WAEC Animal Husbandry 2020 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2020 WAEC Animal Husbandry paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 30 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Animal Husbandry 2020 questions and answers

1.The botanical name of Guinea grass is_________.
1. A
  Pennisetum purpureum
2. B
  Andropogon gayanus
3. C
  Cynodon dactylon
4. D
  Panicum maximum
  Correct
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Answer: D
Panicum maximum is the correct botanical (scientific) name for Guinea grass, one of the most important tropical forage grasses reared for livestock feeding in Nigeria. It is a tall, leafy, perennial grass valued for its high dry-matter yield and good palatability to ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats.
2.Which of the following vitamins is water-soluble?
1. A
  Vitamin D
2. B
  Vitamin A
3. C
  Vitamin K
4. D
  Vitamin C
  Correct
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Answer: D
Vitamin C is water-soluble. Vitamins are grouped into two classes based on how the body absorbs and stores them:
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water, are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, are not stored in body fat, and any excess is excreted in urine. This group is Vitamin C and the Vitamin B-complex (B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, etc).
So Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin K are all fat-soluble, which is why they are the tempting wrong choices here — a student who mixes up the two groups will pick one of these instead. The easy way to remember it: think "A D E K are locked in fat"; everything else, including Vitamin C, travels in water.
3.A farmer noticed the laying of soft-shelled eggs by a flock of layers. Which of the following minerals is likely deficient in the diet of the layers?
1. A
  Iron
2. B
  Iodine
3. C
  Calcium
  Correct
4. D
  Phosphorus
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Answer: C
Calcium is the mineral involved. An egg's shell is made mostly of calcium carbonate, and a laying hen draws calcium from her feed (and from her bones) every day to build each shell. When the diet does not supply enough calcium, the hen still ovulates and forms an egg, but she cannot deposit a proper shell around it, so the eggs come out thin-shelled, soft-shelled, or sometimes with no shell at all.
So the correct reasoning is: soft-shelled eggs point straight to a lack of calcium in the layers' diet, usually corrected by supplying oyster shell or limestone grit.
4.An ewe which is not lactating after lambing should be given_________
1. A
  Antibiotics to clear a suspected udder infection
2. B
  Vitamin and mineral supplements alone
3. C
  Extra roughage alone, with no other treatment
4. D
  A hormone injection to stimulate milk let-down
  Correct
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Answer: D
A ewe that fails to let down milk soon after lambing is showing a condition called agalactia. Milk let-down right after parturition depends on the hormone oxytocin, which is released when the lamb suckles; if this mechanism fails, the farmer must step in and give the ewe a hormone injection to trigger let-down so the lamb can start suckling and feeding normally.
So the correct management step is to give the ewe a hormone injection (oxytocin) to induce milk let-down.
5.What should a farmer do first if a sick bird is identified in a flock?
1. A
  Isolate the sick bird from the rest of the flock
  Correct
2. B
  Report the case to the nearest veterinary officer
3. C
  Cull the bird and dispose of the carcass
4. D
  Administer a broad-spectrum antibiotic to the bird
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Answer: A
Isolating the sick bird from the rest of the flock is the correct first response.
6.Which of the following farm animals is not correctly matched with its parturition terminology?
1. A
  Pig – farrowing
2. B
  Cow – calving
3. C
  Horse – foaling
4. D
  Sheep – kidding
  Correct
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Answer: D
In animal husbandry, each farm animal has a specific name for the act of giving birth, and students are often examined on these terms.
The correctly matched pairs are:
The pig gives birth through farrowing.
The horse (mare) gives birth through foaling.
The cow gives birth through calving.
So the option that is NOT correctly matched is "Sheep – kidding", since the proper term should have been "Sheep – lambing".
7.Which of the following systems is most suitable for broiler production?
1. A
  Deep litter system
  Correct
2. B
  Battery cage system
3. C
  Slatted floor system
4. D
  Free range system
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Answer: A
The deep litter system is correct. Broilers are reared on the floor over a thick layer of litter material (wood shavings, straw or sawdust). This gives the fast-growing, heavy-bodied birds room to move about, keeps them warm, and the litter absorbs droppings and keeps the floor dry. Because broilers put on weight very quickly, a floor system also avoids pressure injuries to their legs and breast, and it is cheap and easy to construct — which is why commercial broiler houses in Nigeria are almost always run on deep litter.
8.One of the advantages of artificial insemination is that_______
1. A
  it guarantees conception in every female that is inseminated
2. B
  it reduces the number of breeding females needed on a farm
3. C
  it completely eliminates the risk of disease transmission between animals
4. D
  it allows semen from a male of high genetic merit to be used to breed many females over a wide area
  Correct
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Answer: D
Artificial insemination (AI) is the technique of collecting semen from a male animal and introducing it into the reproductive tract of a female by artificial means, rather than through natural mating.
9.A nutritional disorder in cattle characterized by distended stomach is known as_______
1. A
  Bloat
  Correct
2. B
  Milk fever
3. C
  Pica
4. D
  Ketosis
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Answer: A
Bloat is the nutritional disorder of cattle in which the stomach (rumen) becomes abnormally distended. It happens when gases produced during digestion—mostly carbon dioxide and methane—cannot escape by belching and build up in the rumen. It is common when cattle graze lush legume pastures (like clover or lucerne) or are fed too much succulent, easily fermentable feed without enough fibre. The trapped gas swells the left side of the abdomen, and if not relieved quickly, bloat can kill the animal by pressing on the lungs and heart.
10.The function of an electro-ejaculator during artificial insemination is to___________
1. A
  stimulate the male animal to release semen for collection
  Correct
2. B
  dilute and extend the collected semen for multiple inseminations
3. C
  preserve the semen at sub-zero temperature for storage
4. D
  detect signs of oestrus in the female animal
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Answer: A
In artificial insemination, semen must first be collected from the male animal before it can be processed and used. The electro-ejaculator is a device with a probe (usually inserted rectally) that delivers mild electrical pulses to stimulate the nerves controlling the accessory reproductive glands, causing the male to ejaculate so the semen can be collected. It is especially useful for animals that cannot mount an artificial vagina or a teaser female, such as injured, inexperienced, or very heavy bulls and rams.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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WAEC Animal Husbandry 2020 past questions

WAEC Animal Husbandry 2020 questions and answers

Practise all 30 questions we hold from the 2020 paper, on a timed CBT screen

More Animal Husbandry past questions

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