| Course title | Small Ruminants |
| Course code | LauZ3155 |
| Credit points (ECTS) | 9 |
| Total Hours in Course | 243 |
| Number of hours for lectures | 48 |
| Number of hours for seminars and practical classes | 48 |
| Independent study hours | 147 |
| Date of course confirmation | 12/02/2019 |
| Responsible Unit | Institute of Animal Science |
| Course developers | |
| Dr. agr., prof. Daina Kairiša Mg. agr., lekt. Elita Aplociņa Mg. agr., pasn. Dace Bārzdiņa |
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| There is no prerequisite knowledge required for this course | |
| Course abstract | |
| Completing the course will give the possibility to assess the goat and sheep farming situation in Latvian and in other European countries, it will be possible to understand the feeding and housing requirements of goats and sheep, based on production of different products. It will help to understand the importance of appropriate breeding methods to increase profitability. | |
| Learning outcomes and their assessment | |
| After the course students:
• acquires basic knowledge about biological characteristics, breeding and feeding technologies, production and principles of quality assessment of small ruminants (goats and sheep)- 1 test on goat farming issues; 2 tests on sheep farming issues. • are able to evaluate and choose the technologies suitable for the particular species and age groups, to fill in the basic documentation, to evaluate the quality indices of products - practical and independent works; • are competent to evaluate the suitability of goats and sheep breeds for the chosen production direction and the adequacy of the applied husbandry technologies, to advise the farmers on the issues of husbandry and feeding of goats and sheep, as well as to perform breeding work in herds - practical and independent works. |
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| Course Content(Calendar) | |
| 1. The economic importance of goat farming. Types of goat production. Identification of goats, documentation.6h
2. History of the origins and development of domestic goats. Goat breeds. Structure of goat herds.6h 3. Goat exterior. Selection. Reproduction planning.6h 4. Goat breeding techniques.6h 5. Husbandry and care of goats. Goat’s barns.6h 6. Farrowing of goats.6h 7. Feeding of goats and kids. Calculation of feed nutrients requirements, optimization of feed ration.6h 8. Goat milk and dairy products. Milk monitoring. Milk quality analysis. Test work.6h 9. The economic importance of sheep breeding. Register of sheep herd, its maintenance, and preparation of necessary documents. Lectures 4h. 10. Biological characteristics of sheep. Sheep breeds, their division and use. Lectures 4h. 11. The histological and morphological structure of the wool. Lectures 2h. 12. Sheep breeding. Test work. Characteristics and distribution of sheep breeds grown in Latvia. Lectures 8h. 13. Sheep breeding technology. Herd production and its structure. Peculiarities of formation of different sheep groups. Lectures 6h. 14. Sheep feeding and management technology. Feeding of lambs. Experience of other countries in rising of lambs before weaning. Lectures 8h. 15. Setting up a sheep herd turnover plan. Test work. Evaluation of different age and sex sheep. Lectures 8h. 16. Planning for the production and marketing of sheep products. |
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| Requirements for awarding credit points | |
| Regular attendance of lectures and practical works. Successfully completed and defended practical tasks, presentations and tests, passed final exam. | |
| Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work | |
| During practical work students receive individual tasks that must be fulfilled and defended. On goat husbandry issues there are 2 independent works that need to be presented, and 1 independent work that needs to be done. On sheep husbandry issues 2 independent works are planned for the acquisition of lecture material, which are presented publicly during the classes. Students do practical work individually. Individual home works designed for each student are performed and submitted to the e-learning environment. | |
| Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes | |
| On goat husbandry issues there are 2 presentations of independent work (40%) and a test (60%), which makes an intermediate assessment.
On sheep husbandry issues the individually prepared presentations are defended publicly. Students also participate in the evaluation process. The evaluation of the presentation consisted of 3 parts: evaluation of content, presentation and answers to the questions asked. On sheep husbandry issues the assessment of the examination was based on the evaluation of the material of the lecture (theoretical part) (50%) and the evaluation of practical work (50%). The final grade of the study course consists of the average score of the two parts: goat husbandry and sheep husbandry. The student can receive the accumulative exam assessment if the individual tests are not below 7 points. |
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| Compulsory reading | |
| 1.Norvele G., Kairiša D. Rokasgrāmata aitu audzētājiem. SILF Viļānu tipogrāfija "Renovata", 2006. 96 lpp. Pieejama: http://new.llkc.lv/lv/nozares/lopkopiba/elektroniski-pieejama-rokasgramata-aitu-audzetajiem
2.Norvele G., Neilands J., Matisāns E. Aitkopība. LLU. Rīga: Ulbrokas zinātnes centrs, 2001. 303 lpp. 3.Piliena K., Sprūžs J. Kazkopība. Talsi, 2007. 99 lpp. 4.Siliņa A., Arbidāns D., Jonkus D., Keidāne D., Piliena K. (2015.) Kazkopības rokasgrāmata. file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/User/My%20Documents/Downloads/kazkopiba_gramata.pdf |
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| Further reading | |
| 1.Lopbarības analīžu rezultātu apkopojums. e-resurss http://www.laukutikls.lv/sites/laukutikls.lv/files/upload/piena_rokasgramata/54_lopbariba_internetam.pdf
2.Osītis U. Dzīvnieku ēdināšana kompleksā skatījumā. Ozolnieki. LLKC. 2004. 363 lpp. 3.Latvietis J. Lopbarība. Jelgava. 2013. 308 lpp. 4.Ciltsdarba programmas aitu un kazu šķirnēm Latvijā. http://www.ldc.gov.lv/lv/likumdosana/nacionala/#a7 |
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| Periodicals and other sources | |
| 1.Agrotops. AgroTops. Rīga: Aģentūra Agro apgāds. ISSN 1407 – 5164
2.Saimnieks. Saimnieks LV. Rīga: TEE BIO, 2004- ISSN 1691 – 1598 3.Agro Pols: informatīvs lauku politikas biļetens - aktīvam lauku saimniekam. Rīga: Latvijas Valsts agrārās ekonomikas institūts. ISSN 1407-8996. 4.Latvijas Lopkopis. LLKC, Ozolnieki, Apgāds. 5.Schafzucht. Das Magazin fur Schafe-und Ziegehalter. |
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| Notes | |
| Compulsory course for full-time and part-time studies at the Faculty of Agriculturein Professional Higher Education Bachelor's study program "Agriculture" qualification "Zootechnics", 5th semester. | |