Sow’s milk contains insufficient iron and piglets are born with minimal reserves. Pigs born in the wild or outside get most of the iron they need from rooting in the soil. But when the ground is frozen, those b […]

Farmers work hard to make sure their cows are on an ideal schedule to maintain their health and well-being. Cows are typically milked two or three times per day. Each milking is timed so there is the same amount […]

Supplementary feeding is the additional supply of feed containing energy, protein or vitamins and minerals to grazing sheep that may be lacking in the pasture. It is important to ensure that the whole diet of the […]

Farmers suffer their greatest sheep losses before weaning, with the majority of lamb deaths occurring during the first 10 days after birth, and more than 20% during the first three days. 

Effective lamb […]

With free-range pig farming, you’ll be raising your own high-quality meat. Like other home-raised food products, meat from a homestead pigs is far superior in texture and flavor.

When two purebred pigs or a p […]

Free ranging animals has become popular and for good reason. When you free range your animals you are allowing them to eat the bugs and grass and whatever is in their “grazing” area which will make their diet muc […]

The genotype for the indigenous chicken is derived from the locally available breeds.  Usually have low production in terms of egg and meat. Their end products are preferred i.e. eggs and meat due to their good ta […]

So with their thick wool coats, are sheep actually keeping as warm as you think? What about goats that do not have those nice thick coats? Are they just used to the cold? During the winter or cold rainy seasons […]

If you added new chicks to your flock this year, you are probably going through the steps to safely integrate them into the flock. The chicken pecking order will be upset for a while and drama will ensue. But […]

Many communal farmers report that their sheep, goats or cattle mysteriously die. The first question is: were the dead animals vaccinated beforehand? The answer is often “Yes”. But with a few more questio […]

Feed accounts for 65% to 75% of a poultry or pig farmer’s total input costs. To get the most out of your feed, start with the most efficient animals for your production environment.  The feed efficiency of gen […]

We all want to live in peace. They have evolved a social system to avoid conflict. Problems occur when considering how to house goats. Housing design might conflict with their natural social inclinations. That is […]

Piglets are also born with no immunity and can only get this from colostrum soon after birth. A minimum of 100 ml of colostrum per kilogram of birthweight within the first 16 hours is crucial to provide the […]

Most bottle calves are introduced to grain and hay any time after 2 weeks. In nature a calf will start to mimic its mother at about 2 weeks and you will see it “grazing” which of course isn’t really eating much b […]

Have you seen your goat limping? While it is not the cause of all limping and soreness, foot rot in goats should be suspected.

All hoofed animals risk foot rot and related foot scald. Both conditions cause […]

If any animal on the farm property has foot rot, the bacterium will now live in the soil. It’s important to keep shelters dry so Sheep do not bring disease in.

Not all limping is a foot rot symptom. Examine th […]

Most issues occur where there are high stocking densities and little opportunity to express natural chicken behavior. So, comfortable, interesting surroundings that provide for chickens’ behavioral needs are k […]

Rabbit owners sometimes become concerned about their rabbit’s drinking habits when they get a second rabbit. It seems that the new rabbit drinks a lot more, or a lot less, than the original one. But which rabbit i […]

Evaluate your risk
What are the risks to your herd at various levels of disease? How many goats are you willing or can you afford to lose to disease? If all of your does aborted one year would you be able to stay […]