ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) · India · NTA for ICAR
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersManagement of pigs, horses, rabbits, laboratory rodents and companion animals: breeds, housing, farrowing and young-stock care.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 05 (LPM); NAVLE porcine 5%
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — core group 05 (LPM)
Reasoning across systems: herd flow and facility sizing, non-productive days, welfare legislation and its effect on housing, comparison of crates and free farrowing, biosecurity design against ASF, and laboratory animal genetic and microbiological quality.
How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Livestock Production Management II: Monogastric and Laboratory Animals. Difficulty: 2 easy, 16 medium, 20 hard.
| Swine feeding and records | 9 | |
| Farrowing management | 5 | |
| Laboratory animal management | 5 | |
| Swine breeds | 4 | |
| Swine housing | 4 | |
| Laboratory animal housing and ethics-committee norms | 4 | |
| Piglet care | 3 | |
| Rabbit management | 3 | |
| Equine management | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
In a standard three-way commercial cross, which mating produces the slaughter generation?
A. F1 Large White x Landrace sow mated to a Duroc or Pietrain boar
Commercial herds use an F1 maternal sow (Large White x Landrace) for hybrid vigour in litter size and longevity, and a terminal sire (Duroc, Pietrain or synthetic) for growth and lean. Using terminal breeds as the dam, as in a Duroc x Pietrain sow, wastes the maternal traits; purebred Landrace matings give no hybrid vigour.
In a breeding pyramid, why do nucleus and multiplier herds keep stricter biosecurity than commercial herds?
D. Animals move down the pyramid, so infection at the top spreads to every herd below
Genetics (and pathogens) flow from nucleus to multiplier to commercial herds with live animals and semen, so one infected nucleus herd can infect hundreds of herds below. Nucleus herds hold purebreds, not crossbreds; multipliers produce F1 gilts, not only boars; commercial herds are also bound by disease law.
What is immunocastration in pigs?
D. A vaccine against gonadotrophin-releasing hormone that suppresses the testes
Immunocastration uses two injections of a GnRH vaccine; the antibodies block the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and reduce androstenone and skatole. It is not an E. coli vaccine, does not use colostrum, and banding is a physical method used in calves and lambs, not pigs.
Feed for one finished pig costs 108 currency units and feed makes up 70 per cent of the total cost of production. The carcass weighs 85 kg. What is the break-even price per kg of carcass?
D. About 1.82 units
Total cost = 108 / 0.70 = 154.3 units; break-even = 154.3 / 85 = 1.82 units per kg. Using feed cost alone gives 108 / 85 = 1.27; multiplying 108 x 0.70 / 85 gives 0.89; 2.54 does not follow from the figures.
A doe is remated 11 days after kindling. With a 31-day gestation, what is the kindling interval and the theoretical maximum number of litters per year?
A. 42 days and about 8.7 litters
Kindling interval = 31 + 11 = 42 days; 365 / 42 = 8.7 litters a year at the theoretical maximum. Using gestation alone gives 31 days and 11.8 litters; adding 11 twice gives 53 days. Real herds achieve fewer because of failed matings and rest periods.
Grouped female mice without a male are exposed to male bedding, and many come into oestrus on the third night. What is this called?
D. The Whitten effect
The Whitten effect is the synchronisation of oestrus in grouped females by male odour. The Bruce effect is pregnancy block by a strange male; the Lee-Boot effect is suppression of cycles in all-female groups; the Vandenbergh effect is earlier puberty in young females.
What do the 3Rs of humane animal research stand for?
C. Replacement, Reduction, Refinement
Russell and Burch (1959) defined the 3Rs as Replacement (avoiding animals), Reduction (fewest animals for valid results) and Refinement (minimising pain and distress). The other triplets are not the 3Rs.
A pig farm in a region with African swine fever asks which single measure gives the greatest protection. Which is the best answer?
A. Strict external biosecurity: no pork products, controlled entry, fenced boundary
ASF has no widely approved vaccine, so prevention depends on external biosecurity: banning pork products, fencing out wild boar, controlling people, vehicles and feed, and early reporting. Swill of any kind is a known route; antibiotics have no effect on a virus.
Ten here, 38 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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