This book deals with the basic principles of husbandry, feeding, housing, health, behaviour, economics and welfare. It explains relevant aspects of calf function and evaluates conventional and novel husbandry systems in terms of their effects on animal performance, health and welfare.

Keeping Geese is a complete guide to the domesticated goose. It shows how this intelligent bird has been absorbed into different cultures throughout history: from the taming of the Greylag and the Swan goose to the exhibition of the mighty Toulouse, the story of the goose is intimately involved in both Eastern and Western cultures.

A comprehensive and thoroughly revised text on dairy science that contains information on the most recent developments The fully updated third edition of Understanding the Dairy Cow explores the scientific principles that provide a foundation for understanding the animal's body system. The comprehensive text also reveals how to properly manage dairy cattle with economic efficiency whilst taking into consideration the cow's welfare. The revised new edition contains expanded coverage on topics including insight into cow behaviour and welfare, genetic selection indices, new strategies for control of mastitis and lameness and information on the overworked cow. It also contains the most recent developments in breeding, nutrition and management. Is an authoritative text on the dairy cow that covers a wide-ranging subject area including the science, disease and husbandry Presents the information and knowledge necessary for the efficient and humane management of cows Includes expanded coverage on a variety of topics such as cow behaviour and welfare, and genetic selection indices Highlights major new developments in the field Covering both the basics and recent developments in dairy science, Understanding the Dairy Cow 3rd Edition is ideal for students in agriculture and veterinary science and for professionals working in the complex business of dairy farming.

There has been a recent explosion of active concern in matters of animal welfare. The science behind animal welfare has progressed significantly, new codes of practice and legislation have come into to being, and innovative methods to assess welfare schemes for food production have emerged.

Part of a major animal welfare series, Animal Welfare: Limping Towards Eden is John Webster's new and groundbreaking work on animal welfare. Building on his first book, the highly acclaimed Animal Welfare: A Cool Eye Towards Eden, it not only critically reviews areas of development, but looks to how animal welfare can be improved in the future.

Special consideration is given to: Defining animal welfare ('fit and happy') and establishing a systematic approach for its evaluation (the 'five freedoms');Providing a sound ethical framework that affords proper respect to animals within the broader context of our duties as citizens to the welfare of society;Developing comprehensive, robust protocols for assessing animal welfare and the provisions that constitute good husbandry;Introducing an education policy that will increase human awareness of animal welfare problems and promote action to reduce suffering.

This book is part of the UFAW/Wiley-Blackwell Animal Welfare Book Series. This major series of books produced in collaboration between UFAW (The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare), and Wiley-Blackwell provides an authoritative source of information on worldwide developments, current thinking and best practice in the field of animal welfare science and technology. For details of all of the titles in the series see www.wiley.com/go/ufaw.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on bacterial diseases affecting pigs. The first chapter summarises recent research on the causes and epidemiology of major bacteria, viruses and parasites found in pig production, focussing on those with a particular impact on safety and global production, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella typhimurium and African swine fever virus. The second chapter discusses classical phenotypic characteristics and more advanced molecular techniques to identify and classify bacterial pathogens affecting swine health and performance. The chapter explores the different modes of transmission, as well as the commonly used measures for prevention and control, including vaccinations. The third chapter reviews the development of dysbiosis and post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets and the consequent economic losses these diseases cause for the global pig industry. The chapter considers the role of animal nutrition and dietary strategies to optimise gut function as a means of preventing dysbiosis and PWD. The final chapter assesses methods of improving gut function in pigs to optimise health and prevent pathogen colonization. The chapter discusses research on genes associated with pathogen resistance and porcine immune response and reviews the role of dietary and nutritional strategies in preventing intestinal pathogen colonisation.

Contains a selection of White Papers, commissioned to better inform the exploration of cattle welfare. These are prepared by notable experts in their field, to help provide factual context around selected topics that impact cattle welfare and production systems. Covers all aspects of cattle use in an accessible style, making this a must have volume for anyone interested in cattle welfare or cattle medicine. Provides an in-depth picture of the distinctive beef and dairy cattle welfare practices and issues, covering topics such as behavior, breeding and genetic manipulation, nutrition and feeding, housing and management, health and disease, and transport and slaughter. Written by acknowledged leaders in animal science, veterinary science, philosophy and animal welfare, presenting a truly multidisciplinary perspective on cattle welfare. Includes a section on understanding and managing animal welfare in both beef and dairy cattle, discussing how cattle perceive the world, animal handling and pain mitigation, and how to assure that the cows have a reasonably good life. The Welfare of Cattle offers an accurate, detailed account of the ethical and welfare concerns related to the human use of cattle. There is currently no significant book dealing with the welfare of cows, animals often seen as archetypal paradigms of 'farm animals'. Covering both beef and dairy cattle, the expert authors provide in-depth information on the husbandry roots of traditional agriculture, the replacement of this system of stewardship by an industrial model, and the resulting welfare challenges associated with industrial agriculture: feedlots, highly industrialized dairies, and slaughterhouses killing huge numbers of animals who have been transported great distances. This important book explores in detail the ways in which people who are providing care for cattle can take their first step, or their next step, toward enhancing the welfare of these animals. An extra chapter (online only) is available in the 'Downloads' tab on the left: Dairy Nutrition, by Michael Gamroth

"Beef Practice: Cow-Calf Production Medicine" is a text and a reference book for students in animal science and veterinary medicine, practitioners, and nutritionists who work with beef producers. Combining beef production and veterinary diagnosis and treatment, this title provides access to clear, concise, and comprehensive information to veterinarians and animal scientists working with beef producers. This title deals primarily with the cow-calf stocker system, and addresses issues of reproduction, nutrition, and health of cows and calves.

Milk is a highly perishable commodity; heat treatment or pasteurization can be used to make fresh milk safe to drink, but these methods do not destroy the spoilage organisms. Processing milk into ordinary dairy products extends its shelf-life, reduces wastage and adds value to the milk, creating more income for the producer. In addition, processing converts the lactose in milk into lactic acid, making dairy products to those who suffer from lactose intolerance.;This book outlines traditional methods of processing milk to produce cheese, butter, yoghurt and other milk products, and discusses how hygiene and quality control can be improved, essential if the quantities of milk produced are to be increased beyond the household level to give increased income.;"Dairy Processing" avoids introducing completely new products or processes, but suggests low-cost modifications to traditional methods which can be and have been introduced successfully. Case studies describe the introduction of improved businesses around the world, and there is a list of useful organizations. This book is part of the "Food Cycle Technology Source Books Series". Designed for people who have no technical background

"The nations of Subsaharan Africa experienced declining levels of food production per capita throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in the area of livestock production. Addressing that problem, the authors of this book assess in a systems context the environmental, biological, and social constraints on future African livestock development and consider prospects for improving productivity, They focus especially on changes needed in production and marketing systems, pointing to important policy considerations . The book is divided into four parts containing twenty-one chapters, each authored by one or more respective authorities in his or her field. Each section in its own way addresses the entire set of questions; topics include aspects of animal breeding and nutrition, anthropology, economics, ecology, farming systems, governmental policy, land tenure, marketing, modelling, and veterinary medicine."

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Behaving like the other sex has been observed in a number of species of mammals, although such behaviour is generally more common in the female than the male. This study discusses why such capacity is so common in sexually differentiated animals. The contributors gather together information on the generation of heterotypical sexual behaviour and on certain forms of aggression. They provide a review of the current state of knowledge from both animal experimentation and human clinical studies, looking at the role of physiological mechanisms and experiences in such controversial topics as the genesis of homosexuality.

Economic analysis of beef cattle production has been limited by the inability to fully describe the underlying production process. Except for confined feeding of cattle, beef cattle production is the process of growing cattle who consume forages. The animal and the forage possess attributes of both factors and products of production. The production of forage constitutes one production process, animal growth is another production process, and reproduction by female animals is a third production process. Cattle production involves all three processes in such a manner that each influences the outcome of the other. Each process is itself complex and analysis is further complicated when all three are considered simultaneously.

The keeping of exotic animals is becoming an increasingly popular aspect of pet ownership. Reptile owners are becoming more and more inexperienced as the popularity of these animals becomes more widespread. Vets and veterinary nurses are having to familiarise themselves with reptilian illnesses and husbandry issues without being experts themselves. Access to the answers for these complaints is an ongoing problem for the busy vet. This guide plus FREE CD-ROM, provide you with a quick, readily available and detailed answers to the increasing number of reptilian illnesses that are entering the veterinary practice waiting room. Features a problem-based approach to the diagnosis and treatment of common husbandry-related problems in reptile species. Unique checklists ensure accurate assessment of both problem and solution. An easy-to-use reference for the non-specialist - appropriate for all levels of veterinary practice. Offers downloadable assessment forms on a free disk.

This guide to the management of poultry under both intensive and extensive systems is still the only text to present the partical aspects of poultry science concisely, conveniently, comprehensively and readably.

Since the third edition was published in 1992 there have been many more developments in the poultry industry, which have made a new edition necessary. These include new systems which are environmentally and welfare 'friendly'; much more emphasis on hygiene and vaccines in disease control and the role of molecular biology and cloning; further advances in management with special reference to feeding, drinking, lighting and egg collection; advances in genetics; developments in housing; nutritional advances; and increasingly restrictive legislation concerning the safety to the public of poultry products (particularly zoonotic diseases and drug residues) and welfare.

Another chapter, on organic poultry production, has also been added to this edition.

Through a richly detailed examination of the practices of spinning yarn from the fleece of llamas and alpacas, Earth, Water, Fleece and Fabric explores the relationship that herders of the present and of the past have maintained with their herd animals in the Andes. Dransart juxtaposes an ethnography of an Aymara herding community, based on more than ten years fieldwork in Isluga in the Chilean highlands, with archaeological material from excavations in the Atacama desert.
Impeccably researched, this book is the first systematic study to set the material culture of pastoral communities against an understanding of the long-term effects of herding practices.

Related link: http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources .html?dransart
eBook available with sample pages: 0203219732

A system for regenerating land, storing carbon, and creating climate resilience The concept of silvopasture challenges our notions of both modern agriculture and land use. For centuries, European settlers of North America have engaged in practices that separate the field from the forest, and even the food from the animal. Silvopasture systems integrate trees, animals, and forages in a whole-system approach that offers a number of benefits to the farmer and the environment. Such a system not only offers the promise of ecological regeneration of the land, but also an economical livelihood and even the ability to farm extensively while buffering the effects of a changing climate: increased rainfall, longer droughts, and more intense storm events. Silvopasture, however, involves more than just allowing animals into the woodlot. It is intentional, steeped in careful observation skills and flexible to the dynamics of such a complex ecology. It requires a farmer who understands grassland ecology, forestry, and animal husbandry. The farmer needn't be an expert in all of these disciplines, but familiar enough with them to make decisions on a wide variety of time scales. A silvopasture system will inevitably look different from year to year, and careful design coupled with creativity and visioning for the future are all part of the equation. In this book, farmer Steve Gabriel offers examples of diverse current systems that include: A black locust plantation for fence posts coupled with summer grazing pastures for cattle in central New York; Oxen and pigs used to clear forested land in New Hampshire to create space for new market gardens and orchards; Turkeys used for controlling pests and fertilization on a cider orchard and asparagus farm in New York; and Sheep that graze the understory of hybrid chestnut and hickory trees at a nut nursery in Minnesota. All of these examples share common goals, components, and philosophies. The systems may take several years to establish, but the long-term benefits include healthier animals and soils, greater yields, and the capacity to sequester atmospheric carbon better than forests or grasslands alone. For all these reasons and more, Silvopasture offers farmers an innovative and ecological alternative to conventional grazing practice.

This collection features five peer-reviewed literature reviews on the environmental impact of livestock production. The first chapter discusses life cycle assessment (LCA) and its role in evaluating the environmental footprint of farming systems. The chapter also explores how the practical trade-off between feasibility and scientific rigour should be addressed in the field of ruminant production systems. The second chapter explores some of the many facets of livestock's contributions to climate change and the difficulties involved in quantifying them, with a closer look into the contribution of livestock methane emissions to changing atmospheric methane concentrations over the last few decades. The third chapter presents a review of the environmental sustainability impacts of swine production, focused at the farm level because the majority of environmental impacts occur by this stage of the supply chain. The fourth chapter considers the potential strategies that can be implemented to improve the environmental performance of intensive poultry systems. The final chapter examines how LCA can be used as a tool to quantify multiple resource use and environmental impacts. The chapter details how potentially harmful emissions can be assessed and measured at each stage in the life cycle of sheep products.

Biotechnology is expected, by many observers, to have a significant impact on the world dairy industry over the next decade. In this timely volume, Lovell Jarvis analyzes the potential effect of two biotechnologies-multiple ovulation and embryo transfers (MOET) and recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST-on the dairy industry around the world. According to Jarvis's research, the effects of these two technologies will vary greatly between the developed and developing nations. He predicts that the technologies will be most profitable for the developed nations, where their use will increase milk production and strengthen their positions in dairy export markets. Developing country dairy sectors will probably lose from the use of these two biotechnologies, as their own international trade position will be weakened, though their own consumers should benefit. Jarvis concludes his study with a look at alternative approaches that might improve the competitive position of developing countries in the dairy sector.

Better validation of indigenous domestic animal genetic resources is becoming more important with regard to the potential of livestock for poverty alleviation and income generation. To improve indigenous breeds for sustainable income and employment generation, the methods to be employed are the same as developed in systematic breeding programs, be it for cross-breeding or selective breeding within a specific breed. This book systematically introduces the reader to the breed improvement theory and illustrates the theory with practical examples and case studies. The book is addressed to animal science teachers, to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as to decision makers in the state and central livestock departments.

In today's world, we are witnessing simultaneous breakthroughs in reproductive technologies, genomics, and molecular biology. Advances in molecular genetic technology and understanding of the bovine genome have led to the development of tools that can be used to enhance profitability on cow-calf enterprises. Factors Affecting Calf Crop: Biotechnology of Reproduction provides a detailed compilation of current and forthcoming technology for managing reproduction in cattle.

The book discusses topics such as: approved techniques for controlling the estrous cycle in cattle; managing follicular growth with progesterone, estrogens, and prostaglandins; freezing, thawing, and transfer of cattle embryos; application of embryo transfer to the beef cattle industry; embryo transfer in topically adapted cattle; new factors affecting bull fertility; embryo collection and utilization technology, in vitro fertilization, somatic cell cloning, and genetic technologies; uses of real-time ultrasound; and sexed semen.

Over 25 leading animal scientists have combined their expertise to produce the first single-source reference that covers successful reproductive techniques that will, most likely, be the wave of the future. Expansive in scope, the book addresses current biotechnologies as they impact the production of beef cattle. Written at a level to appeal to the researcher, commercial producer, or student, Factors Affecting Calf Crop: Biotechnology of Reproduction presents you with a wealth of technologies applicable to animal agriculture.