Animal Husbandry Courses in India

Last Updated on July 29, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar

Are you passionate about animal care and welfare? Do you want to build a rewarding career in this sector? If yes, this post will be of help to you. Here, I’ve listed down some of the best animal husbandry courses available in India.

Both students and parents may choose this guide to find the right course. Here, you will find the names of prominent animal husbandry courses in India. Apart from that, you will also find relevant information such as – duration, eligibility, syllabus, colleges, admission process, career prospects and scope.   This guide will be of help to 10th pass students, 12th pass students as well as graduates. I’ve covered courses, which students belonging to each group may pursue.   Before heading to the meat of the matter – list of animal husbandry courses – let us check out some basis details about this domain. What is animal husbandry all about? What’s it like to specialize in this field? What’s the scope or work carried out in this field?   You will find answers to these questions in the next section. Here it is –

What is Animal Husbandry?

As the name suggests, this discipline deals with animals and aspects associated with animal care and breeding. Technically speaking, animal husbandry is a branch of agriculture. It is not uncommon to see agriculture colleges offering animal husbandry courses in India.   In simple terms, animal husbandry is a discipline that deals with aspects such as animal care, breeding and raising of livestock. The main aim of this discipline is to care, breed and raise animals that provide us with meat, fibre, milk, eggs or other useful products.   Origin of animal husbandry can be traced back to the Neolithic revolution. It was during this period that human beings started domesticating animals. Human beings started domesticating animals for obtaining milk, meat, wool, eggs and other useful products.   Gradually, animals were used to aid in agriculture too (tilling). They used to raise cows, pigs and sheep. Agriculture revolution has influenced this discipline in many ways. It has changed the way we take care of animals and birds.   Animal husbandry brings with it many challenges such as – nutrition, diseases, shelter management, sustainable farming, lack of resources, lack of suitable climate etc. The discipline puts to use various techniques and knowledge to find solutions to these problems.   Let us check out the different types of animal husbandry courses available in India. Here’s everything you need to know –

Types of courses

Based on the academic level, animal husbandry courses can be classified into the following categories –

• UG level
• PG level
• Doctoral Degree

UG stands for undergraduate level. Diploma programs and Bachelor’s Degree courses fall under this category. 10th and/or 12th pass students are eligible to pursue these courses.   PG stands for postgraduate level. Master’s Degree courses, PG Diploma courses and PG Certificate courses fall under this category. Candidates who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree program are eligible to pursue this course.   Doctoral Degree programs are research based courses. Candidates who have completed relevant Master’s Degree course are eligible to pursue these programs. M.Phil. and PhD are Doctoral Degree programs.   Looking from course format’s point of view, animal husbandry courses can be classified into the following types –

• Diploma courses
• Bachelor’s Degree courses
• Certificate courses
• Master’s Degree courses
• PG Diploma courses
• PG Certificate courses
• PhD programs

Let us check out the list of courses now. In the next section, you will find the names of courses, eligibility criteria, duration and more details –

List of animal husbandry courses in India

1 Diploma in Animal Husbandry and Dairying

This is a Diploma certificate program. The course caters to the needs of animal husbandry and dairy technology domains. Course duration could be anywhere between 2 to 3 years. Eligibility criteria may vary from one college to another. 10th and/or 12th pass students are eligible to pursue this course. You may also check – Animal Husbandry Diploma program.

2 Diploma in Animal Husbandry

This is a Diploma certificate program. Course duration could be anywhere between 2 to 3 years. Eligibility criteria may vary from one college to another. 10th and/or 12th pass students are eligible to pursue this course. You may also check – Diploma in Animal Care course.

3 Diploma in Animal Healthcare Worker

The main aim of this course is to develop skilled workforce to take care of animal healthcare activities. This is a vocational training program. Course duration could be anywhere between 2 to 3 years. Eligibility criteria may vary from one college to another. 10th and/or 12th pass students are eligible to pursue this course.

4 Diploma in Dairy Technology

Though it is not a ‘pure’ animal husbandry course, dairy technology program has elements of AH in it. This program deals with cattle rearing, breeding, milk products and marketing techniques. Course duration could be anywhere between 2 to 3 years. Eligibility criteria may vary from one college to another. 10th and/or 12th pass students are eligible to pursue this course.

5 B.Sc. in Animal Husbandry

This is a Bachelor of Science program. The course is 3 years long. Students who have completed 12th class with Science subjects are eligible to pursue this course.

6 B.Sc. in Animal Husbandry and Dairying

The course caters to the needs of animal husbandry and dairy technology domains. This is a Bachelor of Science program. The course is 3 years long. Students who have completed 12th class with Science subjects are eligible to pursue this course. You may also check – B.Sc. Animal Husbandry course.

7 B.V.Sc. and AH

It stands for Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. Unlike other programs, this one is more inclined towards clinical practice. This course will help you become a veterinarian. The course will train you in aspects such as – surgery, medicine, diagnosis and treatment. It will also train you in aspects of AH such as – breeding, nutrition and raising livestock. Students who have passed 12th Science with PCB subjects are eligible to pursue this course. You may also check – AIPVT exam.

8 PG Diploma in Animal Husbandry

This is a Postgraduate level Diploma certificate program. Course duration could be anywhere between 1 to 2 years. Candidates who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree course are eligible to pursue this course.

9 M.Sc. in Animal Husbandry

This is a Master of Science program. The course is 2 years long. Candidates who have completed relevant Bachelor’s Degree course are eligible to pursue this course.

10 M.V.Sc.

It stands for Master of Veterinary Science. This is a Master’s Degree course. This academic program revolves around veterinary science and its allied areas. Students who have passed B.V.Sc. course are eligible to pursue this Master’s Degree course.

Syllabus

Irrespective of the course, here are some of the core subjects present in animal husbandry curriculum –

• Livestock rearing
• Breeding techniques
• Nutrition
• Diseases and medicine
• Livestock management
• Animal products

Career Prospects

Animal husbandry workers have access to different types of job profiles and opportunities. The job you may land depends upon the course that you choose. For example, Diploma in Animal Healthcare Worker course will help you get entry level jobs. At the same time, B.V.Sc. course will help you become a veterinarian and thus obtain a much better job.   Some of the places where they may find work are –

• Poultry farms
• Zoological parks
• Veterinary clinics
• Dairy farms
• Relevant Government departments

In the above mentioned places, they may don roles (depending upon their qualification) such as –

• Farm manager
• Animal healthcare technician
• Veterinarian
• Government Officer
• Instructor
• R&D professional

If you are interested in self-employment, you may start your own venture (such as dairy farm). You may put your knowledge to work and run a successful venture!

Salary

Starting salary depends upon different factors. Some such notable factors are –

• Job location
• Profile of the employer
• His/her academic performance
• His/her skills and aptitude
• Job profile

On an average, starting salary could be anywhere between 20-40K INR per month. In case of Government job, the salary will be based on designated pay scale and grade.