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Subject : Biology

Class : IX

Date : 5th Aug. ‘10

Topic:- ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Animal husbandry is rearing, feeding, caring and breeding of economically

important animals. In other words, animal husbandry is the scientific farming or
scientific management of live-stock which includes various aspects such as animal
shelter, feeding, breeding, health and disease control of economically important
animals like cattle, goat, sheep, poultry, fish farming, etc.

Need of animal husbandry;

i) Increased milk production through cattle farming.

ii) Increased egg production through poultry farming.
iii) Increased and improved meat production through cattle, poultry and fish
farming.
iv) Increased production of honey-bee wax, silk, etc.

CATTLE FARMING:-

The rearing of cows, buffaloes, goats, etc for milk production and draught labour is
called cattle. Thus, cattle farming in India are done for two purposes:-

a) Milk production.
b) Drought labour for agricultural work such as tilling, irrigation, carting,
leveling, etc.

There are two different species of cattle:-

1) Cows or Bos indicus:- There are 26 breeds of cows which are classified as
under;
a) Milk breeds or milk yield varieties which give milk e.g. Sahiwal, Gir,
Holstein-Friesian.
b) Drought animals which carry loads, etc e.g. Malvi, Nageri, etc.
c) Dual breeds i.e. for both milk and drought work e.g. ongole, Kankraj.
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2) Buffalo or Bubalus bubalis or Bos bubalis:- There are 7 breeds of buffaloes

in India. The best known as Murrah, Surti, Bhadwari, etc.

Milk production by cattle depends on duration of lactation period

i.e. period of milk production after the birth of calf. So, milk production can be
increased by increasing lactation period e.g. local or indigenous breeds e.g. Red
Sindhi, Sahiwal show excellent resistance to diseases while as exotic or foreign
breeds e.g. Jersey and Brown Swiss are selected for long lactation period. The
two can be crossed to get cows with both the desired qualities like disease
resistance and increased lactation period. Moreover lactation also depends on
feed, physical health, season, proper shelter facilities and proper cleaning.
Therefore, feed of the cattle should be highly nutritious and balanced as
balanced feed support the animal to live a healthy life and increases the quantity
of milk. Animal feed constitutes two main components; a) Roughage (feed rich
in fibres). b) Concentrate (feed low in fibre but contains relatively higher levels
of proteins, minerals, vitamins, etc.

Cattle need balanced rations containing all nutrients in proportionate

amounts. Besides such nutritious food materials, certain feed additives contain
micro-nutrients, which promote health and milk out of the dairy animals. Also,
they should be regularly cleaned to remove dirt and loose hair. They should be
sheltered under well-ventilated roofed sheds that will protect them from rain,
heat and cold. The floor of the cattle sheds needs to be sloping so as to stay dry
and prevent any disease.

DISEASES OF CATTLE:-

Cows and buffaloes suffer from various diseases which not only cause ill health
but reduce the milk production and cause mortality of sick animals. A healthy
animal can be recognized by its regular feeding, normal posture, a definite body
temperature, normal pulse, normal respiration rate and nature of faecal matter.

The disease of the cattle can be caused due to external parasites e.g. ticks,
mites, lice, etc which cause skin diseases and anemia or internal parasites e.g.
worms (which affect stomach, liver, intestine) and microbes (e.g. bacteria, viruses,
which cause diseases like Anthrax, Rinderpest, FMD).
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The animals are protected from major viral and bacterial diseases by
vaccination, proper disposal of dead and diseased animal, using proper insecticide
and proper hygienic conditions.