New disease outbreaks, such as COVID-19, influenza viruses, Ebola, SARS and the H1N1 virus, periodically affect humans. These affect either people or animals, and occasionally both. The H1N1 virus, for example, […]

The goat from the top.

Body shape: A dairy goat should have a triangular shape. This ensures that there is enough room for feed in the rumen, even when the doe is pregnant with multiple kids.

Body […]

A number of management practices are vital when rearing rabbits.

Feeding
Feed them on greens, hay, home-mixed grains, and commercial rabbit pellets to meet all their nutritional requirements. Hay is given to […]

Turning Young Bulls into a productive herd. Environmental factors, of which herd management forms an integral part, exert a 70% influence on the performance of an adult bull, whereas genetics […]

There has been a resurgence of interest in free-range poultry farming in recent years, as a result of welfare concerns associated with farming of poultry under intensive conditions. For the best positive welfare […]

While growing concern over animal welfare is sparking changes in the way pigs are produced internationally, production costs remain a main driver of improved welfare on pig farms.

“The cost of production is s […]

 Sustainable parasite control usually refers to using alternatives that prevent resistance and minimize disease and production losses. Integrated parasite control combines traditional control with alternatives […]

1. Choosing the right goats is not an easy task. No one should ever “go out and buy a goat” without doing some homework first, otherwise, you will waste time, effort, and money on it later. Do your research, it […]

Research and industry advice mostly agrees on 12 weeks as the optimum weaning age but, if ewes are lean, grass height is below 4cm, or lambs are growing less than 150g/day, early weaning is beneficial. This is […]

You may need to bottle feed a lamb sometimes if you have orphaned lambs, if it’s mother dies in birth or if it’s mother rejects the baby for any reason. For ensuring the lamb survives, you must have to begin bott […]

The bones of rabbits are fragile. House rabbits, furthermore, are often confined in small hutches or cages with little opportunity to exercise their muscles and develop strength as do their wild brothers and […]

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 […]