Introduction to Animal Husbandry
Run by both a Reproduction Specialist and a local cattle farmer, this is a practical course to aims to give students hands-on experience with cattle on a working dairy farm. As calves are one of the major reasons for large vet call-outs, this course focuses on cows and calves and maintaining their overall health through all stages of life in both dairy and cattle farming. Many of these practices can also be applied to other species as well.
It includes units in calf wellness and rearing, dairy judging, nutrition, and practical activities with animals each day.
Course Length: 6 days (Friday + Monday – Friday the following week)
Student Maximum: 10 students
Unit includes:
Calf wellness and rearing
- Calf rearing and health practices
- Farm visits (viewing different calf housing and systems)
- Common illnesses and treatments
- Biosecurity
Introduction to Dairy Judging and Phenotype Selection
- Dairy trait selection
- Practical – physical judging exam on cows and heifers
- Body Condition Scores
Nutrition
- Hosted by a nutrition specialist
- Cattle nutrition requirements
- Feed mixing
The completion of this course requires the passing of a written exam.
Dustcoats and gumboots will be provided for all students to use for the duration of the course.
The Animal Husbandry Course requires an additional day; to make things easier, we’ve adjusted the pricing so that the cost for this day is simply moved from a PreVet day to the Animal Husbandry Course. This means they will not be charged twice. Due to the required starting day being a Friday, students must arrive for their PreVet week on the Monday before their Animal Husbandry course. Additional weeks can be either before or after these dates. The last day of Introduction to Pregnancy Diagnosis is combined with the Animal Husbandry Course, so if a student wishes to book both courses, they are still able to do so.
