WAEC Animal Husbandry 2021 past questions
Ten questions from the 2021 WAEC Animal Husbandry paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 34 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.
WAEC Animal Husbandry 2021 questions and answers
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1.Which of the following breeding practices would lead to reduced hybrid vigour
- ACrossbreeding of two unrelated breeds
- BGrading up with an exotic breed
- COutcrossing to an unrelated sire
- DInbreeding of closely related animalsCorrect
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Answer: D
Inbreeding (mating closely related animals, e.g. sire to daughter or full siblings) is the breeding practice that reduces hybrid vigour. Hybrid vigour (heterosis) is the improved performance seen when genetically different, unrelated animals are mated; it comes from increased heterozygosity in the offspring. Inbreeding does the opposite — it increases homozygosity, including of harmful recessive genes, and this is exactly why it causes inbreeding depression: reduced growth rate, fertility, and vigour in the offspring.
- A
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2.Fumigation of a poultry house is done for the following reasons except to
- Adestroy harmful disease-causing micro-organisms
- Bincrease the rate of egg productionCorrect
- Ckill external parasites such as mites and lice
- Dprevent the spread of diseases among the birds
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Answer: B
Fumigation is the use of chemical fumes (gas or smoke) to disinfect a poultry house. It is carried out mainly as a sanitation measure, so it is done to:
destroy harmful disease-causing micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses left on the floor, walls and equipment; to kill external parasites such as mites and lice that hide in cracks and litter; and to prevent the spread of diseases among the birds by making sure the house is germ-free before a new batch of chicks is introduced.
Fumigation does not act on the birds' feed or body systems, so it cannot increase the rate of egg production directly — that depends on factors like good nutrition, breed, lighting and age of the layers, not on disinfecting the house. This is the one option that is not a reason for fumigation, which is why it is the correct answer to this "except" question.
- A
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3.An example of a non-ruminant farm animal is
- APigCorrect
- BGoat
- CCattle
- DSheep
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Answer: A
Farm animals are grouped by how they digest their feed. Ruminants have a four-compartment stomach (rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum) and chew the cud to break down fibrous, cellulose-rich feed with the help of micro-organisms in the rumen.
The pig, on the other hand, has a single-chambered (simple) stomach like humans do, does not chew the cud, and cannot efficiently digest fibrous roughage. This makes it a non-ruminant (monogastric) farm animal, which is why pig is the correct answer.
- A
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4.If a calf dies suddenly with blood oozing from the natural openings, the calf must have died of
- ABlackleg
- BAnthraxCorrect
- CBloat
- DFoot-and-mouth disease
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Answer: B
Anthrax is correct. A hallmark field sign of anthrax in cattle (including calves) is sudden death with dark, tarry blood that fails to clot oozing from the natural body openings — the nose, mouth, anus and vulva. This happens because the Bacillus anthracis toxin causes massive internal haemorrhage and prevents normal clotting.
Because of this, a carcass suspected of dying from anthrax should never be opened for examination, since cutting it exposes the blood to air, allowing the bacteria to form hardy spores that contaminate the soil and pasture for years and can also infect the handler. - A
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5.Which of the following measures could be used to maintain productivity of pasture
- ABurning the pasture completely before every grazing season
- BAllowing continuous grazing on the same plot all year round
- CPractising rotational grazing on the pastureCorrect
- DOverstocking the paddock with more animals than it can carry
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Answer: C
Rotational grazing is the correct measure for maintaining pasture productivity. It involves dividing the grazing area into paddocks and moving animals from one paddock to another at intervals, so that each paddock gets time to rest and regrow before animals return to it. This prevents overgrazing, allows grasses to recover their root reserves, reduces soil compaction and helps maintain good ground cover.
- A
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6.Indiscriminate breeding could be prevented in farm animals through
- Acastration of male animals not selected for breedingCorrect
- Bbranding of animals for identification
- Cdehorning of aggressive animals in the herd
- Dculling of weak and unproductive animals from the herd
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Answer: A
Castration of male animals not selected for breeding is correct. Indiscriminate (uncontrolled, random) breeding happens when entire (uncastrated) males run freely with females and mate with any female on heat, including close relatives, leading to inbreeding and poor-quality offspring. Castrating the males that are not wanted for breeding removes their ability to mate, so only the farmer's chosen, superior males are left to serve the females. This gives the farmer control over which animals breed, which is exactly what prevents indiscriminate breeding.
- A
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7.The extent to which a farm animal readily consumes a feed is referred to as
- AAppetite
- BDigestibility
- CPalatabilityCorrect
- DNutritive value
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Answer: C
Palatability is correct. In animal nutrition, palatability is the term used for how readily and willingly a farm animal eats a particular feed, judged by the feed's taste, smell, texture and appearance. A highly palatable feed is eaten eagerly and in larger amounts; a poorly palatable feed is eaten slowly or rejected even if it is nutritious.
- A
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8.A distention of stomach in ruminants due to accumulation of gas as a result of consumption of lush pasture is known as
- APica
- BBloatCorrect
- CScouring
- DMilk fever
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Answer: B
Bloat (also called ruminal tympany) is correct. It occurs when a ruminant eats lush, leafy pasture (especially young legumes like clover or lucerne) that ferments rapidly in the rumen, producing gas faster than the animal can belch it out. The gas builds up and distends the stomach, especially the rumen on the left flank, and can be fatal if the animal is not treated quickly (e.g. by passing a stomach tube or drenching with an anti-foaming agent).
- A
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9.If 50 cows were artificially inseminated and 37 cows conceived, determine the percentage conception rate
- A74%Correct
- B37%
- C26%
- D135%
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Answer: A
Conception rate measures how many of the inseminated animals actually became pregnant, expressed as a percentage of the total number inseminated.
Formula: Conception rate = (Number of cows conceived ÷ Number of cows inseminated) × 100
= (37 ÷ 50) × 100 = 74%
This is the correct answer.
- A
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10.In ruminants, gastric juice is produced in the
- AabomasumCorrect
- Brumen
- Creticulum
- Domasum
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Answer: A
A ruminant's stomach has four compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Only the abomasum is glandular, which is why it is called the "true stomach" — it is the compartment that secretes gastric juice (hydrochloric acid and pepsin) and digests feed chemically, just as the stomach does in non-ruminant (monogastric) animals.
So the correct compartment is the abomasum, since it alone is lined with glandular tissue capable of secreting true gastric juice.
- A
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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Practise all 34 questions we hold from the 2021 paper, on a timed CBT screen
Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.