Artificial Insemination

(a)(i) Meaning of brooding

Brooding is the rearing and care of young chicks under artificial heat/warmth from day-old until about six to eight weeks of age, when they are able to regulate their own body temperature and no longer need extra heat.

(a)(ii) Four routine activities carried out in a brooder house

• Providing and regulating artificial heat for the chicks.
• Supplying clean feed and water.
• Cleaning the house and replacing wet/dirty litter.
• Vaccinating/medicating the chicks and removing dead or sick ones.

(b) Four effects of parasites in livestock production

• They reduce productivity (lower weight gain, milk and egg yield).
• They cause or transmit diseases.
• They cause anaemia through blood sucking and damage tissues/organs.
• They cause emaciation and may lead to the death of the animal.

(c) Four ways of controlling liver fluke in sheep production

• Drain marshy/waterlogged grazing land.
• Control the snail intermediate host using molluscicides.
• Drench the sheep with anthelmintics/flukicides.
• Practise rotational grazing and avoid grazing wet pasture in the early morning or late evening.

(d)(i) Definition of artificial insemination

Artificial insemination (A.I.) is the mechanical introduction of semen collected from a selected male into the reproductive tract of a female animal without natural mating.

(d)(ii) Four advantages of artificial insemination in cattle production

• It allows a single superior bull to serve many cows.
• It prevents the spread of breeding/venereal diseases.
• Semen can be stored and transported over long distances.
• It reduces the cost of keeping many bulls and overcomes size differences between animals.