Theory question 107
Livestock Management(a)(i) What is culling? (ii) Give three reasons why culling is practised in livestock management.
(b) State three advantages and three disadvantages of each of the following management systems in poultry production: (i) deep litter system (ii) battery cage system
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(a)(i) Culling is removing unproductive, sick, old or otherwise undesirable animals from a flock or herd
(ii) Any three: remove poor producers to raise efficiency; remove sick animals to stop spread of disease; remove animals with bad traits from breeding; reduce feed cost; reduce overcrowding
(b)(i) Deep litter – advantages: cheaper than cages; birds can move and exercise; litter makes good manure; fewer leg and breast problems; disadvantages: diseases such as coccidiosis spread easily; floor/dirty eggs; cannibalism and egg eating; litter may become wet and smelly; harder to identify poor layers
(ii) Battery cage – advantages: more birds per space; clean eggs, easy collection; easy to cull poor layers and keep records; less disease from droppings; less feed wastage and fighting; disadvantages: high cost of cages; birds cannot exercise (cage layer fatigue, leg problems); eggs infertile; needs electricity/skill; fly problems from droppings
Define culling, then three of each for both systems.