This Brief explains and discusses honey and its production from a chemical perspective. It outlines why honey is a special and unique food, being produced by bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants. Although glucose and fructose are the main constituents of honey, its overall composition is far from being simple or uniform: other substances such as organic acids, enzymes, or minerals are found in varying amounts. In this Brief, the author addresses the factors that influence the composition of the honey as well as the consequences that the composition has on properties such as color, crystallization, density, viscosity, or the refractive index. This Brief also introduces some of the most commonly used quality parameters for the determination of ageing and/or overheating: 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and diastase. Other recently proposed constituents for quality parameters are also mentioned, e.g. 1,2 dicarbonyl compounds (3 deoxyglucosone, methylglyoxal, glyoxal) and furosine, also named 2-furoylmethyl lysine.

Major research is now directed at improving the nutritional quality of eggs, and at using eggs in other products. Due to the decline in the consumption of eggs in the past few decades, researchers from many disciplines have been lead to look at the egg beyond its traditional food value, and to focus on economically viable biomedical, nutraceutical and ovo-biotechnologies. Written by international experts, this book is based on proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Egg Nutrition and Newly Emerging Ovo-Biotechnologies, held in Banff, Canada, in April 1998. It includes 39 chapters, covering food fats and health, egg consumption, egg lipids and nutrition, ovo-technologies, and food food safety.

These guidelines support a harmonized international approach to assessing the impacts of livestock on biodiversity. The livestock sector is a major user of natural resources (land in particular) and contributor to pollution (causing nutrient losses and increasing greenhouse gas emissions), which makes it a sector with a high impact on biodiversity. However, livestock production is one of the few sectors with not only negative but also positive impacts on biodiversity. The sector can therefore pull two levers to improve its biodiversity performance - mitigate harm and maximise benefits. Yet many environmental assessments of the livestock sector have not addressed biodiversity because of its intrinsic complexity. These guidelines, developed by the Technical Advisory Group on biodiversity - a team of 25 international experts in ecology, biodiversity indicators, agronomy, and environmental science - strive to include biodiversity in such assessments, to improve understanding of livestock's impact on biodiversity and to reveal possible synergies or trade-offs with other environmental criteria and the Sustainable Development Goals.

In the last few years, poultry-keeping has enjoyed massive growth, with heavy TV coverage featuring chefs such as Jamie Oliver. It is another symptom of our weariness of mass-produced, tasteless supermarket food - the appeal of being able to nip into the back garden to get fresh eggs for breakfast, knowing that the hens have been well kept, fed and loved. This highly practical book is aimed at beginners to the hobby and will explain everything you need to know to get started keeping chickens, from how to choose, house, feed and handle them to how many eggs they will lay, their affect on the local ecosystem and protection from foxes.

Feed intake is the central issue in animal husbandry, being the key factor in determining health, welfare, environmental impact and productivity. With the focus on these issues, this book has been developed from the 5th Zodiac Symposium held in Wageningen in April 1998. The book reflects research conducted by observing natural behavior, by investigating form-function relationships, physiology, metabolism and genetic make-up, and by offering choices of feed and environment. Information from studies on humans, wildlife and fish, as well as farm animals, is presented. It is divided into three parts: 1) Natural Feeding, Feeding Modes, Preferences and Behavior, Physiological Regulation of Feed Intake: 2)Genetic, Metabolic, Hormonal and Neural Regulations, Environmental Factors and Feed Intake: 3) Feeding Behavior, Feed Choice and Feeding Habits. Contributors include leading research workers from several European countries and Africa.

This guide for live poultry market managers provides practical options for improving the hygiene and biosecurity of their markets. Structured as a series of questions based on real-life situations and problems, it contains information on appropriate ways to decontaminate markets (e.g. using detergents or disinfectants), and the equipment and vehicles that enter them.Live poultry markets are an important part of the poultry supply chain in many parts of the world. However, the emergence of avian influenza viruses that can cause severe disease in humans who work in or visit contaminated markets means that some long-standing practices are no longer acceptable.This manual does not provide a "one-size-fits-all" solution for markets, given that these vary from large wholesale markets with a daily throughput of tens of thousands of poultry to small roadside or village markets that operate once or twice per week. Instead, it offers a menu of options that can be used to find cost-effective solutions for a range of types of market.

Everything an amateur pigkeeper needs for success Get Started in Pig Keeping offers amateur pigkeepers everything they need to make a success of this increasingly popular pursuit. Whether you are interested in breeding pigs, in meat production, or just want the pleasure of their company, this book covers legalities, basic equipment, picking breeds, understanding behaviour and how to raise and slaughter pigs. You'll get all of the advice you need on daily maintenance of your animal, from feeding to cleaning, and find ample resources if you wish to produce your own meat - or even market and sell it at a local level. Get Started in Pig Keeping includes: Chapter 1: The starting point Chapter 2: Preparation and knowing the rules Chapter 3: Before your pig arrives Chapter 4: Can keeping pigs be cost effective? Chapter 5: Getting your first pig Chapter 6: Feeding your pig Chapter 7: The health of your pig Chapter 8: Breeding from your own stock Chapter 9: Meat for the freezer Chapter 10: Sales and Marketing Chapter 11: Who's who in the pig world ABOUT THE SERIES People have been learning with Teach Yourself since 1938. With a vast range of practical how-to guides covering language learning, lifestyle, hobbies, business, psychology, and self-help, there's a Teach Yourself book for everything you want to do. Join more than 60 million people who have reached their goals with Teach Yourself, and never stop learning.

'One woman's gloriously lyrical account of life and love as a shepherdess' Mail on Sunday 'Janet White's unfailingly enjoyable book . . . taps into a widespread feeling that we have become cut off from the natural world' TLS 'An immensely enjoyable and heartfelt book: it makes you want to run for the hills' The Lady With an introduction by Colin Thubron As a child in wartime England, Janet White decided that she wanted to live somewhere wild and supremely beautiful, to inhabit and work the landscape. She imagined searching the whole world for a place, high and remote as a sheep stell, quiet as a monastery, challenging and virginal, untouched and unknown. Turning her back on convention, Janet's desire to carve out her own pastoral Eden has taken her from the Cheviot Hills to Sussex and Somerset, via the savage beauty of rural New Zealand. The Sheep Stell tells the tale of a woman before her time; a woman with incredible courage and determination, truly devoted to the land and its creatures. Evocative, unaffected and profound, it is a lost classic. 'A book to share or even fight over if necessary' Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows 'An extraordinary memoir . . . The Sheep Stell is pure joy, one of the most moving books I've read in a long time'Philip Marsden, author of Rising Ground 'This is a strange and lovely book, and quiet as it is, it makes you gasp at the profoundly lived quality of the life it so modestly describes' Jenny Diski 'A hymn to country solitude, lyrical, unpretentious and deeply felt' Colin Thubron

With the current interest in the environmental and economic sustainability of dairy farming, grass forage crops have emerged as a potential solution to some of the nutrient management problems now encountered on intensively managed dairy farms. The expansion and reintegration of grass-based systems into the mainstream of dairying systems will require a major paradigm shift involving economic, social and ecological, as well as biological factors. This book examines the role of grass in milk production in sustainable agricultural ecosystems. It provides a current summary of the role of grass in dairy cattle systems, including the breeding, management, storage, feeding and economics of grass for both lactating and dry dairy cows. Written by leading specialists from Australia, Europe, New Zealand, North and South America, this is an essential reference source for researchers, dairy industry professionals and advanced students of forage and dairy cattle nutrition.

The Proceedings of the 14th Symposium on Energy Metabolism of Farm Animals, held in Northern Ireland in September 1997, comprises 85 original contributions by leading scientists from over 20 countries around the world. In keeping with previous Symposia in the series, held under the auspices of the European Association for Animal Production, this book contains papers which provide the latest research on the energy metabolism and other aspects of the physiology of a wide variety of farmed animals. Highlights include a comprehensive review of the current state of research on leptins and their potential applications in animal production, and a large section relating to organ and tissue metabolism, with major contributions from the USA, UK, France, Germany and Denmark. An important strength of the book is the diversity of species covered. For example, the sections on modelling and feed evaluation relate to pigs, sows, broiler chickens, laying hens, turkeys, lambs, beef and dairy cattle and fish. There are also substantial contributions on lactation and reproduction, growth, environmental aspects and maintenance. This book is essential reading for research workers in animal science, particularly those concerned with nutrition and feed evaluation.

Sheep and goats are farmed throughout the world for meat, fiber, milk and leather. These small ruminants are very susceptible to external parasites, which has significant implications for their health and welfare as well as the quality and value of the end products for which they are farmed. This book gives practical guidance on preventing and controlling ectoparasites that contribute to disease and infection in sheep and goats, discussing types of parasites, the diseases they cause and what methods of control are available, as well as wider implications such as animal welfare and environmental impacts.

Originally published in 1919, this book provides a guide to cattle farming and beef production, with an emphasis on the importance of biological science for the future of these areas. The text is comprehensive in scope, putting forward authorial observations gained from 'long and varied experience as a practical farmer and as an investigator and teacher of scientific agriculture'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in animal husbandry, beef production and the history of agriculture.

From addled to wind egg, crossed beak to zygote, the terminology of everything chicken is demystified in "The Chicken Encyclopedia", a comprehensive A-to-Z reference volume presented in a friendly, highly illustrated format. Whether it's the difference between wry tail, split tail, and gamy tail; the meaning of hen feathered, forced molt, or quill feather; the characteristics of droopy wing; the content of granite grit; or the translation of a chicken's alarm call, here are all the answers to every chicken question and quandary, from the practical to the curious. The in-depth entries go beyond simple definitions to offer solutions to problems, instructions for tasks from catching a chicken to candling an egg, and historical origins of poultry-related terms. The fascinating lore behind breeds such as the Dutch Bantam and the Egyptian Fayoumi are detailed, as well as the reasons for behaviours from beak beating to head shaking.

Exam Board: Pearson BTEC Academic Level: BTEC National Subject: Animal Management First teaching: September 2016 First Exams: Summer 2017 The Revision Guide is accompanied by an ActiveBook (eBook) so that learners have the choice and flexibility to access materials anytime or anywhere. The visually engaging format breaks the content down into easily-digestible sections for students and provides hassle-free instant-access revision for learners. Clear specification fit, with revision activities and annotated sample responses for each unit to show students how to tackle the assessed tasks. Written with students in mind - in an informal voice that talks directly to them. Designed to be used alongside the Workbook with clear unit-by-unit correspondence to make it easy to use the books together.

Originally published in 1905, this book presents a history of horses and equidae, especially with regard to their relationship with humans. Ridgeway includes photographs of modern-day horses, which he describes as 'the most important ... of all the animals domesticated by man', as well as photographs and drawings of ancient artefacts featuring images of horses or relating to them. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in horses and the history of the immensely profitable human-horse relationship.

This is the first full-length monograph to examine the history of colonial medicine in India from the perspective of veterinary health. The history of human health in the subcontinent has received a fair amount of attention in the last few decades, but nearly all existing texts have completely ignored the question of animal health. This book will not only fill this gap, but also provide fresh perspectives and insights that might challenge existing arguments. At the same time, this volume is a social history of cattle in India. Keeping the question of livestock at the centre, it explores a range of themes such as famines, agrarian relations, urbanisation, middle-class attitudes, caste formations etc. The overall aim is to integrate medical history with social history in a way that has not often been attempted. -- .

Originally published in 1906 as part of the National Problems series, this book explains both the scientific and practical aspects of the breeding industry in Britain. Heape stresses the importance of the animal breeder as part of the agricultural and economic infrastructure of the country, particularly at a time when horses were still used for transportation, and suggests ways in which the government of the time could be more supportive to animal breeders, who perform such a significant yet often overlooked role. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of British agriculture and animal husbandry.

The Bee Manual offers a clear and concise introduction into the fascinating world of the honey bee and the addictive craft of beekeeping. For various reasons, the number of bee colonies has been declining and there is great interest in trying to aid their recovery. Anyone wanting to keep bees first needs to learn about the individuals, how colonies operate and how the beekeeper can work with these insects to help them thrive, carry out their pollination activities and produce a satisfying honey crop. Full of colour photos and clear step-by-step text, this book offers practical advice for anyone planning to take up this absorbing hobby. 'an essential book for all beekeepers' bookshelves.' Bee Craft

Prenatal life is the period of maximal development in animals, and it is well recognised that factors that alter development can have profound effects on the embryonic, fetal and postnatal animal. Scientists involved in research on livestock productivity have for decades studied postnatal consequences of fetal development on productivity. Recently, however, there has been a surge in interest in how to manage prenatal development to enhance livestock health and productivity. This has occurred largely due to the studies that show human health in later life can be influenced by events during prenatal life, and establishment of the Fetal Origins and the Thrifty Phenotype Hypotheses. This book, Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity reviews phenotypic consequences of prenatal development, and provides details of mechanisms that underpin these effects in ruminants, pigs and poultry. The chapters have been divided into three parts: Quantification of prenatal effects on postnatal productivity, mechanistic bases of postnatal consequences of prenatal development and regulators of fetal and neonatal nutrient supply. Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity is a reference from which future research to improve the level of understanding and capacity to enhance productivity, health and efficiency of livestock in developing and developed countries will evolve. It is particularly timely given the development of molecular technologies that are providing new insight into regulation and consequences of growth and development of the embryo, fetus and neonate.

The nature .and diversity of presentations at the conference on: "Bee Products: Prop erties, Applications and Apitherapy" held at Tel-Aviv on May 26--30, 1996, emphasize the increasing interest of physicians, practitioners, scientists, herbalists, dieticians, cosmeti cians, microbiologists, and beekeepers in different facets of bee products. This volume consists of a selection of 31 contributions presented at the conference and which provide information on the present status of our knowledge in this area. In spite of their diversity, they reflect the mainstream of the conference, namely: "Imported" Prod ucts (honey, pollen and propolis), Exocrine Secretions of Workers (venom, royal jelly). Toxicity and Contaminants, Quality Control, Marketing, Apitherapy, Cosmetics, etc. Since antiquity, honey as well as other bee products were used as food, as a cure for ailments of humans and animals, and as cosmetics. We hope that this volume will contribute to interdisciplinary studies on chemical composition, pharmacological effects, nutrition, and other aspects of bee products. Critical and unbiased experimental research may unravel the yet unknown composition and mode of action of bee products and elucidate many unanswered questions. The noteworthy features of this conference were the participants from all parts of the world and of different cultural backgrounds, who shared their keen interest and curios ity regarding honey bees and their products. We thank all of them for their personal con tribution to the success of this conference."