Agricultural Science · Lesson 8

Classification, breeds, anatomy and physiology of farm animals

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: C1 types and classification of farm animals, C2 forms and functions (anatomy), C3 physiology

WAEC: H Animal production: types and classification of farm animals, breeds; anatomy and physiology of farm animals (digestive, circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, excretory, nervous systems; physiological processes such as digestion, respiration, circulation, excretion, reproduction, temperature regulation); Practical D1–D2 (identification of breeds and organs)

NECO: H Animal production: types and classification of farm animals, breeds; anatomy and physiology of farm animals (digestive, circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, excretory, nervous systems; physiological processes such as digestion, respiration, circulation, excretion, reproduction, temperature regulation); Practical D1–D2 (identification of breeds and organs)

What you will learn

Classify farm animals by use, stomach type and habitat.
Name and describe local and exotic breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry.
Describe the digestive systems of ruminants, pigs, rabbits and poultry.
Describe the circulatory, respiratory, excretory and nervous systems of farm animals.
Describe the male and female reproductive systems of mammals and the hen.
State normal physiological values (temperature, pulse, gestation) of farm animals.
Explain temperature regulation and the effect of heat stress.

Key points

Farm animals are classified by use, stomach type, size and habitat.
Know terms: bull/cow/calf; ram/ewe/lamb; buck/doe/kid; boar/sow/piglet; farrowing, kidding, lambing, calving.
Local cattle: White Fulani, Red Bororo, Sokoto Gudali (zebu); N’Dama, Muturu (trypanotolerant).
Sheep: Yankasa, Uda, Balami, WAD; goats: Red Sokoto, WAD, Sahel; pigs: Large White, Landrace.
Ruminant stomach: rumen (fermentation), reticulum, omasum (water absorption), abomasum (true stomach).
Fowl: crop stores, proventriculus secretes, gizzard grinds; cloaca; no teeth.
Rabbits ferment fibre in the caecum and practise coprophagy.
Double circulation; left ventricle thickest; birds have air sacs.
Kidneys excrete urea; birds excrete uric acid.
Hormones: FSH, LH, oestrogen, progesterone, oxytocin (milk let-down).
Male: testes, epididymis, vas deferens, accessory glands, penis; scrotum keeps testes cool.
Hen: left ovary and oviduct only; infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus, vagina.
Gestation: cow ≈ 283 d, ewe/doe ≈ 150 d, sow ≈ 114 d, rabbit ≈ 31 d; chick incubation 21 d.
Colostrum gives antibodies; must be suckled early.
Heat stress lowers production; shade, water, ventilation and adapted breeds reduce it.

Start here: Classification of farm animals

Livestock provide meat, milk, eggs, hides, skins, manure, draught power and income. Nigerian farmers keep cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry (chickens, guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks), rabbits, grasscutters and fish, and increasingly snails and bees.

1. By use (product)

Use	Examples
Meat (beef, mutton, chevon, pork)	Beef cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, broilers, grasscutter
Milk	Dairy cattle (White Fulani, Friesian crosses), goats
Eggs	Layers, guinea fowl, ducks
Work (draught)	Oxen for ploughing in the north, donkeys, horses, camels
Wool, hair, hides and skins	Sheep, goats (Red Sokoto skin is prized for leather), cattle
Dual purpose	Cattle for meat and milk; local chickens for meat and eggs

2. By stomach type

Ruminants (polygastric): cattle, sheep, goats (camels are pseudo-ruminants with three compartments).
Non-ruminants (monogastric): pigs, rabbits, horses, poultry, humans.
Pseudo-ruminants / hind-gut fermenters: rabbits and horses ferment fibre in the caecum.

3. By size

Large (cattle, horses, camels), medium/small ruminants (sheep, goats), small (pigs, rabbits, poultry, grasscutters).

4. By habitat

Terrestrial (land) animals and aquatic animals (fish, shrimps). Snails are micro-livestock.

Terms for farm animals

Species	Male	Female	Young	Castrate	Giving birth	Meat
Cattle	Bull	Cow (heifer if young, not calved)	Calf	Steer/bullock (ox for work)	Calving	Beef (veal from calves)
Sheep	Ram (tup)	Ewe	Lamb	Wether	Lambing	Mutton (lamb)
Goat	Buck (billy)	Doe (nanny)	Kid	Wether	Kidding	Chevon
Pig	Boar	Sow (gilt if young)	Piglet	Barrow (hog)	Farrowing	Pork, bacon, ham
Rabbit	Buck	Doe	Kit (kitten)	—	Kindling	Rabbit meat
Chicken	Cock (cockerel if young)	Hen (pullet if young)	Chick	Capon	Hatching	Chicken

Worked example 8.1

Give the correct term for: (a) a young female pig that has not farrowed (b) giving birth in goats (c) a castrated male sheep (d) the meat of goats.

(a) Gilt (b) Kidding (c) Wether (d) Chevon.

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Practice questions

1. Which of these is a ruminant?

goat
pig
rabbit
chicken

Show answer

A: goat
Cattle, sheep and goats chew the cud.

2. The true (glandular) stomach of a ruminant is the

rumen
reticulum
omasum
abomasum

Show answer

D: abomasum
It secretes acid and enzymes.

3. The largest compartment of an adult cow’s stomach is the

omasum
reticulum
rumen
abomasum

Show answer

C: rumen
Microbes ferment fibre there.

4. In the fowl, the organ that grinds food is the

caecum
gizzard
crop
proventriculus

Show answer

B: gizzard
Grit helps grinding.

5. The crop of the fowl mainly

stores and softens food
grinds food
absorbs nutrients
produces bile

Show answer

A: stores and softens food
Food passes on to the proventriculus.

Key words

Ruminant: An animal with a four-compartment stomach that chews the cud, e.g. cattle, sheep, goats.
Monogastric (non-ruminant): An animal with a simple, single stomach, e.g. pig, rabbit, poultry.
Rumination: Regurgitating, re-chewing and re-swallowing food (cud).
Breed: A group of animals of the same species with similar, heritable characteristics that distinguish them from others.
Zebu: Humped cattle (Bos indicus) adapted to heat, e.g. White Fulani.
Trypanotolerance: Ability to survive and remain productive in areas with tsetse flies and trypanosomes, e.g. N’Dama, Muturu.
Anatomy: The study of the structure of the body and its organs.
Physiology: The study of the functions and processes of the body.
Crop: A thin-walled pouch in a bird’s oesophagus that stores and softens food.
Gizzard: A muscular stomach in birds that grinds food with grit.
Caecum: A blind pouch at the junction of small and large intestines; large in rabbits and horses for fibre digestion.
Coprophagy: Eating of soft faecal pellets (as in rabbits) to re-digest nutrients and vitamins.

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