Animal Husbandry Research

1. 13. Conservation Aims of Livestock are:

• a) To maintain genetic variation.
• b) To prevent Gene and Breed loss.
• c) To facilitate adjusting animals to future unpredictable needs.

1. Due to Livestock sector there is:

• a) Income generating.
• b) Employment generating.
• c) Quality animal protein.
• d) Fibre production.
• e) Enhancing soil fertility.
• f) Generating Bullock power.
• g) Contribute 26% of National Agricultural GDP.
• h) National Annual growth rate about 5%
•  

1. 14. Deficiency of glucose – is caused by the large demand for glucose by the foetus (often twin foetuses) and by a reduction in food intake in late gestation.

2. 15. Reproductive performance of a dairy herd is a relative phenomenon, with expression being achieved in the face of host of interacting factors. Alleviated performance is a multifactorial problem and optimizing herd performance needs an optimization of several interfering managerial points. Thus the advices to the farmers should be ‘the best fit under given environmental and management condition’. The follow up of the reproductive performance of a dairy herd should be continuous.

3. 16. During final third of pregnancy fetus grow rapidly. Adequate nutrition during this period is essential to ensure:

• a) Satisfactory birth weight.
• b) Better chance of lamb survival.
• c) Better development of mammary tissue.
• d) Higher milk production.
• e) Satisfactory development of wool follicle in fetal skin and future fertility of ewe lamb.

1. 17. During early stages of pregnancy (100 days) placenta grows much faster. Adequate nutrition early in pregnancy ensures that placenta can grow sufficiently to perform the role of supplying maternal nutrients and O2 to fetus. Fetal ovary is sensitive to maternal nutrition, undernutrition;

• a) Affect concentration of oogonia (day 47 of fetal life).
• b) Postpone the arrest ovarian metabolic activity (day 62).
• c) Reduces subsequent litter size

1. 18. Animal Housing: In hill area of Jammu and Kashmir the following recommendations should be followed:

• a) Day and night: in winter seasons from ending December to ending March:
• None: While in high land pastures from May to ending September no housing is provided.
• b) Only at night: April to May &Oct to November.
• c) Type of housing: Covered housing during night and uncovered (paddocks) during day.
• d) Housing during parturition: Animals are kept in separate corner in the same house with some straw flooring.
• e) Housing during period of confinement after parturition: Animals are kept in separate corner in the same house with some straw flooring.

1. 19. Health management: Vaccination should be done as per the diseases prevalent in the area. Proper dosing with anthelmintics and dipping schedules against mange and ectoparasite for sheep and goats needs to be developed immediately. Effective diagnostic centers should be established. Identification of effective medicines for treatment requires top priority.

2. 20. Temperate and alpine grasslands and livestock of nomadic farmers should be managed properly and systemic program should be implemented.

3. 21. Migratory route of nomadic livestock should be watched in close proximity. Vaccination, deworming and treatment facility should be made available to make livestock free from parasitic and other disease infestations.

4. 22. Feed supplements (mineral mixture) should be developed based on research for region specific. Mineral mixture should be provided to migratory livestock on migratory route.

5. 23. In hill area veterinary hospitals should be well equipped with regular supply of required medicine and well managed. Veterinarian should analyze the record available in the hospital of previous five years and should take necessary precautions to prevent any kind of epidemic as well as able to provide best service to the community. Disease free zone should be created.

6. 24. Surplus feed and fodder should be conserved in the form of hay and silage for lean winter months and adverse climatic conditions.

7. 25. Forest resources augment the nutritive value of the fields both directly through its foliage and indirectly through the dung of the cattle fed with forest grass and leaves. Thus forests are central to the successful practice of crop and animal husbandry in the Hills. Knowledge of traditional old people regarding lopping cycles and pruning to improve fodder and leaf production can be exploited.

8. 26. Inbreeding should be avoided. Replacement stock should be maintained. Superior germplasm should be used for crossbreeding and grading up.

9. 27. There is need to setup large number of Nucleus breeding farm of elite animals of different breeds of cattle (indigenous as well as crossbred), buffaloes, sheep and goat.

10. 28. A holistic approach of conserving the very diverse gene pool of the sheep and goat on one hand.

11. 29. Simultaneously evolving fast growing, disease tolerant meat breeds of sheep & goat adaptable for specific agro-climatic conditions of ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu, and diversification of the meat production.

12. 30. Crossbreeding in the Ladakh region will be a successful step to improve the milk and meat as well as milk byproduct production in the region.

1. 31. Problems of sustainable dairying in difficult terrains include:

• a) Feed shortage is a major problem for livestock farmers throughout the hilly terrain.
• b) In Uttarakhand the present shortage of feed and fodder is estimated to be 65 per cent (Dhar 1997).
• c) The magnitude of the problem varies from zone to zone.
• d) In Nepal, scarcity of fodder (especially during winter) is a crucial problem in raising livestock, faces a 20-36 per cent feed shortage.
• e) The shortage of animal feed is acute during the dry period and winter and livestock are generally underfed by one-third of the amount required.
• f) The situation is much worse in the mountains because of small landholdings and the limited support land for grazing.
• g) The fact that ruminants are underfed has resulted in; late maturity, high calf and adult mortality, poor lifetime performance, infertility

1. 32. The primary reasons for the shortage of fodder are:

• a) Shrinking per capita landholdings.
• b) Loss of forest land.
• c) Reduced resource base per head of livestock.
• d) Animal numbers per household have decreased while the total livestock units have gradually increased

1. 33. Low productivity in terms of milk is a major constraint-the attributable reasons are:

• a) Poor feeding practices.
• b) Local low productive breeds.
• c) Sub-optimal nutrition.
• d) Low milk prices (resulting in less incentive to keep productive animals).
• e) High-yielding animals are expensive.
• f) Quality animals have been promoted in the past, but the improved cattle were an inappropriate choice, especially in the hills mainly because of the 1. Sub-optimal nutrition and management, 2. Greater susceptibility to prevailing diseases and pests, and 3. Thinly spread  veterinary services
• g) Lack of quality fodder.
• h)Small and fragmented farm sizes.
• i)Priority of the land use for food crops.
• j) Lack of irrigation facilities.
• k) Mountain conditions of inaccessibility and the resulting lack of access to inputs and services.
• l) Affordable and adaptable options for quality animals have not been given priority by the government sector.
• m) Inadequate extension and promotion/demonstration services.
• n) Large number of unproductive animals competes for already scarce feed resources.

1. Significant shortage of livestock support services.

2. 34. Feeling of insecurity among farmers about their investment.

3. 35. Lack of readily available drugs and vaccines and regular monitoring of animal health.

4. 36. Veterinary services largely confined to the government sector.

5. 37. The number of competent livestock assistants small.

6. 38. Extension and line agencies are understaffed.

7. 39. The ratio of veterinarians to livestock is unsatisfactory in the hills.

8. 40. Lack of trained human resources in livestock health services is of great concern.

9. 41. The present price policy for fresh milk favours urban consumers.

10. 42. Cost offered often exceeds the price of production.

11. 43. Lower milk prices and increasing feed costs could jeopardize the economic viability of raising livestock.

12. 44. Unsupervised and stagnant milk prices not remunerative.

13. 45. Lack of milk collection facilities in upper reaches.

14. 46. Maintaining a productive herd of livestock will require more and more inputs of livestock feed from outside.

15. 47. Increasing price of manufactured feed in the face of stagnating milk prices.

16. 48. Investment in productive livestock has a lot of risk and uncertainty.

17. 49. Government credit services mainly in the cities and administrative centers away from the difficult areas.

18. 50. Paucity of field-based government credit institutions in remote areas.

19. 51. Insurance of livestock against death and natural hazards is lacking.

20. 52. Lack of guaranteed marketing prospects for livestock products.

21. 53. Unfair prices add to the uncertainty.

22. 54. Lack of accessibility has greatly hindered prospects for improving the livelihood of smallholders through a remunerative, cash-oriented livestock sector.

23. 55. Access in terms of proximity to the road head and mil

24. 56. Small-scale chilling centers (usually at the road heads) are still few and far between and are largely inaccessible to remote farmers.

25. 57. There are numerous households practicing mixed crop-livestock farming systems in the inaccessible areas where raising of cattle and buffaloes is common.

26. 58. Appropriate milk processing technologies for such inaccessible areas non existent.
27.  

1. 60. For conservation of local domestic animal diversity in hills; recommendations are:

• a) Goat breeds (Chegu)
• b) Cattle (total 7500).
• c) Buffalo – Nili-ravi type (787), Murrah (1976).
• d) Poultry-
• e) Sheep – Rampur Bushair (90369), Changthangi/Changluk (72000), Kashmir Merino ( in lakhs).
• Yak- 35,000.
• f) Improvement and utilization a long term process.
• g) Setting up of breeding progamme get delayed (be careful in rapid declining populations).
• h) In vivo conservation of endangered breeds require subsidies for making up the financial discrepancy- possible in developed world not in developing.
• i) Value addition in product.
• j) Some unique products.

1. 61. Deficiency associated problems in domestic animals show a definite geographical distribution due to geographical variation in;

• a) Climatic conditions.
• b) Soil composition.
• c) Intensity of cropping.
• d) Precipitation pattern.
• e) Soil erosion pattern etc.

             To overcome the common mineral deficiencies in livestock, go for the formulation of “area specific mineral mixture”. Beneficial for optimising               production potential & reducing the treatment costs thereby improving economy of farmers. Such mineral mixture at reasonable cost will                     have            high    demand & will be highly beneficial to sustain our economy by way of enhanced production & good health of our livestock.

1. 62. For udder hygiene management adopt:

• a) Regular Udder Dips with 10% Nacl, Cetrimide, 1% Na hypochlorite.
• b) Regular teat swabing with isopropyl alcohol prior to milking.
• c) Mastitis Screening by Indirect tests once in a month.
• d)Positive cases subjected to short term Antibiotic treatment.

1. 63. For udder immunity, recommendations are:

• a)Dietary supplementaion of Micropelements as-Zn, Cu, Fe, Co, Mn,Vit.A, Vit.C, Vit. E, lactoferrins , l-Histidine.
• b) Autogenous Bovine mastitis vaccine.
• c) Use of T-cell regulatory Proteins Such as Cytokinesand bacteriop[hages.

1. 64. Deworming schedule includes:

• a) Strategic Deworming: Deworming of young animals 3-4 times yearly( subclinical infestation Alowed).
• b) Tactical Deworming: Mass Deworming during out breaks ( Subclinical Infestation Not allowed).
• c) Snail Eradication: 09- 0.1 ppm N-tritylmorpholine in water loged areas in early March-April .Once in 11 Months.(Places where Fasciola Spp breed in snails).