2020-2021 / ANIM0030-1

Animal recording, breeding and reproduction in modern sustainable animal production system

Duration

32h Th, 4h FT

Number of credits

 Master in agricultural bioengineering (120 ECTS)4 crédits 

Lecturer

Nicolas Gengler, Martine Schroyen

Coordinator

Nicolas Gengler

Language(s) of instruction

English language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Part 1: Animal Reproduction Physiology:
General information about sex determination and differentiation, male and female reproduction, fertilization, embryogenesis, placentation and parturation will be discussed in great detail. The importance of these subjects in livestock breeding will be studied with emphasis on cattle, swine and poultry.  In addition, we will talk about important themes such as artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive techniques as well as some of the main livestock reproductive diseases.
Part 2: Animal Recording and Genetic Improvement (Breeding) of animals:
Sustainable livestock production needs quantified information gathering and fine phenotyping. Different aspects of zootechnical data collection, including new smart farming technologies such as sensors, will be presented and illustrated. The principles of animal breeding will be put in the context of sustainable animal production systems, associated breeding objectives, genetic evaluation and animal selection, and the latest developments in innovative breeding technology such as genomics.
Excursion
 

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
- describe male and female reproduction, e.g. the reproductive anatomy and the function of reproductive hormones
- master the knowledge related to the most important reproduction tools in livestock
- know zootechnical performance recording, including novel uses of sensors, and the use of the generated data
- master basic knowledge related to animal improvement  

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face to face lectures (+ live streaming)
Exemplifying examples on computational server
Excursion (if allowed)

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

The students can follow the course on collaborate.
A recording of these 'collaborate' lectures is put available on e-campus.

Recommended or required readings

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Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Closed book exam
Open questions
Written exam (can be in French)
Final result will be based on the average of both parts independently from their number of hours.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

The slides of the last year stay available at the beginning of the teaching period. However the content may be adapted during the progress of teaching.

Contacts

You can always ask us questions during class or by making an appointment:
nicolas.gengler@uliege.be, +32 81 62 22 06
martine.schroyen@uliege.be, +32 81 62 23 27