Agricultural Science · Lesson 10

Management of poultry, pigs, ruminants, rabbits, fish and bees

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: C6 general livestock management, C8 fisheries and wildlife, C9 apiculture

WAEC: H Livestock management (systems, housing, feeding, sanitation and care of poultry, pigs, ruminants and rabbits); fisheries and aquaculture (fish ponds, species, management, harvesting, preservation); apiculture; Practical D7–D8 (livestock equipment, fish and fishing gear)

NECO: H Livestock management (systems, housing, feeding, sanitation and care of poultry, pigs, ruminants and rabbits); fisheries and aquaculture (fish ponds, species, management, harvesting, preservation); apiculture; Practical D7–D8 (livestock equipment, fish and fishing gear)

What you will learn

Compare extensive, semi-intensive and intensive management systems.
State the qualities of good animal houses.
Describe the management of chicks, broilers and layers.
Describe the management of pigs, ruminants and rabbits.
Describe fish pond construction, stocking and management.
State methods of fish harvesting and preservation.
Describe bee colonies, hive types, management and honey harvesting.
Calculate stocking densities, egg production and pond volumes.

Key points

Systems: extensive, semi-intensive, intensive.
Good houses: ventilated, east–west, drained, spacious, secure, easy to clean, downwind of homes.
Brooding: heat about 32–35 °C at first, reduced weekly; watch chick behaviour; feed, water, light, vaccination.
Broilers to market at about 6–8 weeks; layers start at about 18–20 weeks; calcium and light for layers.
Deep litter vs battery cage: cost, cleanliness, welfare, disease.
Hen-day production = eggs ÷ hens × 100.
Pigs: farrowing pens with guard rails, colostrum, iron injection, teeth clipping, castration, creep feed, weaning 6–8 weeks.
Ruminants: identification, dehorning, castration, hoof trimming, dipping, deworming, vaccination, milking hygiene.
Rabbits: raised hutches, forage + pellets, doe to buck, gestation about 31 days.
Aquaculture: catfish and tilapia; pond site, dykes, inlet/outlet, liming, fertilising, stocking, feeding, water quality.
Fish preservation: smoking, drying, salting, chilling, freezing, canning.
Bees: queen lays, workers do the work, drones mate; KTBH and Langstroth hives; smoker and protective clothing.
Biosecurity: fencing, footbaths, quarantine, all-in all-out, carcass disposal, records.

Start here: Management systems and animal housing

Systems of livestock management

System	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages
Extensive	Animals roam to find feed and water; little or no housing; includes free-range poultry and nomadic pastoralism (Fulani herders moving cattle seasonally)	Cheap; little labour; animals exercise and find varied feed	Low output; theft and predators; disease spread; crop damage and farmer–herder conflict; poor records; manure lost
Semi-intensive	Housed at night, grazed or kept in fenced runs by day; some supplementary feeding	Moderate cost; better control than extensive	Needs fencing and some feed; moderate output
Intensive	Animals fully confined and fed: battery cages and deep litter for poultry, pig pens, zero grazing, feedlots	High output per animal and per area; easy disease and breeding control; good records; manure collected	High capital and running costs; disease spreads fast if biosecurity fails; skilled labour; animal welfare concerns

Qualities of a good animal house

Well ventilated to remove heat, moisture and ammonia; open sides with wire mesh in hot areas.
Oriented east–west along its length so the sun does not shine directly in for most of the day.
Well drained; floor raised above ground and sloped; concrete for easy cleaning.
Roof with wide overhang to keep out rain and sun; insulated (e.g. aluminium or asbestos-free sheets with ceiling).
Spacious enough for the number of animals (avoid overcrowding).
Secure against thieves, predators, rodents and wild birds.
Easy to clean and disinfect; footbath at the entrance.
Sited on well-drained land, near water and roads, downwind and at a distance from homes; room for expansion.
Fitted with feeders, drinkers, lighting and storage.

Common livestock equipment

Feeders and drinkers (manual or automatic), brooders, incubators, egg trays, debeaker, burdizzo, elastrator, ear tags and applicator, tattoo pliers, hoof trimmer, drenching gun, syringes and needles, knapsack sprayer, milking can, weighing scale, hay rack.

Worked example 10.1

Give four reasons why poultry houses in Nigeria are built with their long axis running east–west.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so the long sides face north and south and receive little direct sunshine.
This reduces heat build-up and heat stress.
Birds are not exposed to direct sunlight, which can cause uneven distribution and pecking.
Prevailing winds can cross the house for ventilation (accept: litter stays drier; feed and water stay cooler).

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Practice questions

1. A system in which animals roam freely to find their own food is the

extensive system
intensive system
semi-intensive system
battery cage system

Show answer

A: extensive system
It needs little capital but causes crop damage.

2. Keeping layers in wire cages in a house is the

deep litter system only
free-range system
extensive system
battery cage system

Show answer

D: battery cage system
It saves space and keeps eggs clean.

3. Chicks crowding together under the heat source show that the brooder is

correctly heated
draughty on one side only
too cold
too hot

Show answer

C: too cold
Chicks spread evenly when it is right.

4. Brooder temperature in the first week is usually about

10–15 °C
32–35 °C
20–22 °C
40–45 °C

Show answer

B: 32–35 °C
It is lowered by about 2–3 °C each week.

5. 500 hens lay 400 eggs in a day. Hen-day production is

80%
40%
50%
125%

Show answer

A: 80%
400 ÷ 500 × 100 = 80%.

Key words

Extensive system: Animals roam freely to find food with little housing or feed input.
Intensive system: Animals are confined and fed entirely by the farmer.
Semi-intensive system: Animals housed part of the time and allowed to range in fenced areas.
Deep litter: Poultry kept on a thick layer of absorbent material (wood shavings, rice husk) on the floor.
Battery cage: Wire cages in which layers are kept, with eggs rolling to a collection tray.
Brooding: Care of young chicks from hatching to about 6–8 weeks, especially supplying heat.
Debeaking: Trimming the tip of the beak to reduce feather pecking and cannibalism.
Point of lay: The age at which pullets begin to lay eggs.
Weaning: Separating young animals from their mother’s milk.
Zero grazing: Cut-and-carry feeding of confined animals.
Dipping: Immersing livestock in an acaricide solution to kill ticks and other external parasites.
Biosecurity: Measures that prevent disease agents entering or spreading on a farm.

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