mating (redirected from Mating duration)

mating /mat·ing/ (mat´ing) pairing of individuals of opposite sexes, especially for reproduction.

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assortative mating , assorted mating, assortive mating the mating of individuals having similar qualities or constitutions.

random mating  the mating of individuals without regard to any similarity between them.

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mat·ing (mtng)

n.

The pairing of a male and a female for the purpose of reproduction.

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mating

sexual union by vagina between male and female. Called also breeding, covering, joining, serving.

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mating ability

see serving capacity test.

artificial mating

see artificial insemination.

mating behavior

in the female consists mostly of evading male advances while in proestrus and until she is in estrus when she stands quietly and copulation occurs. In males early attempts at mating occur during the females' proestrus; copulation behavior is very variable between species but generally consists of seeking, intromission, thrusting and a period of ejaculation which is very brief in ruminants, brief in horses, prolonged in pigs and very prolonged due to the development of the copulatory tie in dogs. Mating behavior in cats is the most demonstrative of all the species; the queen actively seeks the tom; copulation is very quick and characterized by the tom grasping the queen's neck nape with his teeth. During the queen's estrus period copulation usually occurs many times.

double mating

putting the female to the male twice at an interval of some hours or days to optimize the chances of conception.

mating failure

incomplete mating for any one of several causes and at any one of the several stages of the mating act.

free mating

see paddock mating (below).

hand mating

mating in which the female is detected to be in estrus and is then handheld while she is mated or is let into a paddock or pen with a male, where she is the only female. Mating is observed and can be guaranteed to have occurred. It also allows accurate recording of the day and genetics of breeding as opposed to pen mating (below).

mating harness

hobbles and sidelines are often used on mares to prevent them from kicking the stallion.

paddock mating

males and females are allowed to run uncontrolled at pasture. The percentage of males to females varies between 1% and 5% in sheep and cattle. Called also free mating.

pen mating

in species other than pigs, this form of mating is synonymous with hand mating (above). In swine, the boar is placed in a pen with a group of sows for breeding. Not all sows may be bred and the day of breeding may not be seen.

seasonal mating

the males are put in with the females only at particular times of the year in order to match good feed supplies with the arrival of lambs or with a need for maximum ovulation and fertilization.

mating tie

see copulatory tie.