Livestock Husbandry
Husbandry-looking after animals to make sure they stay healthy. This
involves feeding, watering, giving medical care and providing shelter. The
type of care changes when animals are pregnant, new born or ill.
Housing- different animals need different types of housing. Look at your
class work to make sure you can recognise the different types of housing
used. All housing must be dry, have adequate ventilation and be draught free.
Poor housing can lead to problems in stock eg lack of security in chicken hut
can result in them being lost to foxes, overcrowding can lead to stress in all
animals and loss of condition and reduce production.
How do I know if an animal is healthy?
A healthy animal will have a shiny coat , clear eyes and nose, appear alert
and be well covered with good muscle tone.
An unhealthy animal will have a dull and staring (sticking up) coat. The eyes
may be dull and runny and the nose may also be running. The animal may
appear tired (listless) and its bones may stick out, usually the ribs will be
showing.
Ill health can be caused by a poor diet or disease caused by bacteria (TB),
viruses (flu), fungi(foot rot) or parasites(worms)-(examples of each in
brackets)
Illness can be controlled by good husbandry like good feeding routines,
suitable shelter and avoiding overcrowding.
To prevent illness farmers often
use antibiotics routinely to prevent disease and enhance growth. This
practice is especially common in large, intensive pig units. This can result in
antibiotics entering the human food chain.
Reproduction
Pig
You will be expected to recognise the major
structure in the male and female
reproductive systems.
Ovary, oviduct, testis, sperm ducts,
uterus, vagina, and penis are all
structures that will have to be identified
and labelled.
You wil need to know that sperm and ova
are gametes.
You will need to know that the uterus
contracts during the delivery.
You will need to know the length of oestrus, the menstrual cycle and the
gestation period of one name animal. Pigs are the easiest:
Oestrus is the time during the menstrual cycle when the female will get
pregnant and be receptive to the male serving her.
Menstrual cycle is the time between one period of oestrus and the next.
Gestation period is the time the female is pregnant for.
In pigs remember 3 days, 3 weeks, 3months
That’s 3 days in oestrus-when the sow can get pregnant
3 weeks for the menstrual cycle
3 months, 3weeks and 3 days gestation-when the sow is
pregnant.
Cows reproductive system
How to tell if an animal is in oestrus
When an animal is in oestrus
the blood flow to the vulva
increases causing it to
become pink and swollen.
This allows the penis to be
inserted more easily. The
vagina also produces more
mucus and the males and
females pay more attention to each other. Animals may also show other
changes in behaviour-baying (noisy), mounting.
Artificial Insemination
Sperm is collected from the male animal so it can be transferred to many
females. This means that one ejaculation can result in the fertilisation of
many eggs in many females.
This picture shows semen being
collected rom a bull using a model cow
and collection chamber. The model is
sprayed with hormones to encourge the
bull to mount it. The sperm is then put
into batches and frozen for later use.
Artificial insemination reduces the cost of
animal production as not every farmer
has to have his own bull and it also
means that seman from the best bulls
can be used to fertilise many more cows.
Here a sow is being inseminated by
semen from the sperm bank. This way
many sows can be inseminated by the
best boar.
Embryo transfer
Embryo transfer is the process of removing embryos from one female (known
as the donor) and placing them in another female, the surrogate mother,
where they develop. The surrogate mother gives birth to an offspring that is
genetically unrelated.
Embryo transfer is carried out on a variety of agricultural
animals, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the species.
It is used extensively in the beef cattle industry.

The basic steps in embryo transfer are outlined below. To
best understand how embryo transfer works you need to
be familiar with the action of several hormones.
Steps in embryo transfer
1.
Identify donor and recipient cows.
Donor cows are superior
Recipient cows are surrogate
quality cows. Their purpose is mothers that will give birth to
to donate their superior
calves that are genetically
genetic material.
unrelated.
2. Synchronise oestrus of donor and recipient cows by using
injections of prostoglandins and CIDR (Controlled Internal Drug
Release device). It is very important that both donor and
recipient cows are at the same stage of oestrus for a successful
transfer to take place.
3. Superovulation of the donor cows is done by administering FSH
injections to stimulate more follicles are to grow and release
their ova. The FSH is injected twice a day decreasing the dose
for three to five days. Prostoglandins are also injected on the
third day and the CIDR removed.
4. Oestrus should occur on the fifth day of the process. All cows
should be heat detected.
5. Donor cows should be artificially inseminated 4 to 22 hours
after the onset of oestrus.
6. One week after inseminating, the donor cows are flushed. The
embryos are collected and may be frozen to be used later, or
kept fresh to be used as soon as possible.
7. The embryos are implanted into the recipient cows. If all goes
well, the embryo will attach to the lining of the uterus, and a
normal pregnancy will continue.
8. The recipient cows will give birth to calves that are genetically
unrelated.
What are the advantages of embryo transfer?
Embryo transfer allows one superior cow to produce a greater
number of calves in her lifetime, than normal. This can increase
the rate of genetic improvement in a herd.
Are there any disadvantages of this technology?
The disadvantages of embryo transfer are as follows:

It decreases the size of the gene pool

It is very costly

It is very labour intensive.
Breeding for a purpose
By choosing animals with the best characteristics it is possible to develop
breeding lines that make an animal; good for a particular purpose. This has
the effect of narrowing the gene pool and these animals can have breed
specific problems eg they may be more prone to worms.
Jersey for milk
Aberdeen Angus for
Friesian-dual purpose
beef
The importance of rare breeds
Soay sheep are a rare breed. Compared to
commercial breeds they are small and
produce little meat. However it is important
that we preserve these breeds as they have
a wide genetic base and can have hidden
survival advantages eg Soay sheep have
resistance to intestinal worm infestations.
Weighing Animals Safely
Crating animals is the safest way to weigh them, specialist crates are made
for different animals.
It is important to weigh animals to maximise production. By calculating weight
gain feeding can be adjusted so feeding is optimised.
Food Conversion Ratios
Weight gained: weight of food fed
Eg if an animal gains 10 kilos for every 100 kilos of feed
The ratio is 10:100
Or 10/100 =0.1 or 10%
See class notes for food types.
Keeping Records
Data on each animal can be kept on computer to produce a unique record for
each animal. This is important for the monitoring of animal movement and
preventing the spread of disease.
Other Key Words
Yield- how much meat or milk an animal produces
Disease resistance- a genetic advantage that means an animal is more able
fight off disease
Hardiness- the ability of an animal to live in extreme conditions
Conformation- the way an animal is built or put together. Eg large quarters
in beef cattle, long backs in pigs.