Outsider Universe and Domesticating Animals
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:49 am
Ben a long time since I posted on here, so Hi yall. ANyhoo, this topic has been on my mind on and off, and is a general question for any and all factions and races in the series.
Domestication of animals allowed Humans to go from hunter and gathers that lived in small family groups to how we are today, with the domestication of the wolf being a key part of that.
Dogs are also a good look at how varied they an be, and also an aspect of genetic engineering for a latter part of the post.
There are three main areas I am thinking of.
A. The 6 main characteristics of Domestication, and how they go about it and if they skip steps or forgo it all together.
B. Genetic Engineering
C. Any replacements for the meat base part of them.
In general there are 6 areas most domestic animals need to have to fit the bill, though not always.
Cattle and goats can be used for dairy, goats and geese for weeding, and fowl in general are great at hunting pests. Cows and Horses can pull carts and farm equipment like plows. Dogs being the ultimate as we have bread dogs for all kinds of jobs. Hunting, hearding, tracking, pest Controle, hard labor (Rottweilers were used to pull carts, one of the reason they used to bob the tail), war, and family protectors. Have a new job, we can breed a dog for that.
1. They need to be able to eat food that is cheap, plentiful, and Ideally something we don't eat. We can give them more human food here and there, such as grains for cattle, but for the most part everyday grasses (say for cattle, sheep, and horses) and food scraps (chickens and pigs). Becaus with most predators you need to raise what they eat, there are only a handful of them that have been domesticated, namely dogs and cats and Cats domesticated themselves/humans.
2. Need to Grow Fast. To grow to full size, Chickens need as little as 6 to 8weeks, 2 to 3 months for a duck, 5 months for a goat, 6 months for a pig or dog, a year or 2 for cattle, and so on. This way they can reproduce fast, and often, so you can keep using them. Most have multiple jobs before they go on the plate. This is also why you don't see too many parts of the world that have elephants. While we still use elephants to this day in labor and in fun, most have traditionally been wild caught due to how long it takes one to grow up and how long they have to stay with their mother even after they are weened.
3. Can reliably be breed in Captivity: Some animals are easier than others. Rodents like rabits, rats, ice, and guiny pigs are among them. Dogs and cats are another. Lamas are also another good one and so on. However some animals are just difficult to breed in captivity. Rhinos, Cheetahs, and giant pandas come to mind as numerous factors like their disposition usualy keep them from makeing little ones of their kind.
4. Calm and Passive enough to not make us fear for our lives around them.
This one can verry to some degrees as marathoning Dr. Pole can attest among other things. Some dogs have worse reputations for aggression, earned or otherwise, than others. Beef cows do not have the same level of human contact as say those trained as oxen or dairy cows. However, we shouldn't see them and go: This is going to get me killed more times than not. Probably another reason most big predators like bears, lions, Tigers, and Lepards and so on haven't really been domesticated (not for a lack of trying).
5. Have to comfortable around humans enough that their fight or flight instincts do not kick in when in stressful situation.
Fight or Flight, or the body's response to stress, is a key part of an animals survival. It gives you the extra boost to try to outrun dinner/something trying to make you dinner, or to defend your territory, young, and so on. Stressors like war, bad weather, a potential predator, strangers, or hard work. One of the reasons why, as awesome as this would sound, that the Zebra hasn't been domesticated. They are so used to being surrounded by things that think they are delicious they have had to act in kind to the world around them.
6. Socia animals. Scial animals are easier to accept people, or anything of another species for that matter, than none social ones.
There are exceptions to this. There is a research institute in Russa that tried to breed foxes that were friendlier so they could use them in the fur trade. After a few generations they found a few things that comes with domestication from more adorable features like floppier ear, oto able to read people easier, and other dog like traits.
The next wuetion what would they be used for. Food and labor for the most part. Be it their meat, eggs, wool/hair, milk, cheese, and so on. Until recently, may less for leather good s as it took a while to get an animal to the point it was time to put it to the dinner table, but otherwise but that was always an option for many (or say the feathers of fowl for quills or pillows.)
Genetic Engineerig: While now adays we hear the term we think of genetic tampering via science, most animals we have these days in the pet store or on the farm are a product of this. Before we could go at a genetic level, we had to selectively bread the traits we as a species we wanted. Lots of trial and error, but eventually we got alot of plants and animals they way they are now. Some, like Corn and English Bull Dogs as they are now, could never exist as they are in the wild, and as such require human attention at the reproduction stages of development. Its also how we got orange carrots and the Scottish Fold Cats. We saw a trait we liked and went with it. Its also how we get so many parakeets with different colors. FOr the most part, wild ones are green with a yellow head and some black speckles. A few generations in the pet shop you get dozens of color combinations of white, yellow, blue, grey, and some that look like they came from a quart of rainbow sherbet.
SO how extensive would be however many years in the future it is for humans and the other races that have had a head start on this?
Finally, what areas would animals still be used in and how could they be replaced. I can still companionship and even service animals being used. Pouch rats in Africa are being trained to sniff out gunpowder, land minds (they are too small to set them off, so they don't die when they find one) and even some form of cancers. Dogs and cats have been able to notice human conditions and are able to alert their humans to panic attacks, seizures, and other conditions long before they know they are going to have one. And of course, there are still some used for pest Controle like a number of terrier breeds of dogs. But I can see most jobs, outside of luddites like the Amish or those tht want to go "organic" might still use hairlum plants and animals in their intended uses.
The easy answer for meat would be two fold: There probably be still a demand for something off an animals, but for the most part we are doing research now into make artificially created meat substances in the lab that taste and feel like the real deal. I can see this easily being perfected and made a regular staple for the most part. I could also see more plant based meals that are made to taste like them. Hydroponics are growing in popularity, and I can see a ship having a small green house to be both a place to grow food and to make oxygen. We might find other animals that could replace what we use.
What are your guys thoughts on this part of world building?
Domestication of animals allowed Humans to go from hunter and gathers that lived in small family groups to how we are today, with the domestication of the wolf being a key part of that.
Dogs are also a good look at how varied they an be, and also an aspect of genetic engineering for a latter part of the post.
There are three main areas I am thinking of.
A. The 6 main characteristics of Domestication, and how they go about it and if they skip steps or forgo it all together.
B. Genetic Engineering
C. Any replacements for the meat base part of them.
In general there are 6 areas most domestic animals need to have to fit the bill, though not always.
Cattle and goats can be used for dairy, goats and geese for weeding, and fowl in general are great at hunting pests. Cows and Horses can pull carts and farm equipment like plows. Dogs being the ultimate as we have bread dogs for all kinds of jobs. Hunting, hearding, tracking, pest Controle, hard labor (Rottweilers were used to pull carts, one of the reason they used to bob the tail), war, and family protectors. Have a new job, we can breed a dog for that.
1. They need to be able to eat food that is cheap, plentiful, and Ideally something we don't eat. We can give them more human food here and there, such as grains for cattle, but for the most part everyday grasses (say for cattle, sheep, and horses) and food scraps (chickens and pigs). Becaus with most predators you need to raise what they eat, there are only a handful of them that have been domesticated, namely dogs and cats and Cats domesticated themselves/humans.
2. Need to Grow Fast. To grow to full size, Chickens need as little as 6 to 8weeks, 2 to 3 months for a duck, 5 months for a goat, 6 months for a pig or dog, a year or 2 for cattle, and so on. This way they can reproduce fast, and often, so you can keep using them. Most have multiple jobs before they go on the plate. This is also why you don't see too many parts of the world that have elephants. While we still use elephants to this day in labor and in fun, most have traditionally been wild caught due to how long it takes one to grow up and how long they have to stay with their mother even after they are weened.
3. Can reliably be breed in Captivity: Some animals are easier than others. Rodents like rabits, rats, ice, and guiny pigs are among them. Dogs and cats are another. Lamas are also another good one and so on. However some animals are just difficult to breed in captivity. Rhinos, Cheetahs, and giant pandas come to mind as numerous factors like their disposition usualy keep them from makeing little ones of their kind.
4. Calm and Passive enough to not make us fear for our lives around them.
This one can verry to some degrees as marathoning Dr. Pole can attest among other things. Some dogs have worse reputations for aggression, earned or otherwise, than others. Beef cows do not have the same level of human contact as say those trained as oxen or dairy cows. However, we shouldn't see them and go: This is going to get me killed more times than not. Probably another reason most big predators like bears, lions, Tigers, and Lepards and so on haven't really been domesticated (not for a lack of trying).
5. Have to comfortable around humans enough that their fight or flight instincts do not kick in when in stressful situation.
Fight or Flight, or the body's response to stress, is a key part of an animals survival. It gives you the extra boost to try to outrun dinner/something trying to make you dinner, or to defend your territory, young, and so on. Stressors like war, bad weather, a potential predator, strangers, or hard work. One of the reasons why, as awesome as this would sound, that the Zebra hasn't been domesticated. They are so used to being surrounded by things that think they are delicious they have had to act in kind to the world around them.
6. Socia animals. Scial animals are easier to accept people, or anything of another species for that matter, than none social ones.
There are exceptions to this. There is a research institute in Russa that tried to breed foxes that were friendlier so they could use them in the fur trade. After a few generations they found a few things that comes with domestication from more adorable features like floppier ear, oto able to read people easier, and other dog like traits.
The next wuetion what would they be used for. Food and labor for the most part. Be it their meat, eggs, wool/hair, milk, cheese, and so on. Until recently, may less for leather good s as it took a while to get an animal to the point it was time to put it to the dinner table, but otherwise but that was always an option for many (or say the feathers of fowl for quills or pillows.)
Genetic Engineerig: While now adays we hear the term we think of genetic tampering via science, most animals we have these days in the pet store or on the farm are a product of this. Before we could go at a genetic level, we had to selectively bread the traits we as a species we wanted. Lots of trial and error, but eventually we got alot of plants and animals they way they are now. Some, like Corn and English Bull Dogs as they are now, could never exist as they are in the wild, and as such require human attention at the reproduction stages of development. Its also how we got orange carrots and the Scottish Fold Cats. We saw a trait we liked and went with it. Its also how we get so many parakeets with different colors. FOr the most part, wild ones are green with a yellow head and some black speckles. A few generations in the pet shop you get dozens of color combinations of white, yellow, blue, grey, and some that look like they came from a quart of rainbow sherbet.
SO how extensive would be however many years in the future it is for humans and the other races that have had a head start on this?
Finally, what areas would animals still be used in and how could they be replaced. I can still companionship and even service animals being used. Pouch rats in Africa are being trained to sniff out gunpowder, land minds (they are too small to set them off, so they don't die when they find one) and even some form of cancers. Dogs and cats have been able to notice human conditions and are able to alert their humans to panic attacks, seizures, and other conditions long before they know they are going to have one. And of course, there are still some used for pest Controle like a number of terrier breeds of dogs. But I can see most jobs, outside of luddites like the Amish or those tht want to go "organic" might still use hairlum plants and animals in their intended uses.
The easy answer for meat would be two fold: There probably be still a demand for something off an animals, but for the most part we are doing research now into make artificially created meat substances in the lab that taste and feel like the real deal. I can see this easily being perfected and made a regular staple for the most part. I could also see more plant based meals that are made to taste like them. Hydroponics are growing in popularity, and I can see a ship having a small green house to be both a place to grow food and to make oxygen. We might find other animals that could replace what we use.
What are your guys thoughts on this part of world building?