Animal Husbandry Overview: 

Animal husbandry focused on the breeding, care, and management of livestock for various purposes. It encompasses practices such as selective breeding, nutrition, and healthcare to ensure the well-being and productivity of animals. Animal husbandry plays a vital role in providing food, fibers, and other resources while contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.

Meaning of Animal husbandry:

• It is the management and care of farm animals for milk, eggs or meat.

Cattle Farming in Animal Husbandry:

• Cattle husbandry is done for two purposes, namely, for milk and for draught labour for agricultural work such as tilling, irrigation, and carting.
  • Milk production depends on the duration of the lactation period. 
  • So, milk production can be increased by increasing the lactation period. 
  • Exotic or foreign breeds are selected for long lactation periods, while local breeds show excellent resistance to diseases. 
• The two are cross-bred to get animals with both the desired qualities.
• Food Requirements of Dairy Animals:  The animal feed includes roughage, which is largely fibre, and concentrates, which are low in fibre and contain relatively high levels of proteins and other nutrients. 
• The food requirements of dairy animals are of two types in Animal Husbandry:

• • Maintenance requirement, which is the food required to support the animal to live a healthy life.
  • Milk-production requirement, which is the type of food required during the lactation period.

Poultry Farming in Animal Husbandry:

• Poultry farming is undertaken to raise domestic fowl for egg production and chicken meat. 
  • The cross-breeding programs between Indian and foreign breeds for variety improvement are focused on developing new varieties. 
• Broiler chickens are fed with vitamin-rich supplementary feed for a good growth rate and better feed efficiency. 
  • Care is taken to avoid mortality and to maintain feathering and carcass quality. 
  • For good production there should be maintenance of temperature and hygienic conditions in housing and poultry feed, as well as prevention and control of diseases and pests.

Fish Production in Animal Husbandry:

• Fish production includes the finned true fish as well as shellfish such as prawns and mollusks. 
• There are two ways of obtaining fish. 
  • One is from natural resources, which is called capture fishing. 
  • The other way is by fish farming, which is called culture fishery. 
  • Fishing can be done both by capturing and culture of fish in marine and freshwater ecosystems.

Marine Fisheries in Animal Husbandry:  

• Popular marine fish varieties include pomfret, mackerel, tuna, sardines, and Bombay duck. 
• Marine fish are caught using many kinds of fishing nets from fishing boats.
• Yields are increased by locating large schools of fish in the open sea using satellites and echo sounders.

Inland Fisheries in Animal Husbandry: 

• Freshwater resources include canals, ponds, reservoirs, and rivers. Brackish water resources, where seawater and freshwater mix together, such as estuaries and lagoons are also important fish reservoirs. 
• While capture fishing is also done in such inland water bodies, the yield is not high. 
• Most fish production from these resources is through aquaculture.

Bee-Keeping in Animal Husbandry:

• Bee-keeping needs low investments, farmers use it as an additional income-generating activity. 
• In addition to honey, the beehives are a source of wax which is used in various medicinal preparations. 
  • The Italian bees have a high honey collection capacity. 
  • They sting somewhat less. 
  • They stay in a given beehive for long periods and breed very well. For commercial honey production, bee farms or apiaries are established.

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