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Animal Husbandry I

Course developers

Prior knowledge

LauZ3145, Animal Nutrition

Vete2023, Animal Anatomy and Physiology

Replaced course

LauZB037 [GLAUB037] Animal Husbandry I

Course abstract

Students have been introduced with importance of animal husbandry in national economics, characterization of branch and development perspectives in Latvia and other countries. Students get knowledge in species and breeds of dairy cow, beef cattle, pig and horse, their forming history, different animal breeding technologies, methods of estimation of productivity, organization of pedigree recording system in Latvia.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Students get basic knowledge of the dairy cow, beef cattle, pig and horse biological traits, breeding and feeding technologies, animal products and quality assurance principles. Successful written tests.
Students have skills to evaluate of appropriate farming technologies for dairy cow, beef cattle, pig and horse species, to fill out the required documents, to evaluate the indices of product quality. Successful completion of practical works.
After completing of course students are competent to assess the conformity of dairy cow, beef cattle, pig and horse for production, to evaluate the applied breeding technologies, to indicate animal holder to the mistakes in documentation and in production of high quality animal products. Successful final course test.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. The economic significance characterization of cattle husbandry in Latvia, European Union and World. Lectures 1h.
2. The registration and identification of herds, farms and agricultural animals. Legislations and rulings on cattle husbandry in Latvia and European Union. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
3. Breeds of dairy and beef cattle, their characterization. Growth and development control of calves and youngstock. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
4. Registration of cattle live weight. Absolute and relative live weight gain. Exterior, the evaluation methods of cattle body conformation. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
5. Registration of cow milk productivity, the factors affecting milk yield and milk composition. Analysis of milk productivity. Lectures 1h, practical works 3h.
6. The production capacity of beef (live weight, growth, body condition, slaughter weight, quality of carcas etc.) Lectures 1h, practical works 3h.
1st test. Cattle and beef cattle husbandry.
7. The economic significance of pig production and its development in Latvia. Characteristics of the pig breeding situation in different countries of the world. Lectures 1h.
8. Pregnancy. Factors affecting fertility, Milk of sows. Pig growing factors, Feed utilization. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
9. Classification of pig breeds. Characteristics of pig breeds grown in Latvia (Latvian White, Great White, Landrace, etc.). Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
10. Pig herd structure. Breeding herd reproduction variants. Use of leech and artificial insemination. The pig groups in production process (piglets, sows, boars, etc.). Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
11. Theoretical principes of pig fattening. The different kind of fattening and influencing factors. Lectures 1h, practical works 3h.
12. Pig keeping and welfare. Calculation of the number of pens needed in pig production. Lectures 1h, practical works 3h.
2nd test. Pork production.
13. Characteristics of the horse breeding sector, situation in Latvia. Uses of the horse. Classification of horse breeds. Registration and identification methods of horses. Horse description by colour and markings. Horse condition assessment. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
14. Selection work in horse breeding. Horse breeding methods. The economically important traits of horses, their evaluation methods. Characteristics of the horse's conformation, its role in choosing the direction of use of horse and identifying health risks. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
15. Horses housing and care based on welfare conditions. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
16. Housing systems and technologies. Assessment methods of housing conditions. Lectures 1h, practical works 2h.
3rd test. Horse husbandry.

Requirements for awarding credit points

Successfully did all practical works, and at the end successfully completed tests for each (dairy cow and beef cattle, pigs, horses) animal species.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

The student independently studies popular scientific literature

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

A student can get a successful mark on a test if at least 50% of the questions are answered correctly.
The practical work performed is evaluated according to the evaluation procedure specified in the practical task. The final tests can not be taken without the succesful written contol works and did practical works of each animal species of course.
The final mark of the course is calculated as the arithmetic average of the 3 final tests. The student obtains the assessment passed (done), but the final mark is included in the following study course of the next semester of Animal Husbandry II LauZ3142.

Compulsory reading

1.Moderna piena ražošanas ferma (tehnoloģija, tehnika, apsaimniekošana/ J. Priekuļa redakcijā. Jelgava: LLU, 2012, 240. lpp.
2. Piena lopkopība. Rokasgrāmata/A. Jemeļjanova redakcijā. Sigulda: Sigra, 2001. 191. lpp.
3. Dairy Science and Technology: Second edition. P. Walstra, J.T.M. Wouters., T.J. Geurts. London: Taylor & Francis, 2006, p.763.
4. Seržāns A. Zirgkopība.- Rīga: Zvaigzne, 1986. 222 lpp.
5. Warren J., Borton A., Hintz H. (1997) The Horse. – 2nd ed. – New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. 860 p.
6. Frape D. (2008) Equine nutrition and feeding. John Wiley & Sons. 664 pp.
7. NRC (National Research Council)( 2007) Nutrient Requirements of Horses. 6th ed. Washington: National Academies Press. 341 pp. https://www.nap.edu/read/11653/chapter/1
8. Z. Bērziņa, D. Kairiša, A. Laurs, J. Priekulis, S. Štrausa, A. Veģe. Liellopu un cūku mītnes: tehnoloģija un aprīkošana. Zemkopības ministrija, Rīga, Latvija, 2003, 96-186 lpp.
9. Ilsters A. Aprīkojums un izmaksas cūkkopībā. LLU Ulbrokas Zinātnes centrs, 2001,171. lpp.
10. NRC Nutrient requirements of swine. 11th rev. ed. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2012, 400 pp., https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13298/nutrient-requirements-of-swine-eleventh-revised-edition
11. Patience J.F., Thacker P.A. and de Lange C.F.M. Swine nutrition guide. 2nd edition, Published by Prairie Swine Centre Inc., Canada, 1995, 274 pp. http://www.prairieswine.com/publications-psc/pdf-sng/PREFACE.PDF

Further reading

Ciltsdarba programma govkopībā
http://www.ldc.gov.lv/lv/ciltsdarbs/
Ciltsdarba programma Latvijā audzētajām cūku šķirnēm 2017. gadam un tuvākai perspektīvai līdz 2026. gadam http://www.ccc.lv/docs/ciltsdarba_new.pdf
Ciltsdarba programma zirgkopībā.
http://lszaa.lv/ciltsdarbs/ciltsdarba-programma/

Periodicals and other sources

1. Saimnieks. Saimnieks LV. Rīga : TEE BIO, 2004- ISSN 1691-1598.
2. Agrotops. AgroTops. Rīga: Aģentūra Agro apgāds. ISSN 1407-5164.

Notes

Compulsory for the professional study program of the Veterinary Medicine specialty.