Chapter 12 Animal Acquisition 2005 Thomson Delmar Learning
- Slides: 7
Chapter 12: Animal Acquisition © 2005 Thomson Delmar Learning. All rights reserved.
Key Chapter Concepts: • Evaluating physical traits • Identifying diseases • Evaluating suppliers • Transition problems
Evaluating Physical Traits Items to Examine • Weight • Body composition • Enlarged quarters • Width between front and rear legs • Angle of hocks • Claws • Hairy heel warts • Body capacity
Identifying Diseases to Identify • Johne’s disease • BVD • Chronic staph infections • Mastitis • Salmonella • BLV (for semen and embryos) • Blue tongue (for semen and embryos)
Evaluating Suppliers — Dealers and Agents Consider • Can they deliver the animals on time? • Can they deliver the expected quantity of animals? • What bio-security measures do they use? • Cost of additional bio-security testing • Overall affordability compared to AI • Reputation
Evaluating Suppliers — AI Consider • Costs of ancestry information • Overall cost benefits of ancestry information • USDA statistics on costs and savings • Ability to breed own animals with AI animals
Transition Problems • Precise animal calving dates hard to predict • Trouble adapting to freestalls • Trouble adapting to new milking parlor • Increased stress due to new competition • Always a risk of disease
