Animal Husbandry – Maharashtra Board Class 8 Solutions for General Science

Animal Husbandry – Maharashtra Board Class 8 Solutions for General Science (English Medium)

MathematicsGeneral ScienceMaharashtra Board Solutions

Solution 1.a:
Ambon is a fermented mixture of oilcake, grain meal and jaggery. As it is fermented, the nutritive value of this mixture increases. Thus, it becomes a good supplementary feed for milch animals. Milch animals become strong and robust and their milk yield also increases. Therefore, milch animals are fed with ambon.

Solution 1.b:
Horses are used for doing physical work. They are also used for transport. Horses need a nutritious diet for building strong muscles needed for running and drawing carts. Horse gram soaked in water contains proteins and vitamins. By giving horse gram, they become robust and strong. Therefore, horses are given horse gram as supplementary food to enable them to do more work.

Solution 1.c:
Pigs are reared to obtain meat from them. Such pigs should increase their meat content in a lesser period of time. Rice husks, chaff and bone meal contain sufficient quantities of proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins to provide the pigs with adequate nutrition. As a result, they grow fat and provide more meat. Hence, pigs are fed rice husks, chaff and bone meal.

Solution 1.d:
Daily care of domestic animals is necessary to keep them in good health. Their shelters should be kept clean. If their sheds are not kept clean, flies, fleas and gnats may trouble the animals. When dung and urine of animals are not cleaned, it may cause the spread of various diseases. The floor of the sheds should be regularly washed with germicides to prevent the animals from falling sick. Animals are very useful to us, and so, it is our duty to keep their sheds clean.

Solution 2.a:
Sheep are particularly prone to getting ticks and lice. Ticks and lice are blood-sucking parasites which inflict wounds on the body. Ticks are found on their necks, shoulders and around the anus. They cause wounds and suck blood. Maggots often grow in these wounds. In this way, lice and ticks are a nuisance for sheep. Hence, it is important to protect sheep from them.

Solution 2.b:
Occupations included under animal husbandry are

1. Sheep rearing
2. Poultry farming
3. Piggery
4. Pearl culture
5. Lac industry
6. Sericulture
7. Pisciculture

Solution 2.c:
Differences between layer and broiler birds:

S.No.	Layer birds	Broiler birds
1.	Birds (hens) reared for laying eggs are called layers.	Birds (hens) reared for obtaining meat are called broilers.
2.	Layers eat less and lay more eggs.	Broilers eat more to provide more meat.
3.	Layers are not killed to obtain eggs.	Broilers are killed to obtain meat.
4.	Example: White Leghorn	Example: Rhode Island Red

Solution 3:

1. Rabies, bird flu, Ranikhet
2. Oyster
3. Mulberry or Ain

Solution 4.a:
Crossbred animals:

1. Crossbred animals are obtained by cross-breeding two different strains of animals, usually one is local and the other is imported.
2. This technology was earlier used to produce hybrid plants, but even hybrid animals are now obtained through this technology.
3. The crossbred varieties are strong and robust.
4. They can perform a lot of work and give greater yield. Increase in yield increases the margin of profits.
5. For example, an Indian cow yields 5-6 litres of milk every day. However, when it is crossed with Jersey, Holstein or Red Dean bull, the offspring yields about 10-12 litres of milk per day.
6. Kandhari, Devani, Khilari and Dangi are the varieties of cow from Maharashtra which are used for crossbreeding.

Solution 4.b:
Sheep rearing:

1. Sheep rearing is the rearing of sheep for wool and meat.
2. It is a complementary occupation to agriculture.
3. A farmer can easily rear sheep as he does not have to incur any expenditure to feed them.
4. Sheep can live on jujube (bor) and babul trees and shrubs which grow wild as well as on the stubble and waste of jowar, groundnut and horse gram.
5. The skin and droppings of sheep are also useful to us.
6. The droppings provide good quality manure for the field, and hence, sheep are kept on the farm.
7. Sheep excreta are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. Therefore, sheep droppings and urine increase the fertility of the soil.

Solution 4.c:
Pisciculture:

1. Rearing of fish is called pisciculture.
2. In pisciculture, the desired varieties of fish are grown by man under controlled conditions.
3. The fish eggs or larvae known as fish seeds are released into the water bodies.
4. They are allowed to grow to their marketable size.
5. Whenever required for food, the fish are captured and used.
6. The Government makes good quality fish seed or spawn available for pisciculture.
7. Katla, rohu and mrigal are some of the freshwater varieties of fish, while boi, muddushi, renavi and khasi are cultivable marine fish.

Solution 4.d:
Cultured pearls:

1. Cultured pearls are not artificial pearls manufactured in a factory.
2. Scientists have developed a technology to develop pearls inside the body of an oyster, a marine animal.
3. A grain of sand is inserted inside the oyster’s body at the right time to obtain natural large pearls for commercial use.
4. Pearls are used to make ornaments and decorative articles. They are also used in embroidery.