Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science (AHVS Optional) is one of the optional that the UPSC offers. It is a highly specialised subject and very few students attempted for this that has some prior knowledge of it. So, anyone who has done graduation in Agriculture, Life Science, Botany, Biomedical Science, Zoology and other related fields should opt for this subject. So, we will teach you how to study for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science optional paper as this will help you in forming strategy for AHVS optional for UPSC, considering its various aspects.
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, eggs, or other products. It includes dairy products, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Veterinary Science is the science of diagnosing, treating and curing diseases in birds and animals. It covers the study of animal physiology, treatment and prevention of diseases among animals.
- Know the Syllabus
First and foremost for any subject you should know about the Civil Services Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Paper Syllabus.
For syllabus click on link: – UPSC Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Recommended Reference books
A Textbook of Animal Husbandry- G C Banerjee
Advanced Animal Nutrition- D. V Reddy
Animal Husbandry- Gyan Deep Singh, Anmol Publishers
Animal Physiology- K. A. Goyal, Rastogi Publishing
Basics of Animal Physiology- Monalisa Kar, Anmol Publishers
Biotech’s Dictionary of Animal Husbandry – Daya Publishing
Biotechnology Expanding Horizons – B D Singh, Kalyani Publishers
Essentials of Plant Breeding -Phundan Singh, Kalyani Publishers
Fundamentals of Agriculture -Arun Katyayan, Kushal Publications
General Agriculture- Muniraj S Rathore, Jain Brothers
Handbook of Animal Husbandry -Manoj Kumar Rai, Oxford Book Company
Horticulture at a Glance Volume II -A S Salaria, Jain Brothers
Indian forestry – A breakthrough approach to forest service- K. S Manikandan and S. Prabhu
Introduction to Agriculture – A K Vyas, Jain Brothers
Milk and Milk Products Technology -Subhash Biswas, Jaypee Brothers
Principles of Animal Nutrition & Feed Technology- D V Reddy, Oxford
Principles of Genetics & Animal Breeding- F H KHAN, Jaypee Brothers
Preparation strategy for AHVS Optional
- Timetable: Nothing is possible without proper planning. So a proper plan timetable is required for long and short term goals.
- Conceptual clarity: it is important to ensure whatever we read, we understand it thoroughly.
- Consolidation and revision: the syllabus of AHVS is vast ocean, it is important to keep consolidating and revising it again and again.
- Evaluation of preparation: At every point of time you should know where you stand. This step is crucial to your performing well in the civil services exam so for this you evaluate by solving previous year question papers.
- Consistency: people who show consistently are sure shot to be rewarded, provided they work smartly.
- Discussions and answer writing: they will help in clearing doubts and better understandings of subject.
- Optimistic: UPSC is the time taking process so keep yourself motivated is the biggest key to success.
4-5 months, if you study Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science 12-15 hours per week. This should be enough. Also, it depends on how much you can recall your graduation concepts.