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Pig rearing is an important component of sustainable farm economy for the poor people in Kerala like other parts of India, as it is a low-input, demand-driven production system. However, there is growing discontentment among residents inhabiting near pig farms, because the solid and liquid (water) wastes released from pig sties pollute the soil and the environment. There has been little elaborate study with respect to waste management of piggeries in India. This study deals with the analysis of a spectrum of factors like landholding, herd-strength, housing structure, and feeding system, with reference to waste management practices in pig farms based on a survey engrossing fifty pig farms in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts of Kerala using a well-structured questionnaire. The study revealed that majority of the farmers (54%) were marginal possessing ≤1 acre of land that caused operational hardship in spread of waste in their own lands. Majority of farms (62%) had ≤10 pigs confirming the small holder nature of this enterprise. Ninety percent (90%) of the farmers in the study area have developed permanent structures for housing pigs. The respondents used combination of kitchen/ hotel waste and slaughter house waste as major share of the pig feed. Seventy percent (70%) of the farmers removed the waste two times a day, 16 percent (16%) removed the waste three times a day and 14 percent (14%) removed >3 times a day from the pig sty. Forty eight percent (48%) of farms separated liquid and solid wastes. Thirty four percent (34%) farms have concrete manure pits and ten percent (10%) have earthen manure pits for solid waste disposal. Most of the farms (22%) removed dung from the pits annually. Different waste management systems are being adopted in different pig farms. Forty four percent (44%) of the pig farms used manure pits to dispose of solid wastes. Sixty eight percent (68%) of the pig farmers had biogas plant and 20 percent (20%) had septic tanks for collecting wastewater and dung from the pig sty. Forty eight percent (48%) of the farms used different combination of solid waste disposal systems including irrigation as a means for wastewater disposal. The overall results indicated that there was a lacuna in appropriate infrastructure for solid and liquid waste management in pig farms of Kerala posing serious threat to the environment and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India ranks first in milk production in the world. Government of India plans to increase the milk production at the rate of 23% per year. The various cost effective and practically feasible strategies which can be implemented for increasing milk production in India especially Kerala, are reviewed in this paper with emphasis on technologies such as unconventional and complete feed. The problems and solutions in Iced and fodder sector in India are reviewed separately. Several general recommendations, which can be practically implemented in the field for the betterment of the sector in India especially Kerala, arc also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was carried out at the State Museum and Zoo, Thrissur, Kerala, India from June to October, 2009. The objective was to observe and record the physical and behavioural changes in Sambar Deer Rusa unicolor stags linked to their territorial display during various stages of the breeding cycle. In total, there were 70 Sambar in the enclosure, at the commencement of the study, of which 22 were males including 16 adult stags. Six stags were selected for the study. Observations were made by focal animal sampling technique. An ethogram was devised and behavioural patterns were indicated on it. The behavioural score derived from the ethogram was significantly higher in stags in their hard antler stage when compared to the stags in the velvet stage. The stags in the hard antler stage were more massive, had bigger antlers, darker coat colour, thicker neck, larger scrotum and maintained a larger 'harem' in comparison to the velvet stage stags which preferred a rather subdued life. The most dominant stags in the hard antler stage had up to 17 female members in his territory. As the stags in velvet entered the rut season, the dominant stag had up to 19 females in his territory. The study is expected to be useful to evolve strategies to identify and reduce a few males not contributing in breeding in any particular enclosure and thus curtail expenses in management of cervids in captivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was undertaken to observe changes in the growth rate of halothane sensitive pigs due to transportation. Neither halothane genotype nor transportation influenced the growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of pigs. The stress related enzymes like Lactate dehydrogenase and Creatine phosphokinase (CPK)were increased due to transportation. The CPK values differed significantly between genotypes and was markedly higher (P<0.05) for the transported group. Blood CPK level can be used as an efficient marker in the identification of stress susceptible pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the development of a technique to interpret the breeding behavior and testosterone level of dominant males of the spotted or axis deer, Cervux axis axis, in captive and other confined facilities. It describes male axis deer observed in the Zoological Garden in Thrissur, India from December 2004 to May 2005. The maximum number of breeding was found to occur during the monsoon season. Mean testosterone concentrations during the pedicel formation stage are cited.

The article offers information on the contribution of buffaloes production in the progress of animal husbandry sector in Kerala, India. It states that buffaloes contribute 60 percent of the milk production in India. It mentions that the percentage of protein is more in buffalo milk as compared to cow milk.

The present study was was conducted in the University Livestock farm and Fodder Research and Development scheme (ULF and FRDS), Kerala Agricultural University Mannuthy, Thrissur from February to May 2008, covering the hottest part of the summer on twelve healthy crossbred cows in mid lactation, to study the effect of feeding during cooler hours of summer season on physiological and hematological parameters of crossbred cows in mid lactation. Animals were divided into two groups of six each. The T1 animals were maintained on routine management protocol whereas the T2 animals were maintained on concentrate mixture and green grass as roughage with 1/3rd of the concentrate and roughage fed during the day time (10.a.m) and rest in evening (6.00 p.m) and early morning (5.00 a.m) hours. Various physiological and hematological parameters of the two groups were recorded. From the present study it was concluded that the cool hour feeding of the animals during summer season did not show much significant differences in physiological and hematological parameters of mid lactation cross bred cows. On statistical analysis a significant difference (P< 0.05) in plasma cortisol was obtained between the two groups during the first and second fortnights. The overall average plasma cortisol level was significantly higher in the T1 in comparison to T2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]