Course Information
Course Description:
Focus on swine biology, nutrition, feeding, and management. Digestive and metabolic development, interaction of pig, people, and environment, current swine biotechnology, and biomedical uses of pigs are covered. Laboratory practice, animal project, and problem troubleshooting are offered.
Course Structure:
lecture periods/week (T TR 11:15 - 12:05 pm) - 134 Morrison
1 laboratory period/week (T 2:00 - 4:25 pm)
Course Objectives:
To enable the students to-
- Know the importance and potential of swine in agriculture and society.
- Understand biology, metabolism and nutrient requirements of pigs.
- Become familiar with current nutrition research, biotechnology, and biomedical application of pigs.
- Develop skills for solving practical problems of swine nutrition and management.
Textbook:
No textbook will be specifically required. However, the following references are highly recommended-
- Swine Nutrition. 2001. A. J. Lewis and L. L. Southern (Editors). CRC Press, Inc., NY.
- The Science and Practice of Pig Production. 1993. Colin Whittemore. Longman Group UK Limited, England.
- Biology of the Domestic Pig. 2001. W. G. Pond and H. J. Mersmann. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
Evaluation:
Lecture: Mid-term exam
- Oct. 17, 2002; 11:15 - 12:05 pm 20%
Term paper*
- Nov. 26, 2002 20%
Final exam
- Dec. 19, 2002; 3:00 - 5:30 pm 30%
Laboratory: Mid-term exam - Oct. 17, 2002; 11:15 - 12:05 pm 5%
Final exam
- Dec. 19, 2002; 3:00 - 5:30 pm 5%
Lab report/project set
10%
Sow project (group) 10%
Bonus: Class participation 5%
*Term paper is required to address a special topic, problem, or issue related to swine nutrition. Students are required to submit the topic and outline of the paper before mid-term exam (October 17, 2002) and submit the full paper before November 26, 2002. Students are expected to prepare a type-written paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced). The following format is recommended:
- Introduction, 1 page
- Review of literature and background, 3-4 pages
- Proposal of solution or experiment, 2-3 pages
- Expected results and summary, 1 page
- List at least 5 key (3 refereed journals) references, 1 page.
Lecture topics:
- Why should pigs be raised?
- Biology of pigs and their metabolic development
- Nutrient metabolism and requirements of pigs
- How to reduce environmental pollution of pig rearing?
- Should antibiotics be used in swine diets?
- Pig cloning and biotechnology
- Biomedical application of pigs
Laboratory topics:
- 9/3 Introduction, Class requirements
- 9/10 Farm Tour**
- 9/17 Health and Environment
- 9/24 Health and Hazard Analysis
- 10/1 Reproduction**
- 10/8 Research and Regulations [Sarah Crowe's presentation]
- 10/15 Fall break
- 10/22 Nutrition
- 10/29 Nutrition**
- 11/5 Necropsy Demo and Discussion#
- 11/12 Presentations and peer review
- 11/19 Presentations and peer review
- 11/26 Restraint and bleed demo**
- 12/3 Lab Final
**At Farm
#At Morrison Hall Abatoir
All other labs in 134 Morrison Hall
"Each student in this course is expected to abide by the Cornell University Code of Academic Integrity. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work.
The Code of Academic Integrity and Acknowledging the Work of Others is found in the Policy Notebook for the Cornell Community and also on the web at