Syllabus
ANSC 1000 - Introductory Animal Science
Fall Semester, 2009

Instructor: Dr. S. P. Schmidt
Office:   231 Animal Science
Phone:   844-1515
  Office Hours:   9:00-10:00 a.m. Monday-Friday and by appointment.
If you need assistance, my office door is open. It is advisable to call first because I may have another commitment.
Teaching Assistant Chris Britton
Office:   317 Animal Science
Phone:   844-1541
Joseph Palmer
Office:   317 Animal Science
Phone:   844-1541
Class
Meetings:
Lecture:    8:00-8:50 a.m. MWF
Labs:    1:00-2:50 p.m. & 3:00-4:50 Wed.    (Two sections each time period)

Most labs will meet at the Beef Teaching Unit off of Shug Jordan Parkway near its intersection with Wire Road. Topics covered each week and location of the lab are listed in material handed out in class. Because the labs frequently will involve the use of live animals, it is advised that suitable clothing be worn. This includes sturdy, solid-toed foot-gear.   Be prepared to take notes during lab.    BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO LAB.

Required Texts: Scientific Farm Animal Production by T. G. Field and R. E. Taylor. 2008. 9th Ed. Prentice-Hall.
Laboratory Notes and Study Guide for ANSC 1000 is available at the University Bookstore in Haley Center.
Course
Objectives:
To introduce students to the broad field of animal science and to develop an appreciation of the importance of the livestock and meats industry in American agriculture and to the American economy. The student should become acquainted with the basic principles of livestock production through discussions of animal anatomy, genetics and breeding, physiology, lactation, growth and body composition, nutrition, and meat science.
By the end of the course, students should:  
 
  1. be familiar with livestock terminology, the expected performance of animals raised using good management and husbandry practices, and characteristics of the primary breeds of farm livestock.
  2. understand principles underlying the selection of replacement stock for continued genetic improvement in the herd or flock.
  3. understand animal reproduction, some management principles for improving reproductive efficiency, and be familiar with technologies such as estrous synchronization, artificial insemination and embryo transfer.
  4. understand how milk is synthesized, stored and released during milking or nursing.
  5. understand changes in body composition relative to muscle, fat, and bone as an animal grows and understand how these changes affect gains, feed efficiency, market grades, and market price.
  6. know the major components of livestock feeds and be able to compare similarities and differences in feed digestion by cattle, sheep, swine, and horses.
Grading
System:
Grading will be on a 10-point scale and will be based on your accumulated percentage of the total points possible according to the following distribution:
 
3 hour exams
Announced quizzes
Final exam (Comprehensive)
Lab midterm
Lab final
Lab attendance (5 points per lab)
Unannounced lecture quizzes
 
TOTAL
300   points
  50   points
200   points
  90   points
130   points
  50   points
  20   points  (approximately)
 
850  points
 The grade is determined by adding all points earned from exams, quizzes and lab attendance and dividing by the total points possible. The total points possible could change depending on the number of unannounced quizzes that are given.
Quizzes: A 10-15 minute quiz will be given on days shown in the schedule below. The quiz will cover lecture material since the most recent quiz or hour exam. The lowest weekly quiz score will be dropped. No make-up quizzes will be given.
 
  1. Friday, August 28
  2. Monday, September 14
  3. Monday, October 5
  4. Monday, October 19
  5. Friday, November 9
  6. Monday, November 30
Lecture
Exams:
Hour exams will cover new material given since the previous hour exam. The tentative schedule for exams is
 
  1. Friday, September 18
  2. Friday, October 23
  3. Friday, December 4
Laboratory
Exams:
The laboratory exams will be as follows:

Lab midterm: Wednesday, September 30, During Lab, ANSCI 203.
The midterm will cover the first six labs, but students will NOT have to identify breeds or parts of animals from pictures. Students should know breed characteristics given in the lab manual and should be familiar with commonly used animal terms.

Lab final: Wednesday, November 18, During Lab, ANSCI 203.
The final will cover the last six labs, and in addition, will cover breed identification and parts identification for all labs.
Make-up Exams: A make-up exam will be given only for University-approved excuses as outlined in the Tiger Cub. The exam will be comprehensive and will be given on dead day. Arrangements to take the make-up exam must be made in advance. Students who miss an exam because of illness need a doctor's statement for verification of sickness and should clear the absence with the instructor the day they return to class. Other unavoidable absences from the campus (field trips, intercollegiate events, etc.) must be documented and cleared with the instructor in advance.
Spelling: All livestock terms including breeds must be spelled correctly on exams and weekly quizzes. One-half point will be deducted for each misspelled term. Livestock breeds must be capitalized.
Final Exam: Monday, December 14, 8:00-10:30 a.m.
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate arrangements for missed work due to excused absences. (See above statement for make-up exams.) The instructor may give unannounced quizzes during any lecture for the purpose of determining class attendance.
Livestock Breeds on the World Wide Web:  
  Oklahoma State University, in cooperation with the various breed associations, has created a site on the World Wide Web that has pictures of the breeds of livestock with information about each of the breeds. Most breeds of livestock are there. Either of the two links below will get you to the site. The first link has only the breeds and a short discussion about what a breed is, why we want to preserve breeds having minor contributions to mankind, and why we raise livestock even if they compete with humans for food. The second link is a "virtual livestock library"....it has links to the breeds plus lots of other information relative to livestock production in the United States. Go visit the site! Your instructor has a breed identification slide show and self-quiz on the web for the breeds of livestock ANSC 1000 students are expected to know. You also can click on "Breed Identification Slides" on Dr. Schmidt's Homepage.
Livestock Safety  
  Auburn University has instituted rules stating that each enrolled student in any class involving the use of animals must sign a Student Certification Form indicating that they have been informed and understand the elements of risk involved in the use of animals in class activities and that they understand the procedures to be used to minimize such risks for all participants. Students in ANSC 1000 must study the Livestock Safety web site provided by the course instructor. Go to Dr. Schmidt's Homepage, and click on the Livestock Safety caution sign. Students who have not done this by the first lab will not be allowed to participate in lab.
E-mail Communication with Students (AU Policy):  
  E-mail is an approved medium for communicating with students. Students are responsible for reading their AU e-mail regularly. Course-related mail can be sent to a student's @auburn.edu address and is considered as "official" notification for class activities, exams, assignments, date changes, etc. Please activate your AU e-mail accounts and be aware of this policy.
The Auburn University Oath of Honor:  
 
"In Accordance with those virtues of Honesty and Truthfulness set forth in
the Auburn Creed, I, as a student and fellow member of the Auburn Family, do
hereby pledge that all work is my own, achieved through personal merit and
without any unauthorized aid. In the promotion of integrity, and for the
betterment of Auburn, I give honor to this, my oath and obligation."

(This oath was developed by the AU SGA in conjunction with the AU Academic Honesty Committee.
The oath may be found at http://www.auburn.edu/tigercub/oath.html)


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