A wealth of useful information on the farming of quails is contained within this publication. Areas covered include incubation and hatching, various housing systems, common diseases of the quail, and the use of quail for meat or egg production.

Over the years, economic considerations have overtaken the sustainability issue. Low and erratic rainfall, frequent droughts, the increasing costs of cultivation, lower compensation of labour and inputs have made farming in the arid regions a challenging enterprise. Employment opportunities in sectors other than agriculture have enticed many to cross the floor. The largest segment of the farming community, however, is constrained to make a living from farm related activities. With the opening of markets for international trade in farm commodities, the competition has toughened for the resource-constrained farmers of the arid regions of the country. On the other hand, useful technologies have been generated by researchers on many alternative systems, which could be adopted. In this scenario, the farmers could benefit greatly by inducing diversification in the farming systems and by strengthening the traditional systems. With this backdrop, a National Symposium on Livelihood Security and Diversified Farming Systems in Arid Region was organized by the Arid Zone Research Association of India at the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, from January 14-16, 2006. Selected papers presented at the symposium and invited articles have been included in this compendium and are grouped in sections on Diversification, Strengthening the Traditional Farming Systems, Enhancing Resource Use Efficiency, Livestock-based Farming Systems, Value Addition, Socio-economic Issues and Transfer of Technology. Currently, food, water and energy crises are of global concern. The challenge ahead is to strike a balance between basic needs of a large population and to maintain the pace of development. Diversification of farming systems may contribute towards achieving this goal to some extent. It is hoped that the book will provide options for diversification of the existing farming systems and benefit there from.

Although quail farming is known for its relative simplicity, low space requirements and financial resources as well as being subject to ever growing demand, it remains a marginal activity by comparison with the potential it offers. As an excellent way to increase income, it can be practised on a small or large scale. This guide is an outreach tool to encourage small-scale farmers to get involved in rearing quail and to give pertinent advice to farmers already active in the business.

The seminal reference on the care of laboratory and captiveanimals, The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management ofLaboratory and Other Research Animals is a must-have for anyoneworking in this field. The UFAW Handbook has been thedefinitive text since 1947. Written for an international audience,it contains contributions from experts from around the world. The book focuses on best practice principles throughout, providingcomprehensive coverage, with all chapters being peer reviewed byanonymous referees. As well as addressing the husbandry oflaboratory animals, the content is also of great value to zoos andaquaria. Changes for the eighth edition: Revised and updated to reflect developments since publicationof the previous edition. New chapters on areas of growing concern, including: the 3Rs;phenotyping; statistics and experimental design; welfareassessment; legislation; training of people caring for lab animals;and euthanasia. All material combined into one volume for ease ofreference. This book is published on behalf of UFAW (The UniversitiesFederation for Animal Welfare), with whom we also publish theUFAW/Wiley-Blackwell Animal Welfare Book Series. This majorseries of books provides an authoritative source ofinformation on worldwide developments, current thinking and bestpractice in the field of animal welfare science and technology. Fordetails of all of the titles in the series see ahref="http://www.wiley.com/go/ufaw"www.wiley.com/go/ufaw/a.

This publication reviews all aspects of poultry production in South Asia, including layer production for eggs and broilers for meat. Information is given on feeding and nutrition, housing and general husbandry, as well as on flock health. Regional specificity always exists but this type of production also shows the many similarities in other parts of the world with regard to potential and constraints.

This authoritative textbook provides an introduction and guide to poultry behavior and welfare. It describes the origin and biology of the various species of bird that are of agricultural importance, as well as giving a succinct overview of their key behavior patterns. There is careful discussion of the many factors that influence their welfare, and detailed consideration of the ways in which legislation and commercial interests interact in an attempt to satisfy the many needs involved. The final chapters discuss possible future developments within the subject. The book is in part an update of a previous work, Poultry Production Systems: Behaviour, Management and Welfare (CABI, 1992), completely rewritten and with much new material added.

The land holding of the farmer is decreasing day by day due to urbanisation and there is no chance for horizontal increase in agricultural land. To increase the income of the farmers, few steps for vertical increase in agricultural production have been discussed in this book. A detailed and comprehensive information regarding the historical background of farming system, farming system and its components, integrated farming system and allied enterprises, integrated farming system models in different agroclimatic zones, role of integrated farming system in agriculture and livelihood security, resource cycling and flow of energy in different farming systems, role of crop residues in agriculture, farming system of dryland agriculture, role of agroforestry in farming system, scope of organic farming in farming system have been given. A detailed information regarding the latest concepts of agronomy like conservation agriculture strategies in cropping system, sustainable agriculture, scope of hydroponics techniques in agriculture have also been discussed. In the end tools for determining production and efficiencies in cropping and farming system have also been given.

The modern agriculture has raised several ecological issues, and put a question mark on the sustainability of various agricultural practices with high input use. Since resources on the earth are limited, there is a need to utilise these resources most judiciously and efficiently to harmonise ecology with prosperity. Now the prime focus of farmers, researchers and policymakers goes to sustainable development through the sustainable farming systems. In this context, a subject on 'Farming System and Sustainable Agriculture' has been recommended by the ICAR for the students of agriculture & allied sciences. The present book is written as per the latest syllabus on the subject, which would be useful to the undergraduate students. This book will be helpful to the students preparing for various competitive examinations. The common people who observe farming and its development with an interest would also find it worth reading.

An understanding of social behaviour is increasingly necessary in farm animal husbandry as more animals are housed in groups rather than in individual stalls or pens. There may be economic or welfare reasons for such housing. This book is the first to specifically address this important subject. The chapters fall into three broad subject areas: concepts in social behaviour; species specific chapters; current issues. Authors include leading experts from Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.Animal welfare/behaviour issues are becoming increasingly importantCombines theoretical and practical details about the social behaviour of our most common farm speciesWritten by leading experts from around the world