Getting a Handle on Animal Husbandry

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Animal Husbandry; essentially refers to the branch of agriculture where livestock are looked after, bred, managed and raised not only for consumption and clothing, but also for farm work and other economical outputs. It's the art of feeding and providing animal fodder efficiently, daily care, genetic improvement, disease prevention and other aspects relevant to improving livestock.

Essential items:

• Breeding: Scientifically selecting the animal with desired traits, which includes milk yield, tendency to fall sick and growth rate.

• Nutrition and Feeding:Making sure the animals get just the right mix of food, tailored to their stage of life, to keep them healthy and give the best results.

• Housing and Shelter:Creating a safe, hygienic and protected place for them to live, that shields them from weather and reduces their stress.

• Disease Control:Vacinating, keeping things clean and looking after sick animals to stop outbreaks of illness.

Different types of animal husbandry:

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1. Cattle Farming:This is when we're raising animals like cows, heifers and bullocks, for milk, meat, or for them to pull things.

2. Poultry Farming:We're looking after birds - commonly chickens, turkeys, or ducks - to produce eggs and meat.

3. Piggery: This is breeding pigs.

4. Apiculture and Aquaculture:These are pretty specialized – looking after honey bees to make honey and help pollination, and aquatic animals like fish and prawns for food.

Animal Husbandry’s Contribution to Agriculture

It goes without saying that animal husbandry is pretty much a cornerstone of how we approach farming today, creating a cycle that helps us:

• Feed Us All and Keep us Healthy: Meat, milk, eggs and dairy products are packed full of protein and essential stuff that we need to survive. Animal husbandy is a key player in making sure we have enough of these foods.

• Make our Soils Better and Feed Plants Naturally: Animal waste - or "manure" - is full of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If we add this back to the fields it replenishes the organic matter in the soil, keeps it healthy, and reduces our need to use manufactured fertilizers.

• Keep Farmers Financially Stable: Livestock produce a constant stream of income that supports farm families all year round, giving them a cushion against bad crop seasons and unpredictable markets.

• Give us Resources for Other Industries: Apart from producing meat and milk, cows and sheep also give us wool, while other animals provide leather, bones, and raw materials for pharmaceuticals.

• Provide Manpower and Fuel-free Power: Back in the day (and often still in many parts of the world), livestock such as oxen and horses were (and are!) essential for powering machinery, tilling fields, and moving goods on the farm.

Thanks for reading my post I'm inviting @josepha, @chant and @pea07 to participate.