Animal Production and Livestock Husbandry
Systems and species
Know extensive systems (free-range, communal grazing, ranching) versus intensive systems (feedlot, zero-grazing, battery poultry), and semi-intensive in between. In Botswana, cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and poultry dominate; know each species' main products (beef, milk, mohair, mutton, eggs, meat) and typical management.
Nutrition and digestion
Distinguish ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep - four-chambered stomach: rumen, reticulum, omasum, abomasum, with microbial digestion of roughage) from monogastrics (pigs, poultry - simple stomach). Know roughage versus concentrate, maintenance ration versus production ration, and the roles of water, protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. A common trap is feeding poultry or pigs large amounts of fibrous roughage they cannot digest.
Breeding and reproduction
Understand oestrus (heat), gestation lengths (cattle about 280 days, goats and sheep about 150, pigs about 114, poultry incubation about 21 days), weaning, selection for desirable traits, crossbreeding for hybrid vigour, and culling of poor performers. Know signs of heat and reasons for poor conception (poor nutrition, disease, heat stress).
Health, housing and records
Cover vaccination, dipping/spraying against ticks, deworming, isolation of sick animals, clean water and shelter against heat and rain. Stress identification and records: birth dates, weights, treatments and breeding dates.
Worked example
A farmer wants more milk from a cow losing condition. Reason: the ration is below the production requirement. Response: supply a balanced ration (roughage plus concentrate, minerals and clean water), control ticks and internal parasites, and check breeding records.