WAEC Syllabus for Animal Husbandry & Textbooks 2024/2025

The WAEC syllabus for Animal Husbandry is the topic you must study to sit for the examination. It contains the aims and objectives, notes and format for the Animal Husbandry exam.

Studying the Animal Husbandry syllabus is necessary for your exam preparation. It will serve as a guide for you to know the topics to read. There are also notes on concepts you should pay attention to learning.

Exam preparations without using the Animal Husbandry syllabus are like going to the farm without your agricultural tools. You will end up not being productive.

Ensure you begin your exam preparations using the syllabus.

This post contains the Animal Husbandry syllabus and recommended textbooks of the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

Let me know in the comment section if you have any questions. I will love to hear from you.

WAEC Animal Husbandry

This syllabus has been designed to portray animal husbandry as a trade for livelihood with emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge and entrepreneurial skills in animal husbandry.

Candidates will be expected to answer questions on all the topics set out in the column headed Syllabus. The notes therein are intended to indicate the scope of the questions which will be set, but they are not to be considered as an exhaustive list of limitations and illustrations.

Aims and Objectives

The syllabus will therefore seek to assess candidates’ knowledge and skills in:

  • basic animal production practices such as feeding, housing, pest and disease control;
  • efficient and effective management  of animal enterprise;
  • efficient processing, preservation, packaging, storage and marketing of animal products;
  • basic entrepreneurial skills in animal husbandry related vocations;
  • basic knowledge and skills in animal improvement and health.

Requirements

Schools offering Animal Husbandry are expected to raise at least one species of farm animals from each of the following groups:

  • monogastrics e.g. poultry, pigs, snails, camel, donkey, horse, rabbit, bee.
  • ruminants e.g. cattle, sheep and goat.
    • It is recommended that the schools should have agricultural laboratories.
    • It is also recommended that candidates keep practical notebooks and specimen albums which should contain records of activities undertaken and observations made on the school farm and field trips and of specimens collected.
    • It is also expected that the study would be supplemented by visits to well established livestock and poultry farms, abattoirs, feed mills, animal product-based companies and other institutions related to animal

Examination Scheme

There will be three papers, Papers 1, 2 and 3 all of which must be taken.  Papers 1 and 2 will be a composite paper to be taken at one sitting. 

PAPER 1: Will consist of forty multiple choice questions all of which should be answered within 40 minutes for 40 marks.       

PAPER 2: Will consist of six essay questions drawn from the entire syllabus.  Each question carries 20 marks.  Candidates will be required to answer four questions within 2 hours for a total of 80 marks.

PAPER 3: Will be a practical paper for school candidates and a test of practical work paper for private candidates. Each version will consist of four questions all of which should be answered within 1½ hours for 60 marks.

WAEC Animal Husbandry Syllabus

Livestock Production

  1. Importance of farm animals
  2. Classification of farm animals.
    • Classification of farm animals. 
    • Identification of ruminants and non-ruminants.
  3. Internal organs and their functions in farm animals.
  4. Body systems and their functions in farm animals
  5. Reproduction in farm animals
    • Definition of terms used in livestock reproduction.
    • Reproduction in livestock(mammals).
    • Reproduction in poultry.
      • Reproductive  hormones and their functions.
      • Management of pregnant  farm animals.          
  6. Livestock management systems.
  7.  Management practices of livestock.

Animal Nutrition

  1. Meaning and classes of animal feeds.
  2. Animal feeds and feeding
    • Livestock rations
  3. Formulation of livestock rations.
  4. Processing and marketing of animal products.
    • Processing techniques for different farm animal products.
    • Marketing of animal products.

Pasture and Range Management

  1. Pasture management.
    • Meaning and importance of pasture and forage crops.
    • Types of pasture and forage crops.
    • Terminologies in pasture management.
  2. Rangeland improvement.
    • Meaning and characteristics of rangelands.
    • Methods of rangeland improvement. 
    • Importance of rangeland.
  1. ANIMAL IMPROVEMENT
  1. Animal improvement.
    • Meaning of animal improvement.
    • Aims/importance of farm animal improvement.
  2. Methods of farm animal improvement.
    • Methods used in farm animal improvement.
    • Merits and demerits of methods used in farm animal improvement. 
  3. Artificial insemination.
    • Meaning of artificial insemination.
    • Methods of artificial insemination.
    • Advantages  of artificial insemination.

Animal Health

  1. Farm animal diseases and pathogens.
    • Concept of farm animal disease.
    • General symptoms of diseases in farm animals.
    • Diseases of farm animals, prevention and control.
    • Factors predisposing farm animals to diseases.           
  1. Livestock parasites and pests.
    • Livestock parasites.
    • Livestock pests.

Animal Husbandry Practicals

  1. Products and by-products of farm animals.
  2. Identification of farm animals
  3. Internal organs and their functions in farm animals.
    • Tools and equipment used in management of farm animals.
    • Feeds and feedstuffs
    • Pasture and forage crops.
    • Artificial insemination.
    • Pests and parasites of farmanimals.
      • Pests of farm animals.
      • Parasites of farm animals

List of Facilities and Major Equipments

A. FARM BUILDING/STRUCTURE

ITEM NOEQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
 1Poultry/Pig House/Battery Cages          1
 2Cattle/Goat/Sheep Pen          1
 3Rabbit/Grass cutter Hutch          1
 4Snairy/Bee Hive          1

B. LIVE ANIMALS

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.Poultry/Pig10
2.Rabbits/Grass cutter10
3. Cattle/Sheep/Goat10
4.Snails/Bees50/100

C. SPECIMEN

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENT
1.Tick
2.Lice
3.Liver fluke
4.Tapeworm
5.Roundworm
6.Flea
7.Tsetse fly
8.Pests

D. CHARTS AND PICTURES

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.Digestive system of ruminants5       
2.Digestive system of non-ruminants5
3.Reproductive organs of male livestock5
4.Reproductive organs of female livestock5
5.Reproductive tract of poultry5
6.Skeletal system of farm animals5
7.Circulatory system5
8.Muscular system5
9.Endocrine system5
10.Calendar of ovulation5
11.Calendar of Oestrus cycle5
12.Classes of farm animals5
13.Calendar of heat period5
14.Calendar of animal diseases5

E. MACHINES AND EQUIPMENT

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.Buddizor pliers/castrators2
2.Elastrators2
3.Debeakers2
4.Candlers2
5.Dehorning saw4
6.Ear notching knife2
7.Electro-ejaculator2
8.Artificial Inseminators2
9.Hand sprayer/Knapsack sprayer2
10.Refrigerators to store materials2
11.Clinical thermometer2
12.Films Many
13.Television2
14.CD Video Player2
15.16mm Film Projector2

F.    DRUGS/VACCINES/MATERIALS

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.First aids kits/boxes containing surgical blades, cotton wool, iodine and razor.2
2.Sterilizers e.g. Dettol, Izal4
3.Syringes and Needles10
4.Vaccines (various forms)5
5.Formalin, etc.2 bottles

G. FEED SAMPLES

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.Bone meal½ kg
2.Blood meal½ kg
3.Fish meal½ kg
4.Groundnut cake½ kg
5.Maize grains½ kg
6.Groundnut  meal½ kg
7.Coconut meal½ kg
8.Egg shell meal½ kg
9.Palm kernel meal½ kg
10.Periwinkle shell½ kg
11.Mineral salt lick, etc.½ kg

H. OTHER MATERIALS

ITEM NO.EQUIPMENTQUANTITY REQUIRED
1.Feeding trough (Metal and Plastic)5
2.Drinkers (Metal and Plastic)5
3.Lanterns (source of heat)5
4.Foot dips5
5.Notebooks for Accounts and Records5
6.Wheelbarrow5

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