Animal Husbandry WAEC

Sheep And Goat Production

Gbogbo ọrọ náà

Walk through any market in Sokoto or Enugu in the days before Sallah and you will see them everywhere: sheep tethered along the roadside, goats bleating in overflowing pens, prices climbing by the hour. Sheep and goats are Nigeria's two most important small ruminants, kept in nearly every farming household from the Sahel to the coast, yet the two animals are managed differently because they eat differently, grow differently and are prized for different things.

In this lesson you will meet the breeds behind those animals, Yankasa and West African Dwarf sheep, West African Dwarf and Red Sokoto goats, and learn the housing, feeding and health routines that keep each productive. You will finish able to explain the one distinction WAEC returns to again and again: why a sheep is a grazer and a goat is a browser, and what that single fact changes about how each is farmed.

Ebumnobi

  1. State the common breeds of sheep reared in Nigeria
  2. State the common breeds of goats reared in Nigeria
  3. Explain the management practices in sheep production
  4. Explain the management practices in goat production
  5. Distinguish between the husbandry of sheep and goats

Maapụ uche

E seela isiokwu a ka ị hụ otu echiche si ejikọta.

Kaadị ncheta

Omume ncheta ngwa ngwa n'ihe a na-anwale n'isiokwu a.

Akwụkwọ Ọmụmụ

Sheep and goats are grouped together as small ruminants: both chew the cud, both are smaller and cheaper to keep than cattle, and both are the animals an ordinary Nigerian household is most likely to own. Together they supply a large share of the meat eaten at Sallah and at naming ceremonies across the country, and their skins feed a leather trade that reaches beyond Nigeria's borders. Treating them as interchangeable is a mistake examiners test directly: a stockman who houses, feeds and grazes a goat exactly as he would a sheep will under-feed one animal or waste pasture on the other.

Nnyocha Ọmụmụ

Ekele diri gi maka imecha ihe karịrị na Sheep And Goat Production. Ugbu a na ị na-enyochakwa isi echiche na echiche ndị dị mkpa, ọ bụ oge iji nwalee ihe ị ma. Ngwa a na-enye ụdị ajụjụ ọmụmụ dị iche iche emebere iji kwado nghọta gị wee nyere gị aka ịmata otú ị ghọtara ihe ndị a kụziri.

Ị ga-ahụ ngwakọta nke ụdị ajụjụ dị iche iche, gụnyere ajụjụ chọrọ ịhọrọ otu n’ime ọtụtụ azịza, ajụjụ chọrọ mkpirisi azịza, na ajụjụ ede ede. A na-arụpụta ajụjụ ọ bụla nke ọma iji nwalee akụkụ dị iche iche nke ihe ọmụma gị na nkà nke ịtụgharị uche.

Jiri akụkụ a nke nyocha ka ohere iji kụziere ihe ị matara banyere isiokwu ahụ ma chọpụta ebe ọ bụla ị nwere ike ịchọ ọmụmụ ihe ọzọ. Ekwela ka nsogbu ọ bụla ị na-eche ihu mee ka ị daa mba; kama, lee ha anya dị ka ohere maka ịzụlite onwe gị na imeziwanye.

  1. Which of the following sheep breeds is white with black patches around the eyes, ears and muzzle, and is the most numerous sheep breed in Nigeria? A. West African Dwarf sheep B. Yankasa C. Red Sokoto D. Uda Answer: B
  2. The West African Dwarf goat and West African Dwarf sheep are both especially suited to southern Nigeria mainly because they are: A. Wool producers B. Trypanotolerant C. Dairy breeds D. Draught animals Answer: B
  3. A goat feeds mainly by: A. Grazing grass at ground level B. Browsing shrubs and leaves C. Eating only cereal grain D. Filter-feeding on water plants Answer: B
  4. The Red Sokoto (Maradi) goat is especially valued for its: A. Wool B. Milk yield C. Skin D. Draught power Answer: C
  5. Nigerian sheep breeds are kept mainly for: A. Wool and milk B. Meat and skin C. Draught work only D. Wool only Answer: B

Ajụjụ Nnyocha

Nna, you dey wonder how past questions for this topic be? Here be some questions about Sheep And Goat Production from previous years.

Ajụjụ 1 Ripọtì

(a) Explain each of the following terms as used in animal husbandry:
(i) coprophagy: (ii) rumination (iii) candling (iv) tethering.

(b) List four local materials which could be used for constructing a goat house.

(c)(i) Name the three members of the honey bee colony. (ii) State five ways in which honey beekeeping is important.

Akọwa Nkọwa

(a) Explanation of terms

  • (i) Coprophagy: The eating of faeces (dung) by an animal, for example a rabbit swallowing its soft night faeces, in order to recover and re-digest nutrients.
  • (ii) Rumination: The process by which a ruminant regurgitates previously swallowed food (cud) back to the mouth, re-chews it and re-swallows it for further digestion.
  • (iii) Candling: Passing an egg in front of a bright light in a dark room to examine its internal quality, fertility or stage of development.
  • (iv) Tethering: Tying an animal to a fixed peg or post with a rope so that it feeds only within a limited area.

(b) Four local materials for constructing a goat house

  • Wood or timber.
  • Bamboo.
  • Palm fronds or thatch (grass).
  • Mud or clay.

(c)(i) Three members of the honey bee colony

  • Queen.
  • Drone.
  • Worker.

(c)(ii) Five ways in which honey beekeeping is important

  • It provides honey, which is a source of food and income.
  • It provides beeswax used in industry (candles, cosmetics, polishes).
  • The bees aid pollination of farm crops, raising crop yield.
  • It provides other products such as propolis and royal jelly used in medicine.
  • It provides employment and a source of income to the farmer.