Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science (AHVS) Optional Syllabus for UPSC

Animal Nutrition

Energy Partitioning: Food energy within the animal, direct and indirect calorimetry, carbon—nitrogen balance, comparative slaughter methods, systems for expressing energy value in ruminants, pigs, and poultry, requirements for maintenance, growth, pregnancy, lactation, egg, wool, and meat production.

Protein Nutrition: Advances in protein nutrition, energy-protein inter-relationships, protein quality evaluation, NPN compounds in ruminant diets, protein requirements.

Minerals and Vitamins: Major and trace minerals, sources, functions, deficiency symptoms, toxic minerals, mineral interactions, roles of fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, deficiency symptoms.

Feed Additives: Methane inhibitors, probiotics, enzymes, antibiotics, hormones, oligosaccharides, antioxidants, emulsifiers, mould inhibitors, buffers, growth promoters' use and abuse.

Fodder Conservation: Fodder conservation, feed storage, advances in feed technology, feed processing, anti-nutritional and toxic factors, feed analysis, quality control, digestibility trials, feed intake prediction.

Ruminant Nutrition: Advances, nutrient requirements, balanced rations, feeding strategies across various stages, effect on milk composition, goat and sheep feeding for milk, meat, wool production.

Swine Nutrition: Nutrient requirements, rations for different stages, lean meat production feeding, low-cost rations.

Poultry Nutrition: Nutrition features, nutrient requirements for meat, egg production, ration formulation.

Animal Physiology

Blood Circulation, Respiration, Excretion: Blood physiology, circulation, respiratory mechanisms, excretion, endocrine health/disease.

Blood Constituents: Properties, functions, formation, haemoglobin, plasma proteins, blood coagulation, disorders, groups, volume, expanders, buffers, disease diagnosis biochemical tests.

Circulation: Heart physiology, cardiac cycle, sounds, heartbeat, ECG, heart efficiency, ions effect, metabolism, regulation, temperature, stress effects, blood pressure, hypertension, osmotic regulation, circulation regulation, shock, coronary, pulmonary circulation, blood-brain barrier. 

Respiration: Respiration mechanism, gas transport/exchange, neural control, chemo-receptors, hypoxia.

Excretion: Kidney structure/function, urine formation, renal function study methods, acid-base balance regulation, physiological urine constituents, renal failure, congestion, urinary secretion in chickens, sweat glands function.

Endocrine Glands: Disorders, symptoms, diagnosis, hormone synthesis, secretion control, receptors.

Growth and Production: Prenatal/postnatal growth, curves, factors, conformation, body composition, meat quality.

Milk Production, Reproduction, Digestion: Hormonal control, reproductive organs functions, digestive functions.

Environmental Physiology: Physiological relationships, regulation, adaptation mechanisms, climatology, ecology, behaviour physiology, stress effects.

Animal Reproduction

Semen Quality and Artificial Insemination: Semen components, spermatozoa composition, semen properties, factors affecting semen, preservation, diluents, sperm concentration, deep freezing techniques, oestrus detection, conception timing, anoestrus, repeat breeding.

Livestock Production and Management

Commercial Dairy Farming: Dairy farming comparison, mixed/specialized farming, dairy farm starting, capital, land, organization, efficiency factors, recording, budgeting, milk production cost, pricing, personnel management, rations, feed/fodder requirements, feeding regimes.

Meat, Egg, Wool Production: Practical/economic rations development, greens, fodder, feeding regimes, production, management trends, capital, land, socio-economic aspects

Management Under Calamities: Feeding and management strategies under drought, flood, and natural calamities.

Genetics and Animal Breeding

History, Mitosis, Meiosis: Animal genetics history, cell division, Mendelian genetics, gene expression, linkage, crossing over, sex determination, character types, blood groups, polymorphism, chromosome aberrations, cytoplasmic inheritance, gene structure, DNA, genetic material, genetic code, protein synthesis, recombinant DNA technology, mutations, transgenesis.

Population Genetics: Quantitative vs qualitative traits, Hardy Weinberg Law, gene/genotypic frequency, forces changing gene frequency, random drift, inbreeding, effective population size, breeding value, dominance/epistatic deviation, variation partitioning, environment interaction, relatives resemblance.

Breeding Systems: Livestock, poultry breeds, heritability, repeatability, correlations, selection aids, selection types, selection indices construction, genetic gains, indirect selection, inbreeding, outbreeding, upgrading, cross-breeding, breed synthesis, inbred lines crossing, combining ability, threshold characters breeding.

Extension

Extension Fundamentals: Extension philosophy, objectives, concepts, principles, farmer education methods under rural conditions, technology generation, transfer, feedback, technology transfer problems, constraints, rural development animal husbandry programmes.

Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Hygiene

Histology and Histological Techniques: Paraffin embedding technique of tissue processing and H.E. staining, freezing microtomy, microscopy (bright field, electron microscope), cytology, structure of cell organelles and inclusions, cell division, tissue classification, comparative histology of organs.

Embryology: Embryology of vertebrates with emphasis on aves and domestic mammals, gametogenesis, fertilization, germ layers, foetal membranes, placentation, teratology, twins and twinning, organogenesis, germ layer derivatives.

Bovine Anatomy: Regional anatomy including paranasal sinuses of ox, salivary glands, nerve blocks, paravertebral nerves, pudental nerve, median, ulnar and radial nerves, tibial, fibular and digital nerves, cranial nerves, epidural anaesthesia, superficial lymph nodes, visceral organs of thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, locomotor apparatus. 

Anatomy of Fowl: Musculo-skeletal system, respiration, flying, digestion, egg production.

Pharmacology and Therapeutics: Cellular level of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, drugs acting on fluids and electrolyte balance, autonomic nervous system, anaesthesia, antimicrobials, chemotherapy in microbial infections, hormones in therapeutics, chemotherapy of parasitic infections, toxicity.

Veterinary Hygiene: Reference to water, air and habitation, assessment of pollution, climate in animal health, environmental impact on animal function and performance, animal housing requirements.

Milk and Milk Products Technology

Infectious Diseases: Etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, symptoms, post-mortem lesions, diagnosis, and control of diseases in cattle, sheep, goat, horses, pigs, and poultry.

Production Diseases: Etiology, epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment of diseases in cattle, horses, pigs, and poultry.

Deficiency Diseases: Of domestic animals and birds.

Non-specific Conditions: Like impaction, bloat, diarrhea, indigestion, dehydration, stroke, poisoning.

Neurological Disorders: Diagnosis and treatment.

Immunisation: Principles, methods, herd immunity, disease-free zones, chemoprophylaxis.

Anaesthesia: Local, regional, general, preanesthetic medication.

Surgical Conditions: Fractures, dislocation, hernia, choking, abomasal displacement, caesarian operations, rumenotomy, castrations. 

Disease Investigation Techniques: Laboratory investigation materials, animal health centers, disease-free zones.

Zoonoses: Classification, role of animals and birds in prevalence and transmission, occupational zoonotic diseases. 

Epidemiology: Principles, application in disease study and control, air, water, foodborne infections, OIE regulation, WTO, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. 

Veterinary Jurisprudence: Rules and regulations for animal quality and disease prevention, veterolegal cases, certificates, collection of samples for veterolegal investigation.

Milk and Milk Products Technology

Market Milk: Quality, testing, grading, processing, packaging, storing, distribution, marketing, defects control, preparation of various types of milk and cultured milks. 

Milk Products Technology: Selection, processing, storing, distributing, and marketing of products like cream, butter, ghee, khoa, channa, cheese, condensed, evaporated, dried milk and baby food, ice cream and kulfi; by-products, whey products, butter milk, lactose and casein, testing, grading, judging, BIS and Agmark specifications, quality control, nutritive properties, packaging, processing control, costing.

Meat Hygiene and Technology

Meat Hygiene: Ante and post mortem care and management, slaughterhouse requirements, meat inspection, carcass meat cuts grading, wholesome meat production.

Meat Technology: Physical, chemical characteristics of meat, meat emulsions, preservation methods, curing, canning, irradiation, packaging, meat and meat products processing, formulations.

By-products: Utilisation of slaughterhouse by-products, edible and inedible by-products, social and economic implications.

Poultry Products Technology: Composition, nutritive value of poultry meat, pre-slaughter care, slaughtering techniques, preservation, marketing of poultry meat, eggs, and products, BIS standards.

Rabbit/Fur Animal Farming: Meat production, disposal, utilization of fur and wool, recycling of waste by-products, grading of wool.