STAFF TRAINING: Week commencing 06/10/2025 staff training is taking place so there will be skeleton working hours at ADL, please bear with us and we will return any calls and emails as soon as we can, normal hours will commence week commencing 13/10/2025. Thank you for your understanding.
Call us: +44 (0)1227 789 649 - Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Animal Breeding
Animal Breeding 100 Hours Certificate Course
Course Code:
BAG301 CLD
Level:
3
Start:
Anytime
Finish:
Anytime
Study From:
Anywhere
Tutor Support:
Unlimited Access
Pinterest
X
Facebook
Email
LinkedIn
Contact us
Learn About Animal Breeding
Animal Breeding course online. Home Study/Online Courses., Become a brilliant breeder! Learn to plan an animal breeding program, incorporating genetic theory, breeding program management and practical aspects of daily husbandry practice. This online course is relevant to all animals, from pets to farm animals and horses to wildlife. You will receive personal guidance from high qualified and experienced scientists and practitioners.
Animal breeding can be anything from a serious hobby or part time business (eg. breeding and selling pets), through to a very serious and possibly highly sophisticated profession. This course provides an excellent starting point whatever level you plan to operate at.
Explain genetic regression by giving an example of its possible occurrence in a farm breeding program.
Design a checklist of factors to consider when purchasing breeding stock for a specified farm situation.
Explain how an animal breeder in the learner’s locality selects animals from which to breed, for a commercial breeding program.
Distinguish between different types of straight breeding, including: *close breeding *line breeding.
Explain how a specified pure breed (ie. straight breed) is maintained.
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of line breeding in a breeding program for a specified type of farm animal.
Explain where it would be appropriate to use line breeding methods in animal breeding programs.
Explain where it would be appropriate to use close breeding methods in animal breeding programs.
Write a procedure for straight breeding of a specified type of animal.
Differentiate between different types of cross breeding, including: *terminal cross *two breed cross *back cross *three breed cross *rotational cross.
Explain the concept of ‘grading up’, as it relates to commercial animal husbandry.
Evaluate ‘crossbreeding’ in an animal breeding program.
Determine a commercial situation, in which crossbreeding may be justified.
Explain the services provided by a specified Breed Society in cross breeding, on a specified farm.
Write a procedure for cross breeding of a specified type of animal.
Define breeding terminology
Describe the breeding programs which use artificial insemination, synchronised heats and ova transplants.
Explain the importance of synchronised heats to breeding animals.
Describe two different testing methods, observed by the learner that are used for animal breeding programs,
Evaluate the relevance of breeding methods, that are used on a specified property, to the stated aims of the property owner.
Describe the husbandry procedures which may be carried out during the pregnancy of a specified animal.
Describe husbandry practices which may be carried out during the birth of a specified type of domesticated animal, including: *routine husbandry procedures *emergency husbandry procedures
Plan the management of a breeding program to maximise male breeding performance.
Perform and record the birth of a specified animal.
At the end of each lesson their is an assignment which is submitted to the Academy to be marked by the Academy’s tutors and returned with relevant feedback, suggestions, and where needed, extra reading.
More Information
Your learning experience with ADLwill not only depend on the quality of the course, but also the quality of the person teaching it. This course is taught by Vicky Protopapadaki and your course fee includes unlimited tutorial support throughout. Here are Vicky’s credentials:
Vicky Protopapadaki MSc (Distinction) Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare (University of Edinburgh), BSc Business Administration (University of the Aegean), Cert. Companion Animal Behaviour (University of Edinburgh ), Cert. Animal Use and Care (University of Prince Edward Island).
Vickys passion for animals led her to obtain her MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare, despite her having a background in business and management. Apart from her personal experience with animals, she volunteers at various animal shelters around Greece and has done research on feline behaviour at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada and on primate behaviour at Edinburgh Zoo. She is currently researching PhD opportunities in the field of animal ethics and studying entrepreneurship for the purpose of creating her own charity for animal protection in Greece.
Excerpt from the Course
INBREEDING
Inbreeding is the mating of animals of the same breed that are more closely related than the average of the breed. Over the years, an element of fear has developed over the dangers of inbreeding. The marriage laws for people are designed to prevent marriage of extremely close relations.
However, inbreeding does have its uses and it plays a large part in the establishment of some degree of uniformity in the breeds of livestock which are on farms today.
Inbreeding can be divided into two types:
Close breeding – the mating of father to daughter, mother to son or brother to sister. (Brothers and sisters have, on average, half their genes in common. Fathers and daughters or mothers and sons must have half the genes in common)
Line breeding mating half brother to half sister, half cousins, grandfather to grand daughter, cousin to cousin, or grandson to grand daughter
The Genetic Effect of Inbreeding
The genetic effect of inbreeding is that it makes more pairs of genes homozygous. If we look at the case of self-fertilising plants – after only twenty generations of mating, all the genes in the offspring will be homozygous. This means that there will be no recessives in the genetic make up of the plants. In the case of successively mating brother to sister over twenty years, 98.9% of the genes will be homozygous with very few recessives left in the genetic pool. The following table shows how, as generations of inbreeding pass, the percentage of homozygous genes increases.
Percentage of Homozygous Genes after the Stated Number of Generations of Inbreeding
GENERATIONS
1
3
10
20
Self fertilised plants
50%
87.5%
99.9%
100%
Brother and sister
25%
50%
88.6%
98.6%
Results of Inbreeding
By increasing the degree of homozygosity, inbreeding increases the chances that recessive genes will come together and be homozygous. Some of these recessives may control lethal detrimental characteristics. It is very important to understand that inbreeding does not increase the chances that they will come together.
Inbreeding does not uncover dominant genes because they always show themselves. However, it increases the degree of homozygosity among the dominant genes. Thus inbreeding can help to fix characteristics within a breed, but at the same time as fixing good characteristics it may help to fix bad ones.
On the surface it seems simple to cull animals showing the bad characteristics and to keep the good animals. However, many animals have a combination of good and bad points, making it difficult to select animals for culling. Also the cost of such a culling program in cattle, and even in pigs and sheep, would be prohibitive in most circumstances. As a result, close inbreeding is rarely practised.
The effects of inbreeding on quantitative (measurable) traits have been studied, especially in pigs. These studies have shown conclusively that increasing inbreeding produces a decline in those traits related to physical fitness. Examples of these traits include; fertility; viability and early growth rate. In addition, one generation of brother-sister mating will reduce litter size by one while three generations will reduce it by two.
Inbred animals within a specific inbred line are more likely to be alike genotypically than phenotypically for traits of economic importance.
Many pigs in highly inbred lines are quite variable in size and weight when slaughtered. Cross bred litters tend to be more uniform and more easily marketed. Much of this difference is due to the unfavourable way in which inbreeds react to their environment. This difference is due to the crossbred being better buffered against the adversities of the environment.
Some farmers still recommend inbreeding to fix characters in an outstanding strain. Inbreeding could, however, result in decreased performance and the strain could die out.
Furthermore, the farmer loses the chances of introducing new “good” genes if he restricts himself to inbreeding. It is a fact that crossing two members from different inbred lines can produce remarkably good, uniform animals. This is the basis of hybrid production in pigs and poultry.
To sum up, inbreeding in commercial herds has its value but must be carefully conducted and will be extremely expensive.
In the example of inbreeding diagram (following) I & J are full cousins. The result of crossing these two cousins is K. This is inbreeding, but it is not close breeding, nor is it true line breeding.
Animal Health eBook course online.Animal welfare and wellbeing has become increasingly important in recent times and is a major social issue in developed countries.
“For the past 10,000 years, people all over the world have domesticated animals for various purposes. Some animals such as dogs and cats were domesticated as pets to provide company to humans. Livestock animals such as cattle and sheep were kept to provide products such as meat, wool or milk, or kept as working animals. No matter what the reason, animals and humans have been connected over an extended period of time.
Optimum health is essential to the wellbeing and longevity of all animals. It is the responsibility animal owners to ensure the welfare of the animals within their care. As part of the general care of animals, we need to be able to identify diseases. The first step in recognising diseases in animals is to understand when an animal is unwell. This generally requires three things: information on the history of the animal, a physical examination and specialized testing to identify the cause of the illness.”
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Understanding Animal Health Issues
Preventing Disease and Injury
Inspecting for Health
Differential Diagnosis
Some Common Illnesses in Animals
An excerpt from the book:
“Animals can encounter various health problems including the following.
Viral Diseases- A virus is a parasite that must infect a living cell to reproduce. A virus is defined as any of various simple sub-microscopic parasites of plants,
animals, and bacteria that often cause disease and that consist essentially of a core of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein coat. They are unable to replicate
without a host cell and are typically not considered living organisms.
Bacterial Diseases- Bacteria commonly enter a hosts body by invading a break (i.e. wound) in the skin, a membrane or wall. Often this “break” must occur in a specific part of an organ, for a particular type of bacteria e.g. Diphtheria can only enter through the tonsils, while pneumonia can only invade through the walls of the respiratory tract. Once inside a host, bacteria have to resist the defense mechanisms of the host. If the bacteria manage to overcome this system, they will then set about spreading infection by growing rapidly in the immediate tissues, blood or lymphatic fluid.
Bacteria cause injury in tissue by producing toxins or poisons. Some toxins are secreted into tissue while the bacteria lives (eg. tetanus), while others are only released when the bacteria dies or breaks up. Many bacterial diseases show an incubation period. This means that some time may elapse before the symptoms of the disease develops. Not all hosts show the same susceptibility to diseases.
Fungal Diseases- Fungal diseases are called mycoses. Veterinary medical mycology deals with fungal disease in both invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Fungal disease agents are widespread and can be isolated from a wide range of animals, from the soil and the environment. When fungi are suspected to cause animal disease, it is important to have criteria to distinguish infection, colonisation and contamination in order to reach a diagnosis. Some fungi are restricted to specific animals and others are found on a range of different animals. When making a diagnosis it is important to distinguish whether a fungus is actually the causal organism, or whether in is only a secondary factor.
Genetic Disorders- A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in animals genome. Genetic disorders caused either by a different form of a gene called a variation, or an alteration of a gene called a mutation. Mutations may occur randomly or as a result of environmental exposure. Other genetic disorders are inherited.
Metabolic and Nutritional Disease These are conditions that are caused by a disturbance of normal metabolic functions. These disturbances can be caused by genetic drift, inadequate or incorrect nutrition and impaired nutrition utilisation. Metabolic diseases are any that disrupt normal metabolism (the process of converting food to energy within the cells). Nutritional diseases are nutritionally-based. Good nutrition supports a healthy immune system to ward off infectiousdiseases. Proper nutritional balances help keep the animal healthy. Nutritional imbalances may make the animal more prone to disease.”
Assessment
Assessment is based on a combination of completing all assignments and sitting for a final short one and a half hour exam, in your own location.
If you don’t cope well with exams then you may elect to undertake a project instead. This is a popular option.
In addition, most modules have a Set Task at the end of each lesson placed before the assignment. This is an opportunity to undertake practical work to help you acquire knowledge and skills and practical experience. This ADL feature is an added bonus not found at most online schools. Set Tasks are not required for assessment.Â
Some courses also have optional Self-Tests which are available on our online learning platform. These are not available by correspondence or by USB, and do not form part of your overall grade.
How our courses work
Choose Your Learning Method You choose how you would like to receive your course material, i.e., Online, USB or Correspondence. The choice is yours. You may also work on online or offline.
Tutor Allocation Every student is assigned their own dedicated tutor who is an expert in their subject area. They provide as much or as little individual contact as you require. You can contact your tutor whenever you need – your hours are not limited.
Feedback and Assignments Tutor Feedback is an essential component in helping you understand the subject matter. Tutor feedback is given in the form of notes written on the assignment. We encourage you to contact your Tutor where help with clarification and understanding of course material may be required.
Your assignments are located at the end of each lesson. You submit them for marking whenever you are ready. There is no time limit. Â
Set Tasks and Self-Tests Most modules have a Set Task at the end of each lesson before for the assignment. This is where you get the opportunity to undertake practical work to help you acquire knowledge, skills and practical experience. Many modules also have short Self-Tests.
Exams Once all assignments have been completed you may then elect to sit for a one and half hour exam in your own location. If you prefer not to take the exam you do have the option to undertake a project instead. Once the exam or project part of the course is completed, your Certificate is then processed. Please allow approximately 4 weeks for this.
Design Your Own Qualification ADL offers students the flexibility to self-design their own qualification – bundling together a combination of 100-hour modules into a qualification higher than a certificate.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.
General
Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning? A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.
Q. Do I need to buy text books? A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.
Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc) A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.
Q. Is there an age limit? A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.
Q. Are your courses up-to date? A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.
Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy? A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.
Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students? A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.
Enrolment
Q. When can I enrol/start? A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.
Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world? A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.
Q. How long do I have to complete the course? A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.
Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take? A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.
Assessment
Q. Assessment – how does it work? A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.
Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do? A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.
Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work? A. Yes –
Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module? A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.
Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done? A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.
Qualifications
Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.
Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript? A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.
Tutors
Q. Our tutors – who are they? A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.
Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time? A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.
Q. Practical work – How is this done? A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.
What's Included
What your tuition fees include
All Course Material via Online, USB or Correspondence
Assignments Marked
Professional Tutor Feedback
Set Tasks - Practical Exercises to help you develop skills
Self-Tests – multiple choice questions at the end of lessons in most modules
Unlimited Personal Tutor Support – via our student classroom
Committed and Friendly Admin Support – vital to your success
All ADL Exam or Project fees (exception RHS exams)
To speak to one of our course advisors, please enter your name and phone number below and click the "Please Call Me" button. We will call you back as soon as possible!
By submitting this form, I provide my consent to ADL to contact me via email or telephone, regarding the course I selected. All information provided is protected in conformity with our Privacy Policy.
CONTACT US
required fields are marked with *
By submitting this form, I provide my consent to ADL to contact me via email or telephone, regarding the course I selected. All information provided is protected in conformity with our Privacy Policy.
Vicky Protopapadaki
Animal Health eBook course online.Animal welfare and wellbeing has become increasingly important in recent times and is a major social issue in developed countries.