Theory question 106
Livestock Management Practices(a) Mention five advantages and three disadvantages of castration in livestock production. (b)(i) Draw and label five parts of the digestive system of a domestic fowl. (ii) State one function of each of the parts labelled in (b)(i).
Show the model answer
(a) Advantages, any five: prevents indiscriminate mating and inbreeding; makes animals docile and easy to handle; improves meat quality/removes boar taint; faster fattening; allows males and females to be kept together; prevents breeding by inferior males
Disadvantages, any three: risk of infection and bleeding; pain and stress, temporary loss of weight; animal can no longer be used for breeding; lower growth rate than intact males in some species; may die if done badly
(b)(i) A neat, labelled drawing showing any five of: beak/mouth, oesophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine (duodenum, ileum), liver, pancreas, caeca, large intestine/rectum, cloaca
(ii) Beak: picks up food; oesophagus: carries food to the crop; crop: stores and softens food; proventriculus: secretes gastric juice; gizzard: grinds food with grit; small intestine: digestion and absorption; liver: produces bile; pancreas: produces digestive enzymes; caeca: fibre digestion/water absorption; cloaca: passes out faeces and urine, eggs
Your drawing should have clear label lines and a title.