The agricultural practice of breeding and raising cattle is known as animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is concerned with the care and production of livestock. It involves animals such as cows, buffaloes, pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, and goats. Its scope has been expanded to include poultry farms and fisheries. Fisheries involve the breeding, catching, and selling of fish. The term fishes also include other edible seafood such as prawns, shellfish, oyster, etc. Humans also rely on harvesting honey from bees, silk from silkworms, wool from sheep, and so on.
Farm Animals and Farm Management
Management of farm animals at a higher scale is a lot more different than raising domestic animals. Let’s discuss some farm management strategies.
Management of Dairy Farm
Dairy farming is the practice of raising animals to produce milk and other dairy products for their utilisation by humans. Management of dairy farms includes possessing knowledge about the various approaches and systems that boost productivity and improve milk quality. The quality of the farm’s breeds has the greatest impact on milk yield. It is important to select breeds with the best potential of yielding as well as high disease resistance. Cattle should be fed in a specific way, with specific attention paid to the quality and quantity of forage. Furthermore, strict sanitation and hygiene are essential when milking, storing, and transporting milk and its products.
Poultry Farm Management
Poultry farming refers to the domestication of birds to utilise their meat and eggs. Chickens and ducks are the most common birds included in poultry farming. The term poultry is frequently used to refer to the meat of these poultry birds, although it can also apply to the flesh of other birds in a broader sense. Aspects such as the selection of disease-free and acceptable breeds, proper and safe farm conditions, managing proper feed and water, and hygiene and health care are necessary for better outcomes.
Animal Breeding
Animal breeding is a crucial part of animal husbandry. The goal of animal breeding is to increase animal productivity while also considering the desirable characteristics. A breed can be defined as a collection of animals that are of the same species and share almost similar characteristics such as overall look, features, size, configuration, and so on. Inbreeding occurs when animals of the same breed mate, whereas outbreeding occurs when animals of different breeds cross.
Cross-breeding: This strategy involves mating good quality males from one breed with good quality females from another breed. The best traits of two different breeds can be merged through cross-breeding. The hybrid animals’ offspring may be exploited for commercial purposes.
Interspecific hybridisation: Male and female animals from two different but related species tend to be mated in interspecific hybridisation. In some situations, the children may have favourable characteristics from both parents and be economically valuable.
Controlled breeding experiments: Artificial insemination is used in controlled breeding experiments. The breeder collects the sperm from the animal chosen as a father and injects it into the reproductive tract of the female chosen.
Beekeeping
Beekeeping, also known as apiculture, is the practice of keeping honeybee colonies to produce honey. It’s been a long-standing cottage enterprise. Honey is a nutrient-dense food that is also used in traditional medicine. Beeswax is produced by honeybees and is used in a variety of industries, including the manufacture of cosmetics and polishes. The growing demand for honey has resulted in large-scale beekeeping operations; it has become a good source of income. Beekeeping can be done at any place where enough bee pastures are available, such as wild shrubs, fruit orchards, and developed crops. Honeybees come in a variety of species that can be raised. Apis indica is the most commonly farmed species. Beehives can be placed anywhere. Beekeeping is not effort-intensive.
Fisheries
Fisheries is the business of catching, followed by processing and then selling fish and other aquatic animals. It includes fish, fish products, and other aquatic species such as prawns, crabs, lobsters etc. Some common freshwater fishes are catla and rohu. Hilsa, Sardines, Mackerel, and Pomfrets are some of the marine fishes consumed.
Fisheries play a significant role in the Indian economy. Several fishermen and farmers rely on it for revenue and jobs. For many people, it is their sole source of income. Different approaches have been used to boost productivity to fulfil the increased demands on fisheries.
Conclusion
Animal husbandry is the activity of using scientific methods to care for and breed domestic animals. Considering the increase in demand for good quality of animal food and animal products, animal husbandry is in high demand. These techniques include farm and farm animal management, as well as animal breeding. Because of honey’s great nutritional value and medicinal benefits, beekeeping or apiculture has seen a significant increase in popularity. The fishery is another thriving industry that is keeping up with the growing demand for fish, fish products, and other aquatic consumables.