Postgraduate Course: Poultry Housing and Environment (VESC11169)
Course Outline
| School | Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will enable students to critically evaluate and analyse how commercial laying hens and broilers are housed, with regards to housing design and internal systems, how poultry environments are provided and maintained, and what impacts poultry businesses have on the environment. It will also describe egg and meat production in global contexts. |
| Course description |
Week 1: Introduction to the provision of poultry houses (design, construction, maintenance etc.) including an introduction to birds needs, and biosecurity.
Week 2: Commercial housing designs for meat (broiler) production, including conventional, free range and organic housing
Week 3: Commercial housing designs for egg production (laying hens), including sheds for cages, for barn/free range, and for organic
Week 4: Housing designs for other poultry species; litter and range management
Week 5: Internal house structures: provision of floors, raised areas including slatted areas and multi tier, cage types, feeder and drinker systems. Water quality.
Week 6: Housing environment control (heating, ventilation)
Week 7: Housing environment control (lighting), housing control systems and precision farming
Week 8: Environmental impacts (sources, pathways and receptors of pollution)
Week 9: Pollution control, waste management, and mitigation technologies
Week 10: Climate change (contribution, impacts and responses)
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Flexible |
| Course Start Date |
08/08/2022 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Formative:
Around week 3, MCQs on housing design systems pros and cons, and examining a briefing document;
Around week 9, MCQs on an environmental case study.
Summative:
1) Write a briefing document for new entrants into egg production or broiler meat production, subject is the pros and cons of main housing designs for eggs or meat. Group work using wiki and WebPA tool. (40%) Lecturer/course tutor will provide feedback on the group wikis, which will help the students prepare for the summative assessment
2) Energy and environmental audit (50%) and a 5 min audio file, summarising the audit (10%). Students will be provided with a case study or they can provide their own farm data. An outline of what should be included in the audit will be given.
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| Feedback |
Students will receive written or oral feedback on all formative and summative assessments within 15 working days of each assessment being due. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a detailed and critical understanding of housing and environmental aspects for poultry
- Use a range of specialised skills, techniques and practices to enable the sustainability of poultry housing
- Deal with complex energy and environmental issues and make informed judgements in the absence of complete or consistent information in relation to poultry production systems
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Reading List
| To be provided during week 1 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and skills will include:
A. Research and Enquiry
Graduates of the University will be able to create new knowledge and opportunities for learning through the process of research and enquiry. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them
- be able to exercise critical judgment in creating new understanding
- be ready to ask key questions and exercise rational enquiry
- be able to critically assess existing understanding and the limitations of their own knowledge and recognise the need to regularly challenge all knowledge
- search for, evaluate and use information to develop their knowledge and understanding
- have an informed respect for the principles, methods, standards, values and boundaries of their discipline(s) and the capacity to question these
- understand economic, legal, ethical, social, cultural and environmental issues in the use of information.
B. Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
Graduates of the University will be able to work independently and sustainably, in a way that is informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
- be able to make decisions on the basis of rigorous and independent thought, taking into account ethical and professional issues
- be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
- be intellectually curious and able to sustain intellectual interest
- be able to respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts
C. Communication
Graduates of the University will recognise and value communication as the tool for negotiating and creating new understanding, collaborating with others, and furthering their own learning. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
- use communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others
- further their own learning through effective use of the full range of communication approaches
- seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness
- recognise the benefits of communicating with those beyond their immediate environments
- use effective communication to articulate their skills as identified through self-reflection
D. Personal Effectiveness
Graduates of the University will be able to effect change and be responsive to the situations and environments in which they operate. This may be understood in terms of the following:
- appreciate and use talents constructively, demonstrating self-discipline, motivation, adaptability, persistence and professionalism
- be able to manage risk while initiating and managing change
- be able to flexibly transfer their knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to another
- understand social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities and issues
- be able to work effectively with others, capitalising on their different thinking, experience and skills.
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| Keywords | housing designs,environment,pollution |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Yolanda Fernandez Diez
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Carina McIntosh
Tel: (0131 6)51 7475
Email: |
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