Rabbits should never eat chicken feed. It isn’t healthy for rabbits, and it isn’t even a good filler food or rare treat.

Many forums have spread the opinion that rabbits can safely eat chicken pellets. Thi […]

Algae

Blue-green algae, which is most often found in stagnant, slow-moving water when temperatures are high, can poison sheep. Symptoms generally develop quite rapidly and may resemble an allergic reaction. […]

Feed structure, Pellet vs Mash diet: Birds are generally known as grain feeders. They find it easier to pick feed particles that are more coarse and of a size of between 0.5-3.2 mm. They prefer pellets to mash […]

One thing that poultry farmers need to closely monitor is the colour of their chicken droppings.

Colour is a key indicator of diseases. If colour changes from normal brown to yellow and even red, there is […]

Conduct regular nutrient analysis. Although generally the diets will not be balanced in the traditional sense, this will help in determining deficiencies and implementing supplementation strategies.

You can […]

Thousands of lambs and calves have died in South Africa in recent years due to a virulent, fast-spreading Cryptosporidium and Escherichia coli disease complex.  There are nearly 900 types of E. coli bacteria in e […]

Rabbits are delicate creatures with lightweight skeletons. Unfortunately, this means their spines are inflexible and can break or fracture much easier than other animals. That can be the result of a fall, […]

Factors contributing to plant poisoning are starvation, accidental eating and browsing habits of animals. Starvation is the most common reason. Most woodland or swampy-ground pastures contain many species of […]

Goats’ horns grow every year, so become longer and more curved as they age. The first two years show substantial growth; thereafter, growth is thicker but less deep. In some goats, you can actually see changes i […]

Sheep have the opportunity to live long lives. The average sheep lives 10-12 years, but some sheep have lived past the age of 20 with appropriate care! Like all animals, sheep may need a little extra care to help […]

When rearing piglets, two things must be taken into consideration, without which the piglets will not grow as fast. One is teeth clipping. The second is iron supplementation. Piglets are born with needle teeth, […]

Protein deficiency: Feathers and eggs are predominantly protein. Adult chickens require diets between 15-17% protein depending on which chicken resource you rely upon. They should all be on layer feed after […]

Calves are an important component in a herd especially in a dairy farm looking forward to a sustained milk production as the old stock is culled off. Disturbed calf growth due to diseases and poor nutrition will […]

Also known as alopecia, hair loss in rabbits is a common concern among owners. While shedding is perfectly normal in rabbits, abnormal fur loss associated with flaky skin and dandruff, crusty appearance, […]

How can you tell a goats’ age if you have no records, and how can you be sure a seller is telling the truth? There are some observational methods, such as goat teeth, that you can use to estimate their age. As e […]

The cold and wet season come with its share of challenges in humans and livestock. Just like the human flu is making rounds in most households — as expected during this season — poultry too has its portion of ram […]

Routine use of acaracide treatments is unacceptable from an organic perspective. Strategies should be developed which focus on prevent the diseases and support the specific resistance of the animals to ticks and […]

Some rabbits that appear perfectly healthy die for no apparent reason. There is always a cause of death, no matter how sudden. As heartbreaking as it is, the rabbits must have suffered from some illness, stress, […]

Circling Disease and Silage Sickness are other names for listeriosis in goats, commonly associated with feeding moldy hay. Listeriosis is a life-threatening disease primarily caused by the bacteria Listeria […]

Lambing is always an exciting time on the ranch, but it can also be a scary time for the first-time shepherd. What are the things we want to see, what are the signs that there could be a pending lambing pr […]