212-220 Animal Science 1

Note

Credit Points

Coordinator

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Animal Behaviour: (6 lectures) Behaviour and adaptation; imprinting, habituation and conditioning; social behaviour, with emphasis on domestic and agricultural species. The student will have an understanding of animal behaviour, factors modifying its expression and the influence of behaviour on animal production systems. This will lead to better handling and management of livestock. Animal Health: The concept of 'Production Disease'. Management for control of nutritional, reproductive, parasitic and neonatal diseases. The student will appreciate the importance of animal health in animal production systems and that disease usually has animal management as a component of its occurrence, prevention and treatment. Nutrition and Energy Metabolism (24 lectures) Basic nutritional and energetic concepts. The central role in animal production of efficiency of conversion of feeds to desired products. Feed resources: identification and utilisation. Interactions between plant and animal production in meeting nutritional needs of domestic animals and humans. Students will understand the central role of nutrition in animal production systems, be familiar with the nature of the nutrients, their digestion, metabolism, interactions and their supply and availability in feedstuffs. An understanding of basic nutrition is a prerequisite for subsequent courses in the Animal Sciences stream and enables the student to appreciate the significance to animal production of many other subjects in the course.

Assessment

Up to three hours of written examinations; practical work.