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In this volume the author aims to summarize knowledge of tropical livestock husbandry which could be useful for students, extension and development specialists, administrators and progressive farmers. For this edition all the chapters have been updated and rewritten. The section on forage in chapter 3 has been discarded as detailed information is now available in other publications. Information that was provided in the appendix "nomadism in Africa" has been absorbed into chapter 5, in which production systems are discussed in some detail. A new chapter "The Donkey" has been added in order to improve the overall coverage of tropical livestock species, whilst in the final chapter information on all animal fibres, and not only wool, is reviewed. An ELBS/LPBB edition is available.
Part 1 Basic principles: the effect of climate; maintenance of health - preventive medicine and the role of epidemiology, types of production loss due to ill health, the causes, nature and control of disease, disease caused by worms - arthropods and disease; nutrition and feeding - food components, evaluation of food, types of feed available; reproduction and breeding - the reproductive cycle, the basis of inheritance, breeding livestock for tropical environments. Part 2 Husbandry: cattle - numbers, distribution, types of tropical cattle, production systems in the tropics, the planning and development of beef enterprises, the planning and equipping of dairy farms, estimation of body and carcase weight, dentition of cattle as an indication of age; buffalo - origin, distribution, breeds and breeding, adaptability, growth, nutrition, production, common diseases of buffalo; sheep - origin, numbers and distribution, breeds, reproductive behaviour, feeding and management, diseases and parasites, productivity; goats - origin and classification, population and distribution, breeds and breeding, systems of management, rearing, feeding, diseases and parasites, potential production; camels - origin, numberss and distriubtion, breeds, some anatomical and physiological characteristics, reproductive behaviour, feeds and feeding, health, management, productivity; llamoids of new world camelidae - llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuna - origin, numbers and distribution, reproductive behaviour, nutritional characteristics, management, disease, productivity; the donkeys - origin, numbers and distribution, morphology and anatomy, physiology of adaptation, reprodution and breeding, types and breeds, nutrition and feeding, diseases and parasites, management; game animals - reasons for preservation of wild game, tropical regions where game could be an economic asset, methods of using wild game for meat production, wild game products, pigs - the worldwide distribution of pigs, origin of domestic pigs, major breeds used in the tropics, selection of breeding pigs, reproductive behaviour, feeds and feeding, health and management, domesticated birds - domestic fowl, ducks, geese, turkeys, peafowl, Japanese quail, guinea fowl, ostrich, pigeons, marketing of poultry. Part 3 Animal products: milk and milk products - production and consumption, the role of milk in improving nutrition, milk composition and properties, quality, organizing milk collection and sales, milk processing, tropical milk products; meat and carcass by-products - animal growth, ante mortem management and inspection, slaughtering and carcass, dressing, meat hygiene, by-products; animal fibres - typtes, histology and physiology, harvesting and classification, problems with fibre production.
