Production and Health of Cattle
Code: 103966Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Veterinary Medicine | OP | 5 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Lorena Castillejos Velázquez
- Email :
- lorena.castillejos@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Arnau Alvarez Capella
- Josep Oriol Franquesa Oller
- Alberto Oscar Allepuz Palau
- Lorena Castillejos Velázquez
- Joaquín Casellas Vidal
- Pol Llonch Obiols
- Adriana Siurana Marina
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no official prerequisites for taking this course, but it is advised that the student has passed the subjects "Integrated Animal Production 1 and 2",
"Animal Health I and II, and" Medicine and Income Animal Surgery, " as well as having revised the contents of "Bases of animal production and animal management",
"Agronomy and agrarian economy" (first) and "Animal nutrition."
Objectives
The specific objectives are:
• The application and integration of the cattle production principles learned throughout the degree, with an emphasis on the interactions between food, reproduction, health and facilities and comfort and animal welfare
• The application and integration of the principles of epidemiology, control and prevention of pathologies.
• The application of the principles of economics of the production process
• The development of the analytical capacity to diagnose and prioritize the problems present in an operation
Learning outcomes
- Analyse, synthesise and resolve problems and make decisions.
- Draft and present satisfactory professional reports, always maintaining the required confidentiality.
- Demonstrate knowledge of English to communicate both orally and in writing in academic and professional contexts.
- Apply a health plan to concrete situations in accordance with the productive and economic aspects of a livestock farm or fishery and the ethical, social and normative limitations.
- Analyse, interpret and evaluate the production and healthcare parameters of a farm or fishery and produce a plan of corrective actions considering the factors of animal welfare, environmental protection and product quality.
- Evaluate and apply biosafety protocols in concrete cases referring to farms.
Contents
BLOCK 1: DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGIES IN DAIRY OPERATIONS
TOPICS
• Evaluation of the reproductive situation
◦ Reproduction as a farm problem
◦ Diagnosis of reproductive problems at the farm level
◦ Evaluation of solutions and implementation strategies
• Evaluation of the productive situation:
◦ Production level evaluation. Analysis of lactation curves
◦ Evaluation of the levels of fat and protein
◦ Assessment of the body condition and its interpretation
◦ Diagnosis of productive problems at the farm level
◦ Solution evaluation and implementation strategies
• Evaluation of the hygienic quality of milk
◦ Calculation and interpretation of the index related to the health of the mammary gland and the medical quality of milk
◦ Diagnosis of health quality problems of milk at farm level
◦ Evaluation of solutions and implementation strategies
• Evaluation of the replacement program
◦ Evaluation of the replacement program: critical points
◦ Diagnosis of problems in the replacement program
◦ Evaluation of solutions and implementation strategies
• Evaluation of pathologies
◦ Frequent populations and normal incidences
◦ Production pathologies and their prevention
◦ Control of infectious and parasitic diseases
• Applied genetics to dairy farms
SEMINARS
Diagnostic seminars on milk farms
Application of genetics to dairy farms
Welfare indicators of a dairy farms
SELF-LEARINING
Preparation of an evaluation report of a dairy farm
Preparation of a welfare plan of a dairy farm
SECTION 2: MANAGEMENT OF BEEF FARMS
TOPICS
• Index for problem evaluation and diagnosis in beef cattle farms
• Index for problem evaluation and diagnosis in beef fatteningfarms
• Biosafety and control of infectious and parasitic diseases in beef
BLOCK 3: FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF BOVINE HEALTH
TOPICS• Evaluation of the most relevant aspects of the health of a bovine holding
SEMINARS
Biosecurity plan of a dairy farm
SELF-LEARINING
Preparation of a technical report on the biosecurity plan of a dairy farm
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| In class teaching | 19 | 0.76 | 1, 3, 6 |
| Seminars | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 |
| Genetic model | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| Information search | 16 | 0.64 | 1, 3, 6 |
| Farm visits | 12 | 0.48 | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| Farm simulator | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| Index calculation | 45 | 1.8 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| Report writing | 23 | 0.92 | 1, 3, 6 |
The center of the learning process is the work of the student. The student learns working, being the mission of the teaching staff to help him / her in this task (1) providing information or showing the sources where it can be obtained and (2) directing his / her steps so that the learning process can be done effectively. In line with these ideas, and in accordance with the objectives of the subject, the development of the course is based on the following activities:
1. Master classes:
The student acquires the own knowledge of the subject attending the master classes and complementing them with the personal study of the topics explained. The master classes are conceived as a fundamentally unidirectional method of transferring the knowledge of the teacher to the student, but it stimulates by means of the contribution of bibliographical references and Internet addresses the extension of the information
2. Seminars:
The seminars are designed to discuss the problems that the student finds in the development of the cases, the calculation of the indexes and the interpretation of the results. They will be very interactive and will review the tasks that the student will have developed throughout each week.
3. Self-learning:
A good part of the course will be carried out by conducting visits and analysis of livestock farms, as well as the preparation of reports and evaluation of the possible alternatives with a program of technical and economic simulation. This job is self-learning, although there will be a continuous dialogue with the teacher. The reports will be presented in class and will be defended before the farmers
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report on the evaluation of a dairy farm | 40 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Report on the welfare plan of a dairy farm | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| Genetic selection strategies evaluation report | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2, 4, 5 |
| Report on the biosecurity plan of a dairy farm | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| Active participation in all activities | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2, 4, 5 |
| Oral presentation and public defense of the diagnostic report (seminary) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
For the calculation of the final grade for the course, participation and the work completed in the various areas of the course (teaching blocks) will be taken into account, with the following evaluations:
1. Evaluation report on genetic selection strategies (10%)
2. Report on a Biosecurity and Welfare plan (10%)
3. Evaluation report on a dairy farm (40%)
4. Oral presentation and public defense of the diagnostic report in a seminar (20%)
5. Active participation in all activities (20%). Participation and discussion in the classroom will be taken into account: theoretical classes, seminars, exercise resolution, and report evaluation.
Each section must be passed with a grade higher than 5.0 to pass the course.
If a student does not present the reports of the different blocks of the subject (genetic, biosecurity, welfare, farm diagnosis) it will be considered 'not evaluable'.
There is no final exam.
This course does not offer a single evaluation.
In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts were generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a penalty in the activity’s grade or more severe sanctions in serious cases.
The occurrence of any irregularity in an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism, or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorized in the course guide) that may lead to a significant change in the grade will result in that assessment being graded with a 0.
If the course guide establishes that passing the subject requires obtaining a minimum grade in this assessment activity, or if several irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same subject, the final grade for the subject will be 0.
Furthermore, a disciplinary procedure may be initiated against any student who engages in any of these irregularities.
Bibliography
Dairy herd health. M. Green. 2012
Dairy production medicine. C. Risco and P Melendez. 2011
Dairy herd health and management. J. Noordhuizen. 2012
Dairy Cattle Welfare in Practice. 5m Books Ltd. Mainau, E., Temple, D., Llonch, P & Manteca, X. 2022
Herd health and production management in dairy practice. A. Brandt, JPTM Noordhuizen, YH Shucken. 2001
SPAC, Searchable Proceedings of Animal Conferences.
Software
Spartan Dairy formulation (https://www.canr.msu.edu/spartandairy/, University of Michigan)
Dairy Farm Simulator https://sniba.es/ca/formacio/simulador-dexplotacions-lleteres/, Servicio de Nutricion y Bienestar Animal, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)
TM (http://genoweb.toulouse.inra.fr/~alegarra/tm_folder) per realitzar les avaluacions genètiques
GNU Fortran (https://gcc.gnu.org/fortran/) per compilar el TM
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PVG5) Pràctiques veterinàries en granges i altres instal·lacions (5 estudiants per grup) | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PVG5) Pràctiques veterinàries en granges i altres instal·lacions (5 estudiants per grup) | 2 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PVG5) Pràctiques veterinàries en granges i altres instal·lacions (5 estudiants per grup) | 3 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PVG5) Pràctiques veterinàries en granges i altres instal·lacions (5 estudiants per grup) | 4 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PVG5) Pràctiques veterinàries en granges i altres instal·lacions (5 estudiants per grup) | 5 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |