Breeder

A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, or hobbyist, and can be practiced on a large or small scale, for food, fun, or profit.

About

A breeder can breed purebred pets such as cats or dogs, livestock such as cattle or horses, and may show their animals professionally in assorted forms of competitions In these specific instances, the breeder strives to meet standards in each animal set out by organizations. A breeder may also assist with the breeding animals in the zoo. In other cases, a breeder can be referred to an animal scientist who has the capabilities of developing more efficient ways to produce the meat and other animal products humans eat.

Earnings as a breeder vary widely because of the various types of work involved in the job title. Even in breeding small domestic animals, the earning differ. It mostly depends on the type of animal being bred and whether or not the breeder has a reputation of breeding champions. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that large animal breeders that work as veterinarians earned a median annual income of $61,029 in 2006. The other individuals employed in the field of animal science earned $47,800.

Breeder (animal)

In agriculture and in the hobby of animal fancy, a breeder is an individual animal used for selective breeding. Usually a breeder is a purebred animal bred with the intent of producing purebred or even show-quality animals. However, in some cases, a breeding animal is crossbred with another breed or a mixed breed with the intent of combining aspects of two or more different breeds.

Purebred and registered animals

If the breeding is for a purebred animal that will be used for exhibition or future breeding (pets or livestock), the animal must be registered and conform to the criteria laid out for that breed in a breed standard kept by a central authority, such as a kennel club for dogs. In addition, the breed club, kennel club, or other governing authority may have other restrictions on the type of animal that can be used for breeding to produce offspring that can be registered.

For example, some equine societies allow backbred and crossbred individuals to be bred from; most dog clubs do not except in exceptional circumstances, by permission. Most kennel clubs allow any registered individual to be bred from; the individual breed club may have additional, stricter criteria. The Mini Foxie Club of Australia, Inc., for example, requires adult dogs to be classified before being certified eligible for breeding of purebred Miniature Fox Terriers. Some Jack Russell Terrier and Greater Swiss Mountain Dog clubs have similar requirements.

Breeder (slang)

Breeder is a derogatory term for people who have children, particularly for parents who purportedly overfocus on their children and (allegedly) abandon their previous friends and lifestyle; or to women who give birth to many children, often with the derisive implication that they have "too many" offspring. The term is also used by antinatalists to pejoratively refer to anyone who has procreated, an act which they consider immoral. The phrases "breeder, not parent" (BNP) or "parent, not breeder" (PNB) are used by some childfree individuals to differentiate between what they regard as positive and negative parenting.

The use of "breeder" in this way is not new. It appears, for example, in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, widely acknowledged as the preeminent English satirical essay, in which Swift repeatedly uses the term.

Some parents resent being referred to as "breeders", and feel that the word unduly reduces the process of child-raising to animal husbandry.

The term was part of a 2006 controversy in the heavily gay resort town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, when petitioners against same-sex marriage whose identity was published complained of having been called "breeders". The San Francisco Chronicle described the term as "a joking or derogatory slur used by gays to describe heterosexuals".

Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater (including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles); struck, scraped or rubbed by hand; or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, following the human voice.

The percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle and tambourine. However, the section can also contain non-percussive instruments, such as whistles and sirens, or a blown conch shell. On the other hand, keyboard instruments, such as the celesta, are not normally part of the percussion section, but keyboard percussion instruments such as the glockenspiel and xylophone (which do not have piano keyboards) are included.

Percussion instruments are most commonly divided into two classes: Pitched percussion instruments, which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched percussion instruments, which produce notes or sounds without an identifiable pitch.

Percussion cap

The percussion cap, introduced circa 1820, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather. This gave rise to the caplock or percussionlock system.

Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems that produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the gun's main powder charge (the flintlock mechanism replaced older ignition systems such as the matchlock and wheellock). Flintlocks were prone to misfire in wet weather, and many flintlock firearms were later converted to the more reliable percussion system.

The percussion cap is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such as fulminate of mercury. The percussion cap is placed over a hollow metal "nipple" at the rear end of the gun barrel. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer that strikes the percussion cap and ignites the explosive primer. The flame travels through the hollow nipple to ignite the main powder charge. Percussion caps were, and still are, made in small sizes for pistols and larger sizes for rifles and muskets.

Percussion (disambiguation)

Percussion may refer to: