WAEC SSCE - Animal Husbandry - 2016 (Essay)

Answer Details

(a) Five objectives of animal improvement

• To increase the yield of animal products such as meat, milk, eggs and wool.
• To improve the quality of these products, for example leaner meat or milk of higher butterfat content.
• To develop animals that grow faster and reach market or maturity weight earlier (better feed conversion).
• To breed animals with greater resistance or tolerance to diseases, parasites and harsh environmental conditions.
• To improve the reproductive efficiency (fertility, prolificacy and mothering ability) of the animals.

(b) Signs that a pregnant animal is approaching parturition

• Enlargement of the udder with the secretion of milk (bagging up).
• Swelling and slackening or reddening of the vulva.
• Restlessness, isolation from the herd and the making of a nest or bed in some animals.
• Relaxation and sinking of the pelvic (tail-head) ligaments and hollowing of the flanks.
• Loss of appetite and frequent lying down and rising.

(c) Two disease-causing organisms in livestock production

• Bacteria (for example those causing anthrax and brucellosis).
• Protozoa (for example Trypanosoma causing trypanosomiasis). Other examples include viruses and helminths (worms).

(d) Completed nutrient table

Answer Details

(a) Five management practices carried out daily on a livestock farm

• Feeding the animals.
• Provision of clean drinking water.
• Cleaning of pens, houses and equipment.
• Collection of eggs and/or milking.
• Inspection of the animals for signs of ill health.

(b) Five devices used in restraining farm animals

• Rope/halter.
• Cattle crush.
• Bull ring (nose ring).
• Casting rope.
• Stanchion (also yoke, trevis).

(c) Four structures used for housing livestock

• Poultry house.
• Piggery (pig pen).
• Cattle kraal/byre.
• Sheep/goat pen (also rabbit hutch, stable).

(d) Steps involved in branding cattle (hot-iron branding)

1. Restrain the animal firmly in a crush.
2. Heat the branding iron until it is red hot.
3. Select and clean the branding site (usually the hip or flank).
4. Press the hot iron firmly on the site for a few seconds to leave a permanent mark.
5. Release the animal and treat the branded area to prevent infection.

Answer Details

(a) Explanation of terms

• (i) Ration: the total amount of feed given to an animal within 24 hours.
• (ii) Balanced diet: feed that contains all the essential nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and water) in the correct proportions required by the animal.
• (iii) Maintenance ration: the feed given to keep an animal alive and healthy without any gain or loss in body weight.
• (iv) Production ration: the feed given in addition to the maintenance ration to enable the animal produce (growth, milk, eggs, meat, wool or work).
• (v) Malnutrition: a disorder caused by feeding an animal on a diet deficient in, or having a wrong proportion of, one or more essential nutrients.

(b) Two uses of each animal product

• Honey: used as food/sweetener; used in medicine.
• Wool: used for making clothing/textiles; used for blankets and carpets.
• Horn: used for making combs and buttons; used for ornaments/decorations.
• Milk: used as human food/drink; used for making butter, cheese and yoghurt.
• Egg: used as food; used for hatching/incubation (and in confectionery and vaccine production).

Answer Details

(a) Four parasites of farm animals

• Tick.
• Louse.
• Liver fluke.
• Tapeworm (also roundworm, mite, tsetse fly).

(b) Five ways in which the keeping of ruminants is important to the economy

• Provides meat and milk as a cheap source of animal protein.
• Is a source of income and foreign exchange to farmers and the nation.
• Provides employment along the production and marketing chain.
• Supplies raw materials such as hides and skin for industry.
• Provides manure for crop farming and draught power for work.

(c) Management practices undertaken in calf production

• Feeding the calf with colostrum soon after birth.
• Disinfecting and treating the navel cord.
• Identification (ear tagging/notching).
• Dehorning and castration of unwanted males.
• Feeding, weaning, deworming and vaccination.

(d) Two ways each practice is important

(i) Brooding: provides warmth to chicks and protects them from cold and predators, thereby reducing chick mortality.

(ii) Debeaking: prevents cannibalism and feather pecking, and reduces feed wastage and egg-eating.

(iii) Culling: removes unproductive animals and helps to control disease, improving flock quality and reducing feeding cost.

Answer Details

(a) Three equipment used in incubation of eggs

• Incubator.
• Egg tray.
• Candler (candling lamp) - also thermometer and hygrometer.

(b) Five measures a livestock farmer could adopt to control diseases on the farm

• Vaccinate the animals against common diseases.
• Maintain good sanitation and hygiene in pens and equipment.
• Isolate/quarantine sick and newly introduced animals.
• Provide balanced feed and clean water to build resistance.
• Deworm regularly and disinfect the premises, and treat sick animals promptly.

(c) Four advantages of artificial insemination

• One superior sire can serve many females.
• It prevents the spread of breeding (venereal) diseases.
• It removes the cost and danger of keeping a bull.
• Semen can be stored and transported over long distances for genetic improvement.

(d) Two methods of animal improvement

• Selection: identifying and keeping only animals with superior, desirable traits (high yield, disease resistance, good conformation) for breeding, so that these traits are passed on to the offspring.
• Crossbreeding: mating animals of two different breeds so as to combine the desirable qualities of both breeds and obtain hybrid vigour (offspring superior to the parents).

Answer Details

(a) Five ways of improving pasture

• Apply fertiliser or farmyard manure to raise soil fertility.
• Practise controlled/rotational grazing to avoid overgrazing.
• Introduce improved, high-yielding grass and legume species.
• Control weeds and undesirable plants.
• Reseed/oversow bare patches and provide irrigation where possible.

(b) Five organs of the digestive system of a rabbit

• Mouth.
• Stomach.
• Small intestine.
• Caecum.
• Large intestine (colon/rectum) - the rabbit also has an oesophagus and anus.

(c) Five precautions to be taken in the dipping of sheep

• Prepare the dip wash at the correct concentration.
• Ensure the whole body, including the head, is immersed.
• Do not dip sick, pregnant, tired or very young animals.
• Dip during the cool part of the day and allow the animals to drain afterwards.
• Do not dip animals on a completely empty or completely full stomach, and top up the dip wash regularly.