Bible Verses About Animals: Facts about breeding

That day Lavan removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, every one with white on it, and all the brown sheep; turned them over to his sons;

and put three days' distance between himself and Ya'akov. Ya'akov fed the rest of Lavan's flocks.

Ya'akov took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white streaks on them by peeling off the bark.

Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

the animals mated in sight of the rods and gave birth to streaked, speckled and spotted young.

Ya'akov divided the lambs and had the animals mate with the streaked and the brown in the flock of Lavan. He also kept his own livestock separate and did not have them mix with Lavan's flock.

Whenever the hardier animals came into heat, Ya'akov would set up the rods in the watering troughs; so that the animals would see them and conceive in front of them;

but he didn't set up the rods in front of the weaker animals. Thus the more feeble were Lavan's and the stronger Ya'akov's.

In this way the man became very rich and had large flocks, along with male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.

If he said, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to streaked young.

This is how God has taken away your father's animals and given them to me.