Animal

Husbandry
Giacomini Mattia
Inglese
3˚A
 What is it ?
It is the branch of agriculture concerned with the
breeding of farm animals:

Cattle
Pigs
Sheep
Horses
Poultry
 History of Husbandry
Domestication of wild animals started in the Prehistoric
period, and they were:
Sheep (northern Iraq)
Goats (same region)
 Modern Development
 Selective breeding
 Advances in animal nutrition
 Vet medicine
 Artificial insemination
 Embryo transfer
Farm Specialists
 Breeders
 Milkers
 Feeders
 Health specialists
 Vets
 Cattle Raising
Cattle have been domesticated since the
Neolithic period
 Breeds of Cattle
A breed is a group of animals of common descent,
possessing distinctive characteristics that distinguish
them from other groups within the same species
The Cattle Family
 Cow
 Milking cow
 Heifer
 Milker
 Calf
 Ox
 Steer
 Bull
 Cattle raising
It is divided into two types

Dairy cattle Beef Cattle

 Breeds of Cattle
Dairy cattle

Holstein Black/White Pezzata rossa

Brown Swiss
 Breeds of Cattle
Beef cattle

Chianina Limousine

Simmenthal Charolais
 Cows are Ruminants
They have a digestive
system that allows them to
regurgitate and rechew
food

The cud is digested by

specialized
microorganisms that live
in the rumen
 Stomach
 Rumen (fermentation vat)
 Reticulum (rumen’s “assistant”)
 Omasum (dehydrator)
 Abomasum (true stomach)
 Cows’ Life
 Gestation period is 9 months
 Newborn calf weighs 35-40 kg
 Dairy cows are slaughtered when they are 5 years old
 Dairy cows provide 90% of world’s milk production
 Farmers use machines to milk 100 cows for 1 hour