Final Exam- Animal Science
Beef
1. Discuss each segment of the beef industry
Cow calf operation primary goal is? reproductive effiency
At how old do heifers begin breeding? 15-24 months
At what age does a heifer have her first calf? 2 years
How old is the calf when it is weaned? 6-10 months or when they reach 4.5-7 cwt
What three ways can calves go after weaning? retaining as replacements, stocker/backgrounder or finishing
What happens when calves go to stocker backgrounder? an optional stage where the calves are put on forages/roughages for cheap and stay there until they are about 9 cwt.
What charateristics are good to have in a replacement heifer? heavy weaning wiehgt, maternal instincts, good fertility, ease in calving
2. Describe key advantages and disadvantages to forage finishing vs feedlot finishing cattle
What are the advantages of grass finishing? avoids metabolic issues, could be ABH free, no required feed everyday, transportation isn’t needed, public perception is good.
What are disadvantages of grass finishing? Rotation is needed, emissions produced by the cows, water usage is high, forage has to be planted, space is required, longer finishing time, lower quality carcass, may experience shrink/stress
What is the goal of a feedlot? accelerate gain as quickly as possible and have high quality beef
What do cows usually eat at feedlots? not 100% grain, silage and grain variation
What are advantages of feedlot finishing? Stocking density, feed control, access/centralized, faster growth, economical
what are disadvantages of feedlot finishing? labor is needed, higher rate of disease, transportation needs, public perception is low
3. Compare and contrast commercial and farmer-feedersDescribe a commercial cattle operation? 1000+ head and owned by companies
Describe farmer feeder cattle operations? <1000 head, owned by single persons or families
What are advantages of farmer feeder operations? able to grow their own feeds, distribute labor well, very flexible
What are advantages of commercial operations? maagement is done well, can custom feed the cattle
What is an EPD? Expected prodgeny differences; combines the performance of the individual with that of its relatives
Dairy
What are the life stages of a dairy cow? calf→ heifer→cow→dry period→lactation
At what age are dairy calves weaned? about 6 weeks
at what age is a dairy heifer bred for the first time? about 15 months
at what age does a dairy heifer have her first calf? about 24 months
How long does lactation last in dairy cows? about 10 months
At what time in lactation does the cow reach peak milk production? about 60 days in
What is a dry period and how long does it last? when the cow is not milking, lasts about 60 days, the cow is either pregnant or preparing to breed.
After how long is the cow bred again after lactation? 60-90 days
What are the three different types of dairies? grazing, partial turnout and conventional
What does calf housing look like? individual isolated housing that are called calf hutches, this helps with disease risk in the calves.
What is a freestall barn? the type of barn we use today that has center isles as beds, a feed alley; the cleanest and most comfortable for the cows.
What is a grazing dairy? when cows are fed on grass and are out in the feild the majority of the time.
what is a partial turnout dairy? when the cows have some area outside and some area inside besides the milking parlor.
what is a conventional dairy? grain fed cows that are on larger operations, what comes to mind when you think of a dairy
What type of dairies typically use a herringbone milking facility? Small dairies
What type of dairies typicallty use a paralell milking facility? Large operations
What type of dairies typically use a rotary milking facility? large operations that have good funding.
Swine
_____ farms in the US produce ____ of US pork? 25, 40%
How is the US pork industry disributed? not many large farms but they produce most of the pork
How is the pork industry run? Its vertically intergrated, one company owns ALL of the process, and its highly industrialized
What are the three phases of commercial hog production? Nursery, feeder pig, finishing
How old, and how big are the pigs in the nursery stage? They are 0-3 weeks old and they are about 15 lbs, usually still with their mothers
How old and how big are the pigs in the feeder pig stage? They are 3-9 weeks old and about 50 lbs, without thier mothers
How old and how big are pigs in the finishing stage? 9-23 weeks old, about 270 lbs, this results in a slaughter hog
What weight do piglets need to be born at to be the most likley to survive? 3-3.5 lbs if they are less than 2 lbs they will likley not survive.
What is done to piglets at 1 day old? needle teeth are clipped, tails are docked
What is done to piglets at 2-3 days old? ear notching, iron injections
What is done to piglets at 1 week old? castration
When are piglets usually weaned? 16-20 days and at about 15lbs
What is the number 1 reason for piglet death? crushing
Small Ruminants
When are small ruminants bred to have kids/lambs? about 12 months old
What kind of breeders are small ruminants? Short day breeders meaning they breed from January to may
What affects rams sperm? heat, they can have heat sterility since it is so heat sensitive
What is very minimal in small ruminant repro? intervention, they are very good with natural service.
What is very common in small ruminants when having kids/lambs? Twins, resulting in greater repro efficeincy
What is the ingestive behavior of goats? to browse, they eat almost anything
What is the ingestive behavior of sheep? to eat weeds, they don’t really browse
What is banding used for in small ruminants? for castration and docking tails
Which small ruminants are usually dehorned at a young age? goats
What sheep managemetn technique is used in the spring? Shearing, especially in the warmer months
Why is foot trimming needed for small ruminants? to eliminate bacteria and foot rot; these can be treated with formaldehyde or copper solutions
What are the most common parasites for small ruminants? Hookworm and barberpole worm, they are the #1 economic loss
How do you tell if a small ruminant has an internal parasite? by doing a famatcha scoring (aneimia guide)
What is the BCS scale for small ruminants? 1 to 5
Equine
What are the primary uses of horses? Pleasure/Trail Riding, dressage, lessons/training, natural horsemanship, breeding
Does twinning usually happen in horses? No, its only 0.5% of pregnancies and is usually an emergency
What percentage of breeding is natural service in horses? 89%
When and where do horses usually foal? in the barn, usually in the spring
How much roughages should equine have in their diet? 1-2% of body weight or about 20 lbs
Can horses eat grain? they can it should just be given in moderation, and split feedings (not all at once)
When do horses hooves need to be trimmed? about every 4-12 weeks but depends on the season and the horse
What holds 65% of the horses weight? the front feet
What can be put on the horses front feed to help with the pressure of their weight? Shoes, however they are expensive and regularly come off easily
what are the parts of a horse’s hoof? frog, hoof wall, white line, and the sole
What diseasses/incidences do foals (< 6 months) usually get? digestive disorders
what diseases/incidends happen when a horse is 1-5 years old? injury, wound, or trauma
What diseases/incidences usually ocurr when a horse is 5-20 plus years? lameness, leg and hoof issues.
When should horses get vaccines? 1-2 times yearly
What are the most common diseases in horses that they should get vaccinated for? west nile, ensephalomyelitis, rabies and tetanus
What is a core vaccine? vaccines that ALL horses should get
What respiatory issues can horses have? strangles, influenza, and rinopneumenitis
What are ascarids? inernal parasite that affect the small intestine
What are tapeworms? internal parasite that affect the large intestine and causes impactions
waht are strongyles? bloodworms that are in the stomach
What are bots? flies that lay eggs on the legs/belly that turn into botflies and they burrow and become an internal parasite
What are pinworms? inernal parasite that affect the colon and rectum, symptoms are irriatiation and tail rubbing
How can internal parasites be managed? with dewormers, can be seen in a fecal egg count, manure removal, lower stocking rates, pasture rotation
How do you care for horses teeth? Float (file) their teeth 1 time yearly
At how old do you castrate foals? about 1 year or after testicles drop