Animal Production and Husbandry
Animal production and husbandry covers livestock nutrition, digestion, breeding, health, housing, handling and records. NSSCO 6115 expects you to know the difference between ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep) and non-ruminants (pigs, poultry), and to calculate feed or production figures accurately.
Core rules
Ruminants have a rumen with microbes that digest roughage; non-ruminants need more concentrated feed. Feed is described by dry matter (DM), energy, crude protein, minerals and vitamins. Water is the most limiting nutrient. Young animals need colostrum in the first hours of life. Breeding records should include dates of service, pregnancy checks and birth weights. Health control uses vaccination, quarantine, fencing and clean water.
Worked example
A 400 kg cow needs 2.5% of body mass as dry matter per day. The hay offered is 90% DM. Calculate the hay to feed as received. Reasoning: DM required = 400 × 0.025 = 10 kg DM/day. Hay as received = 10 ÷ 0.90 = 11.1 kg/day. The remaining 10% is water, so weighing 10 kg of hay would underfeed the cow. If the cow is lactating or growing, the requirement rises above maintenance.
Traps that cost marks
Never feed urea to non-ruminants; it is toxic to them. Do not confuse crude protein with energy. Do not treat a withholding period as optional. Do not ignore water quality or overstocking, which increases disease and erosion.