(a) (i) What is culling? (ii) Give three reasons why culling is practised in livestock management. (b) State three advantages and three disadvantages of eac...

(a)(i) What is culling?

Culling is the removal or elimination of unproductive, sick, weak, old or undesirable animals from a herd or flock so that only healthy and productive animals are kept.

(a)(ii) Three reasons why culling is practised

• To remove unproductive and uneconomical animals and reduce cost of feeding.
• To eliminate sick, weak and diseased animals and check the spread of disease.
• To improve the quality of the herd/flock through selection of the best breeding stock.

(b)(i) Deep litter system

Advantages

• Birds move about freely and exercise, giving good health.
• Lower cost of construction and equipment.
• Litter can be used as manure and birds can obtain some vitamin B from it.

Disadvantages

• Diseases and parasites spread easily among birds in contact with litter.
• Difficult to detect and cull sick or non-laying birds individually.
• Damp litter causes ammonia build-up and disease; eggs may be dirty or eaten.

(b)(ii) Battery cage system

Advantages

• Easy identification and culling of individual sick or non-laying birds.
• Reduced spread of diseases and parasites since birds do not touch droppings.
• Clean eggs are obtained and egg laying is easily recorded.

Disadvantages

• High cost of purchasing and installing the cages.
• Birds lack exercise and may develop weak bones or cage fatigue.
• Requires skilled labour and steady management; vices such as feather pecking may occur.