Animal Breeding and Husbundry

Cattle, sheep and goat farming: Origin. Breeds, meat productive, milk productive, dual purpose productive and indigenous breeds. Animal farming in Greece, Europe and Worldwide. Management of cattle, sheep and goat breeding. Hardy – Weinberg principle. In-breeding. Genotypic, phenotypic and breeding value. Heritability. Response to selection. Heterosis. Cross breeding. Selection index. Progeny test. Basics, estimation of growth. Muscle tissue and adipose tissue, myogenesis, texture, growth and affecting factors on muscle and adipose tissue growth and protein metabolism. Body composition. Fattening efficiency, growth rate, feed conversion. Meat quality. Chemical composition. Physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics. Problems on meat quality. Applied animal reproduction: basic elements of female and male reproductive system. Life cycle, spermatogenesis, ovigenesis, insemination. Differentiation of sexes. Hormones, control of estrous cycle, control of puberty and seasonality. Structure of the udder. Morphology and texture of mammary gland. Milk composition. Growth and evolution of mammary gland. Hormonal regulation. Milk synthesis and secretion. Initiation and maintenance of lactation. Factors affecting lactation The productive systems of aquaculture.