Animal Husbandry and Nutrition, and Quality and Safety of Products of Animal Origin

Module 1 - Breeding systems of the main income species

- Cow's milk production: factors influencing milk production and quality; milking; breeding techniques for dairy cows; reproduction and fertility; breeding of replacement animals.
- Beef production: main beef cattle breeds; chemical, physical and nutritional characteristics of the meat; growth and development; main factors influencing meat production and quality; breeding techniques of the main categories of beef cattle (white veal, light and heavy beef); meat production according to the cow-calf system.
- Pigmeat production: main pig breeds; sow rearing and reproduction; breeding of replacement gilts; rearing techniques for light and heavy pigs.
-Quality and safety elements of products of animal origin (measurable parameters or to be managed in the process)
- Modern animal husbandry for environmental sustainability
- Notes on: poultry production, sheep, goat and buffalo production.


Module 2 - Feeding of the main income species

- Chemical constitution of feeds: carbohydrates, lipids and nitrogenous substances. The main chemical analyzes for the determination of: dry matter, ashes, proteins, lipids, fibers and starch. Summary of mineral and vitamin nutrition. Factors regulating feed intake. Fibre: dietary and nutritional function for ruminants and monogastrics. Digestibility and factors influencing it. The basics of energy and protein metabolism in ruminants and monogastrics.
- Evaluation of the analytical-nutritional characteristics of the main zootechnical foods and techniques for their production. Feeding techniques of the main species of livestock interest (dairy and beef cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and goats) in the various types of farming, with particular reference to pigs and dairy cattle in intensive farming.
- The major pollutants deriving from farms: nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, ammonia and "greenhouse effect" gases. How to calculate an animal's nitrogen balance. Evaluation of some feed strategies aimed at reducing the excretion of the main pollutants: importance of the best intake/requirement ratio; the "multiphase" power supply; the concept of limiting amino acids; the use of commercially available additives and amino acids in rationing.
- Main nutritional requirements of livestock, in the various growth and physiological stages. Rationing techniques, practical examples of diets for ruminants and monogastrics with the use of IT packages.