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ThesisItem Open Access Draught efficiency of asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus)(Department of Livestock Production Management, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1996) Anil Kumar Nair; KAU; Saseendran, P CThe draught performance of elephants were assessed on the basis of the degree of variation from the normal physiological haematological parameters during different hours of operation with different draft. The ability of the elephants to carry out work with different draft were observed on the of basis of fatigue score card and distress signs exhibited by the animal during different hour of operation with different draft. Six elephants were utilized for the study, the elephants were put to work for a period of 3 hour of continuous work from 7 AM to 10 AM, followed by 1 hour rest and 1 hour work after rest with different draft. Physiological responses like respiratory rate, pulse rate, rectal temperature and haematological parameters like haemoglobin per cent, packed cell volume, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, total erythrocyte count, total leukocyte count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, serum glucose, serum protein, serum calcium, serum phosphorus, serum creatinine, were estimated before before work, immediately after 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hour followed by one hour rest and 1 hour work after rest. Other parameters like average speed of walking, draft and horsepower developed by elephants were also estimated. As a result of work the physiological responses increased significantly. The physiological responses showed maximum increase at 3 hour of work at 30 per cent draft indicative of distress. There were also other physical signs of distress like frequent spraying of saliva, refusal to work and dragging of feet. The physiological responses decreased but did not reach the pre – exercise values after one hour of rest. The haemoglobin percent of blood, packed cell volume, total erythrocyte count decreased significantly after work. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate shows significant increase after work. The other parameters like average speed, decreased significantly as the duration work progressed. No significant difference were observed in mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular haemoglobin. Serum glucose content decreased significantly after work serum creatinine significantly increased after work. Overall, the results indicate that the elephants at 10 per cent draft can work for 3 hour continuously without showing any signs at distress, obtaining a comfortable fatigue score below 10. At 20 per cent draft animal starts showing the sign of distress at 3 hour of work with a fatigue score reaching upto 16.63. At 30 per cent draft the elephants starts exhibiting the signs of distress signs at the end of 2 hour of work itself and at 3 hour work the animal is highly fatigued with the fatigue score reaching 20.65. The elephants reaching fatigue score of above 15 were found fatigued.ThesisItem Open Access Analysis of management practices and economics of goat rearing under homestead farming system(Department of Livestock Production Management, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1996) Tony, Thoppil; KAU; Sreekumar, DThe existing practices of management of goats in the homesteads of Palakkad and Malappuram and the economics of rearing have been studied. Majority of the goat farmers in both the regions belonged to the age group 41-60, and were literate. They belonged to the class of daily wage labourers or service personnels. Hindus were predominant in Palakkad, whereas in Malappuram, Muslims were predominant. The land holding of the goat farmers studied in Palakkad ranged from 3 cents to 8 acres and in Malappuram, 7 cents to 2 acres. They were having more than one livestock component in their homesteads. The farmers possessing less than 10 years of experience were more in both the regions. There has been an increase in the flock/band strength from the start of farming in all the homesteads. The animals were procured mostly from other farmers. Does were purchased based on appearance, cost and age and were replaced taking into consideration their size and appearance, age twinning and also colour. Bucks were generally replaced taking into consideration their appearance and age. The type of housing provided to goats was either lean-to-type or a separate shed. The type of floor included either mud or raised wooden floor, the type of roof included either tiled or thatched. The hygiene status of majority of the goat pens was graded as satisfactory in both the regions. The drainage facilities provided were only satisfactory in Palakkad, whereas, in Malappuram, it was adequate. Natural service was the only means of breeding goats in both the regions. Only 41 percent of the farmers (in general)reared breeding bucks and the rest of the farmers depended on the bucks maintained by other farmers. The age at first kidding in majority of the cases in Palakkad was reported to be 18 months and in Malappuram, 15 months. Majority of the farmers in both the regions reported the kidding interval of goats to be 8 months. The goats were either let loose outside or tethered around the homestead for roughage feeding. Concentrate mixture was fed only during very dry/summer season and consisted of groundnut cake and coconut cake. The duration of browsing varied from 3-8 hours. Kids were kept along with the dam. The daily body weight gain of kids was 38.3 g in Palakkad and 41.8 g in Malappuram. Major disease problems encountered by goats in the two regions were digestive problems, respiratory problems, skin lesions, dog bite wounds etc. Farmers, in general did not practice any preventive health care measures for goats. The proportion of farmers who milked their goats was high in Malappuram than Palakkad. Goats were disposed of to other farmers, butchers, and/or middlemen. Goat manure was sold out by majority of farmers in Palakkad (70%) and 5 percent in Malappuram. Involvement of women in indoor activities were more than men. Children were involved more in the disposal of milk. The hired labour utilization was negligible. In general, fixed cost and variable cost were lower in Palakkad than Malappuram but the gross income was more in Malappuram than Palakkad. The net margin over cost A and cost B was positive where as net margin was negative over cost C. The major constraints faced by farmers were feeding availability of labour and disposal of manure.ThesisItem Unknown Certain social enviromental factors on the reproductive performance of pigs(Department of Livestock Production Management, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, 1996) Ramakrishnan, S; KAU; Sebasatian, K SAn experiment was conducted to study the effect of social environment on the reproductive performance of pigs and the feasibility and economics of rearing pigs of either sex together. Sixteen weaned large white Yorkshire gilts, twelve weaned sows and two boars were randomly assigned to five groups as T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 each consisting of six. Pigs in T1 and T3 groups were bred at the body weight of 70 – 80 kg with designated boars at the time of breeding. The pigs in T5 group were bred in the first oestrus after weaning. In T2 and T4 group female pigs were reared with boar. Post weaning oestrus, duration of oestrus, conception rate and gestation length did not vary significantly between groups. Onset and intensity of oestrus were significantly different (P < 0.05) between groups. All gilts and sows in each group were allowed to farrow in the same pen and their litter performance was studied. The litter size and weight at birth did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) between the groups. Litter size and weight at weaning did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) between groups. The behaviour of parents and other penmates towards the litter did not vary significantly between groups. The behaviour of penmates to the litter was cordial. Overall results suggest that in farming conditions group housing system can be practiced. It is advisable to keep animals in advanced stage of pregnancy in farrowing pens till weaning of piglings.