This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Production and Health of Cattle

Code: 103966 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2502445 Veterinary Medicine OT 5

Contact

Name:
Lorena Castillejos Velázquez
Email:
lorena.castillejos@uab.cat

Teachers

Ramon Casals Costa
Alberto Allepuz Palau
Lorena Castillejos Velázquez
Joaquin Casellas Vidal
Marta Fina Pla
Pol Llonch Obiols
(External) Oriol Franquesa

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this 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 and Contextualisation

It is a fifth year course, optional, in the area of animal production, with an integrating and professionalizing approach. The main objective is to put the student in front of the usual problems in cattle farms, integrating the aspects of production (animal, handling, facilities, production of forages), health (control and prevention) and economics (costs and profitability ).

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


Competences

  • Analyse, synthesise and resolve problems and make decisions.
  • Assess and undertake epidemiological studies and therapeutic and preventive programs in accordance with the standards of animal welfare, animal health and public health.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of English to communicate both orally and in writing in academic and professional contexts.
  • Draft and present satisfactory professional reports, always maintaining the required confidentiality.
  • Perform risk analyses, including those of environmental and biosafety, and evaluate and manage them.
  • Value and interpret the production and health parameters of one animal group, considering the economic and welfare aspects.

Learning Outcomes

  1. 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.
  2. Analyse, synthesise and resolve problems and make decisions.
  3. 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.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of English to communicate both orally and in writing in academic and professional contexts.
  5. Draft and present satisfactory professional reports, always maintaining the required confidentiality.
  6. Evaluate and apply biosafety protocols in concrete cases referring to farms.

Content

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

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Farm visits 8 0.32 1, 2, 3, 6
In class teaching 23 0.92 1, 3, 6
Seminars 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6
Type: Supervised      
Farm simulator 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Genetic model 5 0.2 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Index calculation 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
Information search 16 0.64 1, 3, 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

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Active participation in all activities 10 0 0 2, 4, 5
Genetic selection strategies evaluation report 10 0 0 2, 4, 5
Oral presentation and public defense of the diagnostic report (seminary) 20 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Report on the biosecurity plan of a dairy farm 10 0 0 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
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

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.


Bibliography

 Dairy Herd health and management. J. Noordhuizen. 2012

Herd health and production management in dairy practice. A. Brandt, JPTM Noordhuizen, YH Shucken. 2001

Dairy herd health. M. Green. 2012

Dairy production medicine. C. Risco and P Melendez. 2011

SPAC:  Searchable Proceedings of Animal Conferences (uab.cat)


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


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed