Introduction to Animal Husbandry

Biology > Animal Husbandry > Introduction

Ever since the beginning of civilization, humans have depended on animals for many requirements, such as that of food (milk, meat, and egg), clothing (hide or wool), labour (pulling, carrying the load) and security, etc. Humans have consistently tried to improve the breeds of domesticated animals to make them more useful for them. The branch of agricultural science, which deals with the study of various breeds of domesticated animals and their management for obtaining better products and services from them is known as Animal Husbandry. The term husbandry derives from the word “husband” which means ‘one who takes care’. Animal husbandry is essential to manage this gap between demand and supply of food and related products.

The rearing of animals for specific purposes is called domestication and animals are called domesticated animals. When animal husbandry incorporates the study of the proper utilization of economically important domestic animals, it is called Livestock Management. Livestock is used for different purposes. Cattles like cow and buffalo provide milk. Goats provide milk, meat, hair, and skin. Sheep, poultry, and pigs also provide meat. Horses, camels, donkeys are the beasts of burdens, they are used for carrying load and transport. Some insects are the sources of wax and honey. Animal husbandry provides high yielding and high breeding livestock. It gives supplementary income to farmers and tribal. It has importance in national income.

According to one estimate, more than 70% of the world livestock population is in India and China. But the total contribution of these two countries to world farm produce is only 25 %. It is due to low productivity and improper livestock management.

Livestock management of farm management includes a selection of high yielding breeds, their food requirements, a supply of adequate nutrient sources, cleanliness of the environment, maintenance of health and veterinary supervision, vaccination, high yield cross-breed development, preservation, and production of corresponding products, distribution and marketing.

Objectives of Animal Husbandry:

• To satisfy the need for food of the growing population.
• To do proper management of the domestic animals.
• To develop high yielding breeds of animals.
• To increase the standard of living of farmers.
• To increase the production of milk
• To increase the production of eggs
• To increase the production of meat
• To increase the production of fish
• To help in systematic disposal of animal wastes and maintaining a healthy environment.

Products Obtained From Animal Husbandry:

• Milk: Cows, buffaloes, and goats provide us with milk. It is an important source of nutrients.
• Eggs: Fowl and ducks are two major sources of eggs. It is an important source of nutrients.
• Meat: It is protein-rich food and is obtained from ducks, fowls, pigs, sheep, and fish.
• Honey and Wax: These are obtained from beehives of honeybees.
• Hides: The skin of animals is used as leather for making articles and shoes.
• Fibres: Wool is obtained from hairs of sheep and silk is obtained from the cocoons of the silkworm.
• Manures: Droppings and urine of animals are used as manure to enrich the soil with nutrients.
• Bone-meal: Crushed bones of cattle is used as feed in poultry farms and also used as fertilizer.
• Glue and gelatin: It is obtained from cattle bones, horns, and hooves. It is used as adhesive. Gelatin is used for making jellies.
• Draught or working animals: Bullocks, buffaloes, camels, horses, ass, horse, mules, and animals are used for transport and farm work.

Categories of Animals:

Wild:

The animals which breed better where they are free than they do when they are captivated are called wild animals. Example lion, tiger, rhinoceros, deer, etc. Wild animals go through their entire life without any need for human intervention, either directly or by means of alterations to their environment of situation. These animals do not depend upon human for food or their other needs to go through their whole lifecycle without ever coming into contact with, or even seeing, a human being. They have no common use for humans.

Feral:

A feral animal is an animal from a breed or species that have either previously been domesticated and then allowed to revert back into a natural state, or that has the potential to become domesticated.  Thus a feral animal is one which has escaped from a domestic or captive status and is living more or less as a wild animal. Animals which were wild before and escaped from captivity are not regarded as feral. Feral animals can be easily tamed and domesticated. e.g. dogs and cats in forests. Dogs can go feral. Wolves can’t go feral, because that’s their natural state (wild). They just stay untamed.

Tamed:

Taming is the process in which a behavioral modification of an individual animal is done by a mixture of force and awards so that it can exist in human society to some degree. The animals, which are caught from the wild and trained to be useful to humans in some way are called tamed animals. Bears and elephants can be, and often are, tamed and trained to perform tricks, but they are not domesticated. They are used for labourous work, entertainment, racing, riding, in advertisements and movies. Examples: elephant, chimpanzee, gorilla, yak, etc.

Domesticated:

Domestication a whole species or a population of wild animals is the genetically modified to (controlled breeding) of a wild animal to establish a new breed or cultivated variation which live symbiotically alongside humans.  The animals which are of use at home and are easily bred and looked after by humans are called domesticated animals. Domesticated animals are distinct from their wild counterparts. Their breeding and survival are controlled by humans. Examples:  dog, horse, cow, sheep, buffalo, fowl, etc.

Characteristics of Domesticated Animals:

• Domesticated animals breed easily and readily in captivity without the need for artificial aids or inducements.
• They grow quickly, thus their food and nutritional value increases.
• They are fairly docile (easy to manage) and easy to handle by humans.
• Generally, they avoid fights with other domesticated animals or do not attack owners and heard mates.
• They show social or herd structure by which they share territories.
• They have a flexible and efficient diet. Basically, domestic animals should be herbivorous so they can graze rather than requiring special diets.
• Generally, they are calm and do not show panic attack.

Classification of Domesticated Animals:

• Milk giving animals: e.g. Cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, etc.
• Draught animals (used for load): e.g.  Bullock, horse, donkey, mule, camel, elephant, yak, etc.
• Fibre, hide and skin yielding animals: e.g. sheep, goat, cattle, buffalo, camel
• Meat and egg yielding animals: e.g. fowl (a hen) and duck, goat, buffalo, pig etc.

Next Topic: Breeds of Cows and Buffaloes

Biology > Animal Husbandry > Introduction