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Many families who have had the pleasure of raising rabbits consider them to be valuable members of their family. Unfortunately, rabbits are susceptible to a wide range of issues and illnesses, much like other pets. Upper respiratory tract infections (snuffles), internal and external parasites, dental disease, gastrointestinal (GI) stasis, uterine issues (cancer or infections), and pododermatitis (foot sores or sore hocks) are common illnesses that affect pet rabbits. Rabbits are incredibly prolific creatures with a vast potential for procreation. 

1.1. Introduction

A typical dairy farm consist of different classes of dairy animals like calf, heifer, breeding heifer, pregnant, milch and dry animals and bull. The systems of management for the different classes are not same. They need some routine as well as periodical farm practices, some of which are common for all categories of animals (i.e., identification, dehorning, grooming etc.), while some categories need special farm operations (e.g., castration in males, milking etc.). Also there is need of routine disinfection of animal sheds and farm premises to prevent and control occurrence of diseases and maintaining the animals healthy. Further for proper execution of all these operations there is need of keeping farm records.  Keeping in view the above points, this section deals with some important farm management practices.

Anti–nutritional factors: Detoxification of undesirable components is very important, because some feeds may contain toxic substances, the excess consumption of which may cause decreased nutritive value of the feeds or may injure some vital organs or even cause death. 
Points to ponder
• Anti – nutrients present in the diet, either by themselves or their metabolic products arising in the system.
• Plants evolved these compounds as defensive mechanism against insects, parasites, bacteria and fungi.
• Feeds high in anti – nutrients: Lectins = legumes, cereal, grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables. Oxalates = spinach, swiss chard, sorrel, beat greens, beet root, rhubarb, nuts, legumes, cereal grains, sweet potatoes, potatoes. Phytate [IP6] = legumes, cereal grains, pseudo – cereals (amaranth, quinoa, millet), nuts, seeds.
• Anti – nutrient in wheat: Phytate being the most important among all, reduces the bio – availability of Iron and Zinc. There could be protease inhibitor, tannin, lectin, alkaloid, oxalate too.
• Main anti – nutrients in edible forage and fodders are: tannin, saponins, phytic acid, gossypol, lectin, amylase inhibitor, goitrogen, protease inhibitor.
• Removal of anti – nutrients: heating, boiling, soaking, spouting, fermentation. By combining different methods, many anti – nutrients can be degraded completely.

Common feeds and fodders: An edible material which is ingested, digested, absorbed, assimilated by the animals for their benefit, is known as feed. As per the National Research Council, Dry forages and roughages are cut and cured. These are bulky feeds with low digestibility. Crude fibre is > 18 % and TDN is < than 60 % because of high cell wall content. Some of the common feed stuffs are: dry grass (hay), wheat straw, paddy straw, oat straw etcetera. Stovers [aerial part without ears and husk (maize) or aerial parts without heads (sorghum). Hulls and shells too. Pasture range plants, tree leaves and forages are either harvested or without harvesting (fresh) are also very good for feeding, for example: pasture grass, range plants, tree leaves, green forages. Concentrates have < than 18 % crude fibre and > than 60 % TDN. Feeds rich in protein (plant origin) are: Cotton seeds / cakes, Mustard cake, Groundnut cake. Whereas animal origin protein sources are: Skim milk, Fish meal, Blood meal. Feeds rich in carbohydrates (energy) in grains are: Maize, Oat, Barley. Whereas grain by – products are: Wheat bran, Rice bran, Gram husk, Pulse chuni.
Points to ponder
• Animals are sometimes said “to feed” or to eat, therefore to mean = “food for animal”. The old English root is fedan = “nourish, sustain or foster”.
• Fodders are harvested and taken to animals; whereas, Forages are browsed on by animals, while still on the land.
• Feed manufacturing refers to the process of producing animal feed from raw agricultural products; whereas, Fodder produced by manufacturing is formulated to meet specific animal nutritionrequirements for (i) different species of animals, (ii) different life stages. The idea is: to transfer the seed energy and the plant’s energy to the animal.

Roughage contains > than 18 % crude fibre and < than 60% Total Digestible Nutrients (T.D.N.). Leguminous fodders contain more Digestible Crude Protein (D.C.P.). Some common dry legumes are: Pea straw, Arhar straw, Lucerne hay. And some common green legumes are: Berseem (clover), Cow pea, Lucerne (alfa alfa). Non – leguminous fodders contain less D.C.P. Some common dry non – legumes are: Wheat straw, Paddy straw, Oat hay, Grass hay. Whereas, some common green legumes are: Sorghum, Maize, Oat, Napier.

CONTRACEPTION DUE TO MISALLIANCE AND TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY IN BITCHES

It is obvious that breeders maintain varieties of breeds but mismating do occur within their own premises and sometimes by unwarranted stray animal.

Misalliance complicates too many other problems.

Incidence of mismating is 15 to 20 percent in canine breeding.

TRUE ANESTRUS IN A HEIFER OR POST PARTUM COW / BUFFALO

The animal has both ovaries small and inactive

No palpable structures in the ovaries

Animal does not exhibiting estrus signs

Activation : The process of causing a substance to become artificially radioactive by subjecting it to bombardment by neutrons or other particles.

Activation Analysis : Any analytical procedure permitting the detection and measurement of trace quantities of elements following their exposure to a flux of neutrons.

Activity :  The strength of a radioactive source. In absolute units, it relates to the number of radioactive atoms decaying per unit of time. It is also a synonym for radioactivity. Absolute activity is usually expressed in curies or millicuries.

Alpha Particle : A particle which is identical to the helium nucleus, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. It carries a positive charge of 2.

Alpha Rays: A stream of helium nuclei. The helium nucleus has a mass number of 4 and an atomic number of 2. If consists of two protons and two neutrons.

India has been a welfare country since Independence and the primary objective of all governmental and non-governmental endeavors has been the welfare of its millions people. The policies and programmes should be designed with the aim of alleviation of rural poverty which has been one of the primary objectives of planned development in India. It was realized from pre-independent rural development efforts, that a sustainable strategy of poverty alleviation must be based on increasing the productive employment opportunities in the process of growth itself. Elimination of poverty, ignorance, diseases and inequality of opportunities and providing a better and higher quality of life were the basic premises upon which all the plans and blue-prints of development should built.

Rural development implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. In order to provide the rural people with better prospects for economic development, increased participation of people in the rural development programmes, decentralization of planning, better enforcement of land reforms, greater access to credit, etc proper planning is envisaged.

Initially, main thrust for development was laid on agriculture industry, communication, education, health and allied sectors but later on it was realized that accelerated development can be achieved only if governmental efforts are adequately supplemented with direct and indirect involvement of people at the grass root level.

A. Answer the following question?

1.    Mention the factors which affect the chemical composition of green forage?

Ans: Soilcompositionandhealth,applicationofmanureandfertilizer, frequency of irrigation, stage of growth, frequency of cutting and variety of strain.

2.    How does the age of plant affect the chemical composition of forage?

Ans: As the plants advance in age, dry matter, crude fibre and ash increase whereas the crude protein and ether extract decreases.

3.    What is food?

Ans: This is the combination of materials that provides nutrients

4. What is feed?

Ans: It refers to the food but most commonly used to animal food.

5. What is diet?

Ans: It is defined as the mixture of feedstuffs used to supply nutrientsto anyindividual.

6.    Whether mineral content of feeds remain fixed?

It is emphasizing the systematic approach required for the successful planning and funding of projects:
Components of Project Formulation
1. Needs Analysis: Identifying and defining the needs that the project intends to address, typically involving stakeholder consultation and market analysis. This process involves systematically gathering and analyzing data about a community, a group, or a market to identify both the current conditions and the gaps between these conditions and desired outcomes. Effective needs assessment aids in designing projects that are relevant, targeted, and likely to produce significant impact. Here’s a more detailed exploration of how needs assessment is integral to project formulation:
Key Steps in Conducting a Needs Assessment
• Stakeholder Identification: Early in the project formulation, identify all relevant stakeholders, including direct beneficiaries, community leaders, funders, and other affected parties. Understanding who will be impacted by the project helps in targeting the needs assessment process more effectively.
• Data Collection: Utilize various methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and field observations to gather comprehensive data about the current state and deficiencies experienced by stakeholders. This might involve looking at socioeconomic data, environmental conditions, or specific community challenges.
• Gap Analysis: Analyze the data to identify gaps between the current state and the desired outcomes. This analysis helps pinpoint the specific areas where interventions are needed.formulation: 

Nutrition involves various bio – chemical and physiological activities which transform feed elements into body elements. These feed elements are nutrients which are digested, absorbed, utilized to build and renew the components of the animal body. As a result, animal grows and produce – milk, eggs, wool with the help of energy so produced in the body. After weaning, most of our farm animals obtain all of their feed supply from plants. Barring carnivores, the plant kingdom is the original and essential source of all animal life, because plants are able to utilize the energy of the sun to build substances which nourish
the animal. Plants make use of carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts to form carbohydrates, fats and proteins, which are utilized in the life processes of animal body. Thus, plants store and animals dissipate energy.

COMPOSITION OF DIET

Objectives

• To study the general considerations on feeding aspects of laboratory animals.
• To get acquainted with the specific nutritional requirements of laboratory manures.
• To familiarize with the watering system.
• To know the daily feed schedule of different species of laboratory animal.

Materials Required

Laboratory animals, feed ingredients, water, green vegetables.

For having good growth and production, proper balanced diet should be fed, thus nutrients can be classified into 6 classes:

As an engine requires fuel to run, similarly the animal body requires food to run its vital activities. Food, after its digestion, absorption and oxidation, provides energy to the body. The energy thus obtained is utilized by the animal for maintenance, growth, reproduction and production. Hence, a good quality of food should be provided to the animal so that it may fulfil all the requirements of the animal. Food contains water, carbohydrates fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals which are essential constituents of the body and indispensable for life. Water being an essential constituent of protoplasm carries out many other important and inevitable functions in the body. Water helps the body absorb nutrients from the food and throw out wastes from body in the form of sweat and urine. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins provide energy to the body. Fat provides 2.25 times more energy than carbohydrate and proteins. Besides providing energy, proteins are also essential for body building, growth and repair of wear and tear of the body tissues. Vitamins protect the body against diseases and help in keeping eyes, gums, skin, teeth and bones healthy. Vitamins are required by the body in small quantities. Vitamins are essential for normal growth, health and reproduction. Prolonged deficiency of vitamins causes characteristic diseases. Minerals required in small quantities are essential for normal growth of body and maintaining good health. Skeleton system of the body contains principally Calcium and Phosphorus with small amount of Magnesium.

4.1 Ration and balanced ration

A ration is the feed allowed for a given animal during a day of 24 hrs. The feed may be given at a time or in portions at intervals. Balanced ration may be defined as the ration that provides all essential nutrients to the animal in such a proportion and amounts that are required for the nourishment of the particular animal for 24 hrs.

According to traditional marketing concept, marketing is a mere physical process or set of activities connected with the exchange of goods or selling. According to traditional concept marketing is sales oriented. According to this concept marketing is more concerned with all those activities or operations which help the flow of goods from the producers or manufacturers to the ultimate consumers or users. From the point of production to consumption, the following steps are involved.

1. Goods have to be gathered and transported there by creating place utility.

2. Goods have to be made available to the consumers or users at the time when they are needed by consumers. This is done by storing the commodities in warehouses and cold stores etc. This creates time utility.

3. Goods are sold to consumers thereby transferring the ownership or title from the seller to the consumer. This creates “ownership utility” or “possession utility”. The various activities that help in the creation of place, time and possession utilities and help the flow of goods from the centers of production to the centers of consumption or use constitute the subject matter of marketing.

Food preservation has evolved from traditional household practices to an interdisciplinary field incorporating microbiology, biochemistry, engineering, biotechnology, packaging, nanotechnology and digital intelligence. The book demonstrates that food stability can increasingly be achieved without excessive reliance on synthetic chemical preservatives. Effective preservation requires control of microbial growth, enzyme activity, oxidation, moisture, temperature and environmental exposure while protecting sensory and nutritional quality. Traditional practices remain scientifically valuable, while thermal, non-thermal, biological, packaging and digital technologies offer new possibilities. Future food systems will depend on carefully designed combinations of these approaches to improve safety, shelf life, sustainability, traceability and consumer acceptance while overcoming cost, regulatory and scalability challenges.

a) Transformation towards Commercial Agro: The poultry sector in India has experienced a revolutionary shift in structure and operation, which has led its transformation from a simple backyard activity to a major commercial agro based industry over a period of decades.
b) Layer Farming: The production of eggs has increased from 1.83 billion numbers in 1950-51 to 103.32 billion numbers in year 2018-19. The per capita availability reached at 79 eggs per annum in the year 2018-19 from 5 eggs per annum in year 1950-51. Andhra Pradesh, Tami Nadu and Telangana contributes about 55 percent share in total egg production.
c) Broiler Farming: Chicken meat contributes to 50 percent share in total meat production in year 2018-19 with the production of 4.06 million tonnes production. Broiler production is mainly concentrated in
Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Broiler farming is mainly done through contract broiler farming. In that the integrator provides inputs such as chicks, feed, medicines and
vaccines. The contract farmer provides labour, shed, electricity, water, litter material, and other miscellaneous services or equipment that may be required. The integrator bears the transportation cost, investment and marketing risks. 

Proximate analysis of the feeds and fodders does not give any idea about their nutritive value, because availability of nutrients varies according to the feed stuffs. The major loss of nutrients take place in body after ingestion of feed is through feces. Hence, it is very essential to know the actual amount of feed digested by the animals. Losses which take place after digestion are more or less comparable in different feedstuffs.

Digestibility
Digestibility of a feed can be defined as that proportion of feed which is not being excreted in the faeces and hence assumed to be absorbed by the animal. It is expressed as percentage (% digestibility or digestibility coefficient).

Digestion trial requires feaces collection only but when we have to go for balance studies we have to collect urine also (in addition to the nutrient losses take place through milk in lactating animals) to find out the nutrient losses takes place through urine. As we have discussed in digestion trial also, male animals are usually preferred to perform these types of studies to obtain contamination free urine and feaces to find out clear picture.

Balance studies are usually performed to find out the balance of nitrogen (Nitrogen retention, NR) and minerals (Ca, P etc.) as urine is rich in these nutrients and hence for their balance we have to find out the losses takes place through urine.