| CODE | RFS5005 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Animal Husbandry and Health | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Rural Sciences and Food Systems | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit provides the students with the necessary tools to run a farm animal production unit using the principles of good farming practices. This also focuses on the housing system required to meet the physiological requirements within a high health and high welfare standards. The handling of animal waste in the best possible manner with the least environmental impact is also of importance in moderns production systems. This study-unit consists of the following topics: Poultry Production and Health. The application of genetics, nutrition and physiology to all phases of poultry production; systems of management and economic aspects of egg and broiler production; poultry feeds and their evaluation; nutritive requirements for egg and broiler production; housing for egg and broiler production; the effects of various production parameters on the level of production. Description of the epidemiology of poultry diseases with particular reference to local conditions; treatment and prevention of poultry diseases; vaccination programmes for poultry production; poultry diseases, housing & management. Swine Production and Health. The application of genetics, nutrition and physiology to swine production; swine feeds, feeding programmes and their effects on product quality and profit; nutritive requirements of pigs; production of bacon and pork under local conditions; types of housing for swine production. A comprehensive introduction to the epidemiology of respiratory, digestive and metabolic diseases according to age of the pig and the stage of production; a review of the methods of preventing the spread of diseases and the control measures to prevent the introduction of new diseases to the Maltese islands. Dairy Production and Health. The application of genetics, nutrition and physiology to cattle, sheep and goat husbandry; milk production under local conditions; housing and nutrition of cattle, sheep and goats; beef production. A comparative review of the anatomy and physiology of dairy animals, with particular reference to the structure and function of the rumen and the physiology of the udder; discussion of the principles of herd health and disease control; description of the epidemiology, methods of treatment and control of the bacterial, viral and metabolic diseases prevalent under local conditions. Study-unit Aims: - To enable students to develop a basic understanding of animals' physiological responses to the environment and how these responses influence health, productivity and well-being. - To show students how an animal’s heat and moisture production rates can be calculated and to help you to practice applying those calculations to ventilation systems. - To provide an opportunity for students to develop science-based recommendations for animal housing and management. - To present scope and problems associated with animal nutrient management; current regulations and laws on environmental protection. - To present principles covering waste management technology and current livestock nutrient management systems. - To familiarise students with the causes, symptoms, lesions, diagnoses and control measures of the most important animal diseases of farm animals; vaccination and dosing of farm animals; general characteristics of the immune reaction; resistance against parasites and pathogens; dystocia. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - explain the physiological needs of an animal and also the standards required to achieve acceptable animal welfare. - differentiate between the chemical and biological characteristics of wastes from livestock upkeep. - explain the implication of whole farm vaccination programmes. - compare and contrast farm bio-security systems. - explain the principles of prevention and control of infectious, nutritional and parasitic disease of farm animals. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - design proper animal production structures in line with animal needs and welfare standards. - deal with everyday management and control of treatment facilities. - recognise the symptoms of the most important production diseases. - integrate animal welfare standards to the whole of the production line. - run a profitable animal enterprise on a high health, high welfare status. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Tyler HD, Ensminger ME (2006) Dairy Cattle Science, Pearson Prentice Hall. Aland A, Banhazi T (2013) Livestock Housing. Wageningen Academic Pub. Kahn CN (2010) The Merck Veterinary Manual. Wiley. Kellems R.O., Church, D.C. (2010) Livestock Feeds and Feeding, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, inc. Benson GJ, Rollin BE. (2008) The Well-Being of Farm Animals: Challenges and Solutions. John Wiley & Sons. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Fieldwork | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | George Attard |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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