prey carries risks, what is the safest food to feed eagles under ideal circumstances?
Few people could come up with the answer.
Day-aged chickens! Or day-aged ducks!
Newly hatched chickens, if handled properly, are the safest food for birds of prey, bar none.
These chicks that hatch from eggs pose virtually no risk, as long as they remain fresh!
Of course, at present, it is difficult for ordinary families to obtain large quantities of day-old chickens to feed eagles, and long-term storage is also a problem.
Yue Feng meticulously cleaned the caged eagle's enclosure, and Li Fulin returned shortly after.
The two chatted in the yard for a while, waiting for Uncle Li to finish breakfast, and then rode their bicycles together straight to Grandpa Liu's house. (End of Chapter)