UNIT 1

Man, Animal, and Ecosystem

• In the beginning, man did not have to cultivate the land nor herd animals for his food. Fruits
on trees and eggs in the nests were plentiful and waiting to be gathered. Animals are on the
range, and fish are in the water waiting to be caught.
• But in the course of the existence, man felt that nature’s bounty was not enough to satisfy him.
• Man decided that he had to have animals for his food. But even as he worked hard on the
land, famine came.
• People went hungry and many perished. As part of the ecological milieu, man and animals
had much to do with it.
• For several years, animals have long been one of the world’s most valuable resources.
• They provide food, fiber, and leather for clothing, fuel, and draft power for transportation and
soil tillage which greatly contributed in the growth and survival of humanity.
• Modern animal agriculture is the business of producing, processing, and marketing high-
quality protein (meat, milk, and eggs), fiber, and other animal products for human
consumption.
• At present, many have already been successful in this venture. In addition, other related
agricultural enterprises are being benefited in the process.
• In an ecosystem the continued growth of plants and animals depends on the maintenance of
the balance between the food producers and the food consumers.
• Plants, through their photosynthetic activity convert energy of the sun into carbohydrates.
• They also fix nitrogen from atmosphere and together with other elements.
• As consumers, some animals feed only on plants, some feed on other animals only, and some
feed on plants and animals.
• Much of the energy taken in by animals from plant is dissipated to atmosphere during
respiration. Thus for a given land area, the growth of animal population could introduce an
imbalance in the ecosystem in a way that could deplete the vegetation.
• In a system where animals are produced in a pastoral system and where regrowth of
vegetation is left entirely to nature, the land could be easily over-grazed.
• While animals continue to reproduce and increase in number, vegetation is not given
opportunity to recover its normal growth.
• Aside from plants, animals are also sources of food energy for man. But because of the
dissipation of energy in the process of conversion of plants and other feedstuff, into animal
products, animals are poor producers of food.
• Today, more people are now becoming very interested to invest in animal production.
Therefore, studying animal science is imperative to gain proper knowledge and understanding
about animals.
• This leads to the development of appropriate technologies, management practices, and
interventions to be applied in animal production, making it efficient and profitable
Definition of Terms

Animal Science - refers to the study of nutrition, physiology, biotechnology, animal husbandry
and other fundamental sciences related to animals.
Animal Husbandry - refers to the art, science and industry of feeding, breeding, care and
management, processing and marketing of animal products and by-products for the purpose of
obtaining profit from the enterprise.
Animal science and animal husbandry are equivalent to zootechny which was derived from the
Greek word “zoon” meaning life and “techne” meaning art or skill.
Animal husbandman - one who takes care of the animal, machine or specialist in the science of
raising animal. He tends animal to keep them healthy, produce quality products and reproduce
regularly.

Animal and Its Economic Utility

Desirable Traits of a Good Animal Husbandman

1. Ability to know the habits of animals.
2. Good physique
3. Kindness to animals.
4. Self-reliance
5. Intelligence and resourcefulness.
6. Prudence and courage.
7. Honesty and reliability
8. Punctuality and regularity
9. Diligence
10. Thrift
11. Foresight
Role of Animal Husbandman
1. The animal husbandman is diligent to do all kinds of chores in animal raising.
2. The animal husbandman is not a veterinarian but has some basic knowledge of animal
disease prevention and control.
3. The animal husbandman is a crop and forage producer.
Factors in Successful Operation of an Animal Enterprise
1. Availability of capital
2. Proper selection of stocks and proper breeding
3. Proper housing and facilities
4. Proper feeding
5. Proper care and management practices
6. Proper culling
7. Proper disease prevention and control
8. Proper marketing
Goals of Animal Science
To improve animal production, the following are considered:
1. Development of animal disease control
2. Reproduction
3. Genetic innovation
4. Nutritional efficiency
5. Product quality
6. Conducive environment

Importance of Livestock to Agricultural Developments

1. Protein source - eggs, beef, pork, chevon, lamb, poultry, milk, fish
2. Draft power - oxen, water buffalo, horses, camels, cattle
3. Food reserve - small animals like goat, sheep, and pigs
4. Capital accumulation - livestock as living bank of reserve capital
5. Value added - conversion of forage industrial waste and household refuse into high value
products
6. Manure - nutrient to plants form electricity, energy
7. Risk reduction - income stability
8. Environmental stability - prevent erosion, watershed development
9. Gross domestic product - sustained product source
10. Export earnings - products quality
11. Source of labor industrialization and employment
12. Recycling of animal by –products
Problems in Animal Production
1. Ecological Factors - land and climate, topography of the land, soil fertility, rainfall, temperature,
plant growing season
2. Biological Factor – plant and animal
3. Socio-Economic Factors (complex) – supply-demand relationship, input-output ratio, prices.

Relationship of Animals to their Environment

Effect of high temperature in animals

• affects growth and production efficiency of animals at higher temperature rise in rectal
temperature.
• decline in feed intake
 • increase in water intake
• decrease in production of milk
• changes in milk composition
• affect skin – sun-burns, skin cancer and photo sensitive disorders
• increase heat load – growth, production and reproduction
• light color coat – less affected
• poor ovulation
• favorable for the production of external parasites, and bacteria
• Standing animals – less solar effect
• Buffalo – more affected – heat absorption
• Cow – less affected

Effect of high humidity (rainfall, moisture, wind)/Low temperature

• depresses evaporative heat loss
• increase feed intake
• depression of production
• pasture grows faster and its nutritive value becomes less due to more cellulose in feed
• favorable for internal parasite and fungi
• animal start growing longer hair for cold weathe

General Terms

1. Parturition – act of giving birth

Specific terms:
A. Calving – act of giving birth in cows
b. Farrowing –act of giving birth in sows
c. Kidding – act of giving birth in does
d. Foaling – act of giving birth in mares
e. Lambing – act of giving birth in ewes
2. Gestation – period of pregnancy; period from conception until birth.
3. Conception – implantation of the zygote.
4. Dam – female parent.
5. Sire – male parent.
6. Fertility – in female is the ability to produce fertilizable ova and to provide proper environment
for and of initiating cell division and embryonic development;
- In male is the ability to produce large number of sperms capable of fertilization.
7. Fecundity (or prolificacy) – ability to give birth to off springs frequently or numerous young
at frequent intervals.
8. Sterility – inability to produce normal young
9. Impotency – failure to copulate
10. Puberty – sexual maturity, as exhibited by first heat or ovulation.
11. Weanling – young animal, after separation from its dam.
12. Weaning – the process of separating the young from its dam.

CATTLE
1. Ox – member of the bovine family or, sometimes, the male used for draft purpose.
2. Cattle – domesticated bovine animals
3. Bull – male of any age used for breeding
4. Cow – mature female cattle for breeding
5. Heifer – young female cattle under three years of age, usually, one that has not yet given
birth.
6. Steer – male cattle that has been castrated before the secondary sex characters develop.
7. Stag – male cattle castrated after sexual maturity
8. Calf – young cattle of either sex less than one year of age.
9. Bull Calf – young male cattle under one year of age.
10. Carabull – carabao bull; caraheifer, caracow, etc.; the use of the prefix “cara” to terms for
cattle to apply to carabaos.
11. Bullock – usually stag used for draft purposes.
12. Proven sire – bull about whom there is sufficient unselected information to indicate its
transmitting ability.
13. Transmitting ability – the ability of an animal to pass on either good or bad production traits
to its progeny.

HORSE
1. Stallion – mature male horse, if the stallion is used for breeding purposes, the term Stud
horse is preferred.
2. Mare – mature female horse. Brood mare – female horse used for breeding purpose.
3. Colt – young male horse usually u to 3 years old.
4. Filly – young female horse usually up to 3 years old.
5. Foal – young horse of either sex below one year of age.
6. Gelding – horse castrated while young.
7. Geld mare – dry mare, which has not produced any young during breeding season.
8. Ridgling – stallion with only one testis or none in the scrotum.
9. Equitation – horsemanship; the art of riding on horseback.

SWINE
1. Boar – male pig of any age.
2. Sow – mature female pig.
3. Gilt – young female pig under one year of age, usually one that has not yet delivered.
4. Shoat – young pig of either sex weighing approximately 60 kgs.
5. Barrow – male pig castrated while young; or is castrated pig that is unsexed before the
secondary sex characters have developed.
6. Stag – a male pig castrated after sexually maturity.
7. Suckling – young pigs from birth up to weaning.
8. Weanling – young pigs separated from their dam, about 2 months old.
9. Litter – group of pigs in one farrowing.
10. Litter size – the number of young born in one litter.

SHEEP AND GOATS

1. Ram or Buck – male sheep of any age for breeding purposes.
2. Ewe – female sheep of an age.
3. Lamb – young sheep of either sex below one year of age.
4. Wether sheep – male sheep which is castrated while young, preferably between one to three
weeks of age.
5. Shearling - yearling sheep with two teeth.
6. Fleece – wool covering the sheep.
7. Billy goat or Buck – male goat of any age.
8. Pelt – wool and skin of a sheep.
9. Doe – female goat of any age.
10. Kid – young goat of either sex below one year of age.
11. Wether goat – castrated male goat which was unsexed before the secondary sex characters
have developed.

POULTRY TERMS
1. Broiler – any young bird, grown usually for 6 weeks in order that it may weigh 1 kg after that
period.
2. Candling – is the process of subjecting eggs to light (usually a bulb) to check its fertility.
3. Capon – castrated male chicken.
4. Brooding – process of subjecting young animals to heat and warmth in order to increase
their chances of survival.
5. Chick – young chicken regardless of sex
6. Cockerel – young cock.
7. Contract growing – growing animals for someone else for a fee.
8. Culling – is the process of eliminating undesirable animals.
9. Domesticated birds – all birds that have been tamed or trained or adapted to serve man’s
needs.
10. Dubbing – the removal of the comb or wattle.
11. Duck – a name of various waterfowls akin to, but distinguished from swans and geese by
having broader bills and more waddling gait.
12. Duckling – is a young duck regardless of sex.
13. Drake – a male duck.
14. Fowl – a domesticated bird, now commonly referring to cock or hen.
15. Fryer – any bird that has developed to a size suitable for frying.
16. Gander – a male goose.
17. Green duck – refers to the juicy and tender meat of duck.
18. Goose – aquatic birds that are akin to ducks but distinguished from them by having longer
necks, narrower bills, larger bodies and wings and a more aggressive behavior.
19. Gosling – s young goose regardless of sex.
20. Hen – a mature female fowl.
21. Molting – is the natural means of renewing feathers in birds.
22. Poult – young turkey regardless of sex.
23. Pullet – a young female bird, hen or chicken.
24. Roaster – an overgrown fryer.
25. Rooster – a mature male chicken.
26. Selection – is the process of choosing animals to be mated as parents for the next
generation.
27. Sexing – is the process of finding out the sex of the animals.
28. Squab – young dove or pigeon.
29. Tom – male turkey.

ABATTOIR TERMS
1. Meat – properly dressed flesh derived from animals sufficiently mature and in good condition
at time of slaughter.
2. Slaughtering – from fasting through stunning, bleeding up to skinning, evisceration and
halving.
3. Butchering – from splitting and quartering to cutting the carcass into retail cuts.

Animals and their Scientific Name

Note: Scientific names should be written with capitalize letter in the first word and small letter in
the second word. It should also be written in italic form or with underline (ex. Bos indicus or Bos
indicus)

Cattle – Bos indicus, Bos taurus

Carabao – Bubalus bubalis
Chicken – Gallus gallus domesticus
Duck – Anas platyrhynchos
Goat – Capra hircus
Geese – Anser anser
Horse – Equus caballus
Ostrich – Struthio camelus
Pigeon – Columba livia
Philippine eagle – Pithecophaga jefferyi
Philippine tamaraw – Bubalus mindorensis
Quail – Coturnix coturnix
Rabbit – Oryctolagus cuniculus
Sheep – Ovis aries
Swine – Sus domesticus, Sus scrofa
Turkey – Meleagris gallopavo