93972 - Sustainable Poultry, Rabbit and Ruminants Management

Learning outcomes

At course completion, the student possesses knowledge on: technological and management innovations for the improvement of animal welfare, production efficiency and sustainability of poultry and rabbit meat, egg and aquaculture supply chains; the responsible use of resources, conservation of biodiversity, and impact on climate change; the application of innovative monitoring systems and precision detection tools to control production and quality parameters. In particular, the student possesses the skills to: understand business management practices to safeguard and protect the environment, the quality of primary production, and of finished products, identifying possible lacks or critical points and providing effective solutions; manage demonstrative and training activities in the poultry, rabbit and aquaculture supply chains; identify, organize and write proposals funded by local, national and international institutions to get funds for supporting research and innovations for producers and bodies.

Course contents

Module 1 - Sustainable Poultry Management (Dr. Marco Zampiga)

Main poultry production systems

Poultry production statistics

Current productive scenario

Future perspectives

Basic concepts of sustainability

Importance of feed efficiency for the sustainable intensification of poultry production

Production of poultry meat and related sustainability concerns

General aspects of broiler farming and nutrition

Management strategies (high-quality chick and early-life, basic concepts of biosecurity for reducing antibiotic use)

Nutritional strategies for improving production sustainability and environmental impact (phase-feeding, feed additives, innovative protein sources, alternatives to antibiotic utilization)

Valorization of litter and slaughtering by-products

Production of eggs and related sustainability concerns

General aspects of laying hens farming and nutrition

Management strategies (housing systems, gender determination during embryo development, utilization of male chicks, beak trimming, manure management)

Nutritional strategies (feed additives, alternative protein sources, insights on calcium and phosphorous metabolism and related impact on skeletal integrity and eggshell strength, nutrition for extending laying cycle)

 

Module 2 Sustainable Rabbit and Aquaculture Management (Dr. Francesca Soglia)

Production of rabbit meat and related sustainability concerns

Rabbit meat production statistics

Current productive scenario

General aspects of rabbit farming (breeds and genetic lines, breeding strategies, production cycle, rabbit farming management, basic elements of rabbit nutrition and digestive system)

Sustainability indicators of rabbit farming

Management strategies for sustainable development of rabbit farming (housing systems, protein sources)

Nutritional strategies for sustainable development of rabbit farming (alternatives to antibiotic utilization, feed efficiency)

Aquaculture and related sustainability concerns

Definitions and origin of aquaculture

Current productive scenario

Classification of aquaculture

Selected culture systems for marine fish species and clams

Management strategies for a sustainable development of aquaculture (culture systems)

Nutritional strategies for a sustainable development of aquaculture (plant-based protein as an alternative protein source, valorization of by-products and insects)

Readings/Bibliography

At the end of each topic, slides presented during the lectures will be available in the appropriate website (https://iol.unibo.it/ ).

Lecture notes

Suggested reference books:

• Applegate T. Achieving sustainable production of poultry meat. Volume 2: Breeding and nutrition. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, London. 1^st edition, 2017.
• Leeson S., Summers J.D. Scott’s nutrition of the chicken, 4^th edition. University Books, Canada. 2001.
• Faisal I. Hai, Chettiyappan Visvanathan, Ramaraj Boopathy. (2018). Sustainable aquaculture. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland.
• Stickney, R. R. (2008). Encyclopedia of aquaculture. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States.

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars held by sector experts, demonstrations and exercises delivered in mixed mode.

Assessment methods

The oral examination of the course of "Sustainable poultry, rabbit and aquaculture management" will consist of an interview lasting about 30 minutes for each module. The interview for Module 1 and 2 can be attended in the same day or separately. During this interview, theoretical and applicative knowledge of the student will be verified. The evaluation will be based on the overall level of knowledge, the capacity of critical analysis and connection among different topics, and the use of a proper and specific terminology in relation to the contents of course.

The final evaluation for the integrated course “Sustainable poultry, rabbit and aquaculture management” will be calculated as the arithmetic mean of the scores reported in the two modules (“Sustainable poultry management” and “Sustainable rabbit and aquaculture management”).

The examination commission will be composed of the lecturers in charge of each module and Dr. Marco Zampiga will record the exam in AlmaEsami.

All dates, times and locations of the examinations will be published on the course website. Please use the web application AlmaEsami to subscribe. Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, the examinations can be also held by means of Microsoft Teams.

Teaching tools

The presentations (Power point slides) showed during the course will be available to the student in electronic format via the Virtual platform (access reserved for students enrolled at the University of Bologna).

Office hours

See the website of Marco Zampiga

See the website of Francesca Soglia