Animal Husbandry Main Syllabus
Paper-I
1.Animal Nutrition:
1.1 Partitioning of food energy within the animal. Direct and indirect calorimetry. Carbon – nitrogen
balance and comparative slaughter methods. Systems for expressing energy value of foods in
ruminants, pigs and poultry. Energy requirements for maintenance, growth, pregnancy, lactation, egg,
wool, and meat production.
1.2 Latest advances in protein nutrition. Energy protein interrelationships. Evaluation of protein quality.
Use of NPN compounds in ruminant diets. Protein requirements for maintenance, growth, pregnancy,
lactation, egg, wool and meat production.
1.3 Major and trace minerals – Their sources, physiological functions and deficiency symptoms. Toxic
minerals. Mineral interactions. Role of fat-soluble and water – soluble vitamins in the body, their
sources and deficiency symptoms.
1.4 Feed additives – methane inhibitors, probiotics, enzymes, antibiotics, hormones, oligosaccharides,
antioxidants, emulsifiers, mould inhibitors, buffers etc. Use and abuse of growth promoters like
hormones and antibiotics – latest concepts.
1.5 Conservation of fodders. Storage of feeds and feed ingredients. Recent advances in feed technology
and feed processing. Anti – nutritional and toxic factors present in livestock feeds. Feed analysis and
quality control. Digestibility trials – direct, indirect and indicator methods. Predicting feed intake in
grazing animals.
1.6 Advances in ruminant nutrition. Nutrient requirements. Balanced rations. Feeding of calves,
pregnant, work animals and breeding bulls. Strategies for feeding milch animals during different stages
of lactation cycle. Effect of feeding on milk composition. Feeding of goats for meat and milk
production. Feeding of sheep for meat and wool production.
1.7 Swine Nutrition. Nutrient requirements. Creep, starter, grower and finisher rations. Feeding of pigs
for lean meat production. Low cost rations for swine.
1.8 Poultry nutrition. Special features of poultry nutrition. Nutrient requirements for meat and egg
production. Formulation of rations for different classes of layers and broilers.
2. Animal Physiology
2.1 Physiology of blood and its circulation, respiration; excretion. Endocrine glands in health and
disease.
2.2 Blood constituents – Properties and functions-blood cell formationHaemoglobin synthesis and
chemistryplasma proteins production, classification and properties, coagulation of blood;Haemorrhagic
disorders-anticoagulants-blood groups-Blood volumePlasma expanders-Buffer systems in blood.
