FINAL AVS REVIEW GUIDE ONE

hunger

lack of resources caused purely by social and economic forces

FCR

feed conversion ratio: measures how much feed an animal needs to eat to gain a certain amount of body weight.

FGR

feed to gain ratio: the amount of feed an animal consumes compared to the amount of weight it gains.

Morrill Act of 1862

provided for the establishment of one kand grant institution in each state

Morrill Act of 1890

provided for the establishment of a second land grant for segregated southern states

Morrill Act of 1994

provided for the establishment of a tribal land grant in 12 Western States

Hatch Act of 1887

provided for the establishment of an experiment station in each state

Smith-Lever Act of 1914

provided for the creation of the Extension Service

How has the role of animals in society changed?

Animals were originally domesticated for various purposes:

Dogs: domesticated first for hunting and gathering

Cattle: religious reasons

Horses: transportation and war

Eating animals is a newer development, our care and time investment into animals has drastically increased

where are farms today?

the number of farms in the US has decreased, but farms are more productive than ever

advances in technology have aided efficiency of farms

boxed beef, railroads, and highway systems are innovations that allowed movement of animal products further distances

farms are not still the center of urbanization

horizontal integration

When one party owns or controls the entire chain of production of one industry, (Ex: farrowing to finishing)

vertical integration

when one step or process within an industry is controlled or maintained by one party

vertical coordination

when one party does not own or control but coordinates with other parties to have organization and competitive markets for an industry

how do we keep up if we have fewer farms today

Although the number of farms in the US has decreased, the size and productivity of these farms has increased exponentially,

This is large in part due to the capitalist economy of the US.

New developments in technology and animal husbandry innovation has also helped with increasing the productivity of farms

animal husbandry

the act of caring for animals, that art of animal production

management is how we utilize animals and tend to issues and varying needs

monogastric animals led themselves to confinement which is why ruminants are often given more space than monogastrics

domestication characteristics

docility, social hierarchies existing among members of the species, ease of breeding and reproduction, less timid, diet (herbivores easier than carnivore)

ruminant vs monogastrics

monogastrics have a single chambered stomach

ex. horses, humans, dogs, cats, pigs , birds, rabbit

ruminants have a multi chambered stomach (not multiple stomach, just multiple chambers with one acting as the true stomach)

ex. cows, sheep, goats, deer, giraffes, elk, camel

precocial vs altricial

precocial: fully developed and slightly independent when born/hatched

ex. chicken, duck

altricial: underdeveloped and entirely dependent when born or hatched

ex. songbirds, parrot, pelican

breed blindness

many industries have become breed blind, breeds are less relevant than the good qualities associated with one breed that can be crossed with another to concentrate traits

dressing percentage

the percentage of a carcass that produces meat product

monogastrics have a higher dressing percentage becasue they have less digestive tracts

turkey: 83%

pig: 75%

cow: 63%

goat/sheep: 50%

feed to gain/feed conversion ratio

both represent the same measurement, both represent the ratio of the amount of feed needed for an animal to gain 1kg of weight

castration

occurs in order to prevent an animal from reproducing or to manage behavior of an animal

animals castrated at an old age are almost always for behavioral reasons

castration also serves as a way to reduce hormones and improve the health of an animal

cattle

ruminant

polyestrous

edible product: beef and milk

beef cattle harvested at 15 months (1500 lbs)

dressing percentage for beef cattle is 63%

are grazing animals

beef and dairy cows

cattle have sex-sorted semen to sway gender ratios

bos taurus vs bos indicus

bos taurus are designed for colder dry climates, european origin

bos indicus are designed to endure hot and humid climates

dairy cattle

holstein: black and white cows, produce the most milk by volume

jersey: smaller framed light brown cows, produce the most milk fats (butters and protein)

beef on dairy

In order to reduce waste within the dairy industry, beef and dairy

cattle are crossed to improve the carcassing of cattle that will not be utilized in the dairy industry. improving the carcassing of the dairy cattle helps them be better utilized once they enter the beef space. Since only 30% of dairy cattle bred will be used as replacement for the herd, the other 70% enter the beef space

lactational anestrus

period of time in which estrous cycle is paused while mother is nursing baby

trait heritability

some traits are more heritable than others (traits range from 0-1 on heritability scale)

basics of pigs

monogastrics

polyestrous breeders

edible product: pork, most consumed meat in the world

most efficient feed conversion because they are monogastrics

dressing percentage 75%

are harvested at 6 months or 280-300 lbs

PSS: Porcine stress syndrome

Was caused by rapid turnaround to make pigs leaner in the 90’s

Caused the genetic inheritance of the PSS gene

Leads to excessive stress of pigs and death

Once we realized this trait was linked to a gene it was too late, as the gene was already dispersed within the population

Excessive stress can cause poor meat quality and death

pig breeding basics

polyestrous

gestation period 115 days/4 months

litter bearing animal

begin cycling (sow starts going through her estrous/reproductive cycle again, meaning she can return to heat and become pregnant once piglets are weaned: weaned at 3 week of age)

NBA=number born alive

PPSPY: pigs per sow per year

NW: number weaned

chicken and turkey

Are monogastric

Oviparous: egg laying (have a shell gland not a uterus)

Incubation period: 21 days chicken, 28 days turkeys

No way to sex sort chickens

Chicken and turkey has no meat grading

Chickens are breed blind

Purebreds not used in commercial farms

All turkeys reproduce through AI

Chicken have no external genitalia

Mate through cloacal contact

The younger the meat, the more tender

Cloaca: common opening (one hole)

Broilers (meat chickens), Layers (egg-laying chickens)

sheep and goats (small ruminants)

Are seasonally polyestrous breeders

Products: meat and wool/hair

Wool crimps in a series of z shapes

The longer the staple, and the thinner the fiber the higher valued

Some sheep have wool fibers, some have hair

Gestation length: 5 months

Have meat and wool breeds of sheep

Have meat and hair breeds of goats

Due to prehensile jaw and grazing close to the ground sheep and goats are very prone to parasites

Famacha: scale we use to sense severity of parasite load in an animal

We age sheep and goats by assessing the spool joint growth plate

sheep tails point down, goat tails point up

horse basics

monogastric hindgut fermenters

gestation length of 11 months

measure horse in hands, 1 hand=4in

measure a horses height from wither to hoof

industry pyramid

grandparent stock → parent stock → nursery/hatchery → pastured/broiler house → finishing and harvesting → consumers

food safety

the US has the gold standard for food safety

one of the best ways to maintain food safety is temp

different products have different grades based on quality

→ for beef: standard, select, choice, prime

→ in beef, marbling determines grade (the intramuscular fat)

horse sizes

miniature, pony, light, draft