65902 - Livestock Breeding

Learning outcomes

The student will acquire knowledge of the essential technical and scientific elements of animal production science and selection methods, and will be able to manage the control and basic management of the most common farming and breeding systems. Moreover, the student learns the fundamental elements of reproduction, genetic improvement, and farming Technologies. The student will gain critical evaluation skills on livestock breeding themes of professional interest and a good aptitude to apply the skills achieved in the social and working frameworks.

Course contents

This course is part of the Integrated Course “Animal Husbandry and Farm Buildings”.

SPECIFIC PREREQUISITES FOR THIS COURSE:

To better understand the topics covered in this course, students are advised to have already acquired knowledge in the following areas: basic biology, genetics, rearing and nutrition of farm animals.

SPECIFIC CONTENTS:

Module “Livestock Breeding – Paolo Zambonelli”

The syllabus is structured as follows:

Lectures:

• Introduction of the course.
• Livestock productions: statistics. The major zootechnical systems.
• Farm animal species. Systematic classification of the animals: concept of species, breed. Study of the main milk and meat breeds and their diffusion area.
• Milk production. Lactation curve. Factors that influence milk production and milk quality. Body Condition Score. Milking.
• Bovine meat production and notes on the other meat species.
• Factors influencing meat production and meat quality.
• Overview of reproduction in farm animals.
• Heritability of quantitative and qualitative traits.
• Genetic progress of livestock and influencing factors. Selection methods for genetic improvement. Progeny test, Performance test, Sib Test, Pedigree index. Kinship. Outline of BLUP and GBLUP methods.
• Organization of farm animal selection in Italy. Herd books of the main livestock species reared in Italy and the National Register.
• Basic information on the knowledge of animal genomes for genetic improvement.
• Polygastric digestive system. Basic elements of animal nutrition and digestive physiology. Main animal feeds.
• Weaning of calves. Simple notes on heifer farming. Dairy cow and dry cow rearing. The primary farming factors to consider with milking and dry cows.
• Slaughtering procedures.
• Bovine carcass grading.
• Crossbreeding between bovine breeds.

  Laboratory/Practical Sessions:

• The course includes seminars carried out by professionals from wildlife animal management and/or educational visits.

  Module “Farming Technologies– Paolo Trevisi”

  The syllabus is structured as follows:

  Lectures:

• Evidence on the economy of the pig market at National and European level.
• Livestock technologies and slaughter procedures (outline of the legislation).
• Main problems related with the pig breeding.
• Principles and methods of pig reproduction.
• Pig feeding in the different productive stages.
• Outline of genetic selection of pigs.

Laboratory/Practical Sessions:

The course includes seminars carried out by professionals from wildlife animal management and/or educational visits.

Readings/Bibliography

The teaching materials for this course are available on the Virtuale Learning Environment (https://virtuale.unibo.it/?lang=en ).

Readings:

• PowerPoint presentation.
• Scientific articles reported on the presentation.
• Bittante G., Andrighetto I., Ramanzin M. "Fondamenti di Zootecnica" - Liviana Editrice.

Teaching methods

The course includes both theoretical lectures and/or educational visits.

Considering the types of activities and teaching methods adopted, attendance for this course requires the successful completion of Modules 1 and 2, which focus on health and safety training in work environments (via e-learning), and Module 3, which focuses on health and safety training in study environments. Information about the schedule and access to Module 3 is available in the dedicated section of the Degree Program website.

Assessment methods

The assessment for the Course “Livestock breeding” consists of two oral exams.

Each interview will be based on the main topics of the course and consist of two to three questions. The duration will be about 20 minutes.

In evaluating the oral exam, the instructor will use the following grading scale:

• Basic understanding of only a few course topics; analysis skills emerge only with the instructor’s help; generally correct language → 18–22.
• Limited knowledge of several topics; independent analysis only on procedural issues; correct language use → 23–26.
• Broad knowledge of course topics; ability to make autonomous critical judgments; mastery of discipline-specific terminology → 27–29.
• Comprehensive understanding of course content; fully independent critical analysis and connections; excellent command of terminology and argumentation skills → 30–30 with honors.

The result of the oral exam will be communicated at the end of the session. The minimum passing grade is 18/30.

The exam is considered passed only if all parts are successfully completed. The final grade is determined by the average of the grades from the various parts of the exam, expressed out of 30. A minimum final grade of 18/30 is required.

Negative results are not graded numerically but recorded as “withdrawn” or “failed” in the electronic transcript on AlmaEsami, and do not affect the student’s academic record.

Grades for individual parts and the final grade will be published on the Virtuale Learning Environment (https://virtuale.unibo.it/?lang=en ) by the designated course contact within 5 working days of the exam.

Students may reject the final grade by informing the course examiner via e-mail within five working days.

The designated contact for the course “Animal Husbandry and Farm Buildings” is Prof. Patrizia Tassinari.

Students can register for exams through the AlmaEsami platform (http://almaesami.unibo.it/ ). Exams are scheduled during the designated periods in the academic calendar. Additional sessions are available for students beyond the standard program duration.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, considering the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Slides of the lectures.

Reference regulation.

Text and website suggested.

In case of difficulty understanding the course content, the instructors are available for clarification meetings, which must be scheduled via e-mail.

Links to further information

https://corsi.unibo.it/laurea/EconomiaMarketingAgroIndustriale

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Zambonelli

See the website of Paolo Trevisi