Animal Production

Poultry, rabbit and aquaculture productions (6 CFU)

Lectures (5 CFU, 40 hours)

Poultry production (3.5 CFU, 28 hours)
- production and consumption, integrated production chains and hybrids for meat or egg production (2 hours)
- environment, equipments and poultry facilities (4 hours)
- farming systems and management of poultry breeders and artificial incubation (4 hours)
- broiler rearing (6 hours)
- turkey rearing (2 hours)
- laying hen rearing in cages and alternative systems (6 hours)
- slaughter, quality and nutritional value of poultry meat and eggs.

Rabbit production (0.5 CFU, 4 hours)
- production and consumption, environment, equipments and rabbit facilities (2 hours)
- reproductive rhythms, rearing and feeding techniques of rabbit doe and growing rabbit (2 hours).

Aquaculture production (1 CFU, 8 hours):
- global and Italian production and consumption of fish products, fishing and aquaculture (2 hours)
- productive systems and rearing facilities (2 hours)
- trout and euryhaline species production (2 hours)
- sustainability of aquaculture and quality of fish products (2 hours).

Field exercises (1 CFU, 16 hours)
Visits to livestock farms to verify in the field the theoretical notions acquired during the course (16 hours).


Practical Animal Feeding (4 CFU; 2.5+1.5)

Lectures (2.5 CFU, 20 hours)
- Feeding system and feed management for different group of animals in function of physiological and production phases in the main species of livestock (4 hours).
- Notes on precision feeding and automated feeding systems (4 hours)
- Dietary plans for dairy and beef cattle: ingestion of water and dry matter, chemical and nutritional composition of the diets (4 hours).
- Evaluation of some parameters to evaluate the correctness of the diet of lactating cows (2 hours).
- Dietary plans in pigs in the different stages of growth and in pregnant and lactating sows: feed, chemical and nutrient composition of the diets (4 hours).
- Dietary plans in avian and rabbit species (4 hours).
- The concept of optimization in the diet formulation: feed composition constraints and constraints on the intake of dry matter, energy and nutrients (2 hours).

Classroom exercises (1 CFU, 16 hours)
Computer exercises for calculating the correct formulation of the diets.
- Implementation and use of a spreadsheet for the formulation of diets for cattle (dairy and meat), pigs and poultry (12 hours).
- Optimization of diet formulation using the Excel spreadsheet solver (4 hours).

Field exercises (0.5 CFU, 8 hours)
Visits to livestock farms to verify in the field the theoretical notions acquired during the course (8 hours).