The sapient, dominant species is called “manimals” as a portmanteau of man and animals. The creatures that take the place of pets and wildlife are called “Naminals”.
Manimal genetics allows for two "species" of animal to reproduce, with their offspring a combination of the two.
If one or both parents are already hybrids, their offspring will only inherit one or two of the "species" in their genetics.
Only in EXCEPTIONALLY RARE cases will a child be born a combination of three animals, and they CANNOT reproduce due to the weirdness of their genetics.
Manimals do not give birth to live young. Instead, their reproduction works a bit like that of a chicken, in both fertilization and egg-laying. Their eggs are even roughly the same size as those of a chicken, with manimals being roughly our size. Mature females have a fully-developed egg-producing organ, where the egg develops for a short duration. The offspring's development mostly takes place when the egg is outside of the mother. However, they still need to be kept warm to grow, so incubators are common appliances in a family home.
Once out of the egg, infants grow in size and development rather quickly, slowing down at about 2. They kind of need to, given how small their egg is. It's pretty much "structure's done, get him outta the egg so he can learn to walk".
Coming soon