Animals living in villages

Cows live on a dairy farm in a barn, usually divided into small spaces called stalls. In summer they eat fresh grass, hay, and food plants, and in winter they eat mostly hay. On farms, cows are milked by hand, while on farms they use milking machines that transfer the milk through long tubes to a cooling tank. It is then sent to factories for processing and packaging. Bulls once helped the peasant in field work. Nowadays, if bulls are not slaughtered for meat when they are young, they become breeding bulls and are used for the reproduction of livestock.

Goats and sheep

Goats are bred not only for milk. The wool of some breeds is especially durable, and beautiful warm lace scarves are knitted from fluff. Sheep are bred mainly for wool, which is the best raw material for the production of fabrics, knitwear, carpets and everyone's favorite sheepskin coats. In the spring, sheep are shorn, and by winter the wool grows back and serves as protection from the cold. Goats and sheep live in closed pens - they are called sheepfolds. Sheep and goats are grazed from early spring to late autumn. Goats are one of the few animals that manage to find food in dry areas. They even eat plant roots. The peasants know this very well and do not allow them near their gardens.

Poultry

An indispensable part of a peasant farm is a poultry yard, where chickens, ducks, geese live, as well as the largest poultry - turkeys, whose weight can reach 12-16 kg. Ducks and geese need a body of water to swim in. Birds are bred not only for their eggs, but also for their meat - tender, tasty and rich in nutrients.

Geese and ducks

Ducks have webbed feet, and their feathers are covered with a layer of fat that keeps them from getting wet when the birds swim. They eat small aquatic animals, worms and snails. In contrast, geese are mainly herbivores. Feather beds and pillows are stuffed with soft down, and warm winter down jackets are made from it. In some countries, such as France and Belgium, these birds are treated very cruelly. It is customary there to feed geese so that their livers painfully enlarge. It is used to prepare a delicious pate - foie gras.

How geese saved Rome. There was a time when geese were sacrificed and revered as a sacred bird. This was connected with the legend about how geese saved Rome. A long time ago, the geese dozing on the walls of Ancient Rome, hearing the approach of the enemy, began to make noise, raised its defenders and thereby saved the city from capture.

In the 16th century, German peasants chose the goose as a symbol of their uprising. This bird, if attacked, never lets down its offenders and is capable of defending itself even from predatory eagles, the images of which adorned the coats of arms of barons oppressing peasants.

Roosters and hens

Roosters and hens live in a chicken coop. On a peasant farm, during the day, birds roam freely around the yard, rummaging in the ground and looking for grains, worms and insects. The meat of chickens that live this way is very tasty and highly valued. In large poultry farms, chickens are fed food specially designed for them. These birds gain weight much faster. Some chicken breeds are raised for meat, others for eggs. The eggs are collected, sorted by weight and sent for sale.

Wild ancestors of chickens

Domestic chickens descend from wild bank chickens, living mainly in forests and bushes. For centuries, poultry farmers have selected the healthiest birds that produce the most meat and eggs.

Horse

The domestication of the horse began about 6,000 years ago. Before the era of trains and automobiles, horses were the most common means of transportation. These animals are very smart and train well. Not a single peasant farm could manage without them: they helped cultivate the land and transported goods. There are three main types of domestic horses - draft horses, light riding horses and ponies. In some countries, heavy trucks still pull plows and carry loads. Racehorses participate in sports competitions: horse racing, racing, polo, rodeo. Riding horses with riders overcome difficult places. Ponies are small horses. The height of an adult pony does not exceed 120 cm. They can often be seen in parks, harnessed to light pleasure carriages and children's carriages.

Ancient horses

The ancestors of horses were Hyracotherium. These agile animals, reaching only 60 cm in height, lived in the forests of North America approximately 55 million years ago. During evolution, horses became larger and adapted to life in open spaces.

Horses at war

Even in the Ancient world, horse-drawn war chariots appeared on the battlefields. The main military force in the Middle Ages were armored knights riding war horses. The Russian cavalry was famous for its special skill, winning more than one battle.

Donkey

The donkey as a pet is mentioned in the Bible: Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Since time immemorial, domestic donkeys, or donkeys, have been the main assistants in the household. They are not afraid of heat, cold, or hard work, and are indispensable when transporting goods along narrow streets or steep mountain paths.

Pig

Pigs are omnivores. On peasant farms, pigs are bred on free grazing: they feed on garbage, roots and worms. On pig farms they are fed a special mixture: it ensures maximum weight gain.

In peasant farms, rabbits, as a rule, live in enclosures where there is room for movement. They are bred for their meat and skins. In summer, rabbits eat grass; in winter, they eat food supplemented with cabbage and root vegetables. Female rabbits are very fertile: from 2 to 12 babies are born to them at a time. Wild rabbits and their relatives, hares, live in the wild. They are larger than rabbits, and their ears and legs are longer. Hares are a desirable prey for hunters and large predators.

Bees

In nature, honey bees make nests in the cavities of stumps, hollows or among stones. Beekeepers install hives in apiaries - wooden boxes with frames on which sheets of artificial wax are attached. Bees use this wax to build hexagonal honeycombs. Throughout the summer, bees collect pollen and nectar from flowers to produce honey, which all members of the bee colony will feed on in the winter. When the hive is filled with honey, the beekeeper in a protective mask and overalls cleans it: he collects the honey in a can. Before opening the hive, he fumigates it with smoke. Thick and cold smoke calms the bees and makes them less dangerous.

The type of honey depends on the flowers of which plants the bees collect nectar from. Honey can be flower, buckwheat, linden. There are also rarer varieties, for example chestnut with a characteristic bitter taste. What types of honey do you know?

Wild relatives and ancestors

Domestication of animals began in ancient times. When taming animals, man first of all paid attention to their “useful” traits and crossed different individuals in order to obtain offspring with traits that best suited his needs. So, a wild chicken lays 15 eggs a year, and among domestic chickens there are about 300 eggs. Modern domestic animals are not like their wild ancestors. Goats, for example, have shortened their horns over time, and cows and bulls have greatly decreased in size. The disposition of the animals also changed: gradually they became calmer and got used to people. The ancestors of some domestic animals still live in the wild, while others have become extinct.

Existing today: boar

Lives in a variety of places - from coniferous taiga to tropical forests and deserts. The body is covered with elastic bristles. Digging is a typical way for wild boars to obtain food. The animal is omnivorous, but prefers tubers, roots and fruits.

This is the wild ancestor of the pig.

mouflon

A very shy herbivore. Mouflons live on mountain slopes, reaching heights of up to 5000 m. The mouflon's coat is short and smooth. Adult males grow long, twisted horns.

This is the wild ancestor of sheep.

Extinct: wild horse

Modern horse breeds are descended from wild horses. Now only one of their ancestors has survived - the Przewalski's horse. Wild horses are very similar to domestic ones, but are inferior in size.

This is the wild ancestor of the horse.

Tour

Wild aurochs were found in Europe, North Africa and some areas of Asia. Turs were much larger than cows and bulls and had long horns. The last female aurochs died in 1627.

This is the wild ancestor of cows.