livestock management

Can it get any hotter?  Why yes- yes it can! Drier too as well!

Livestock plans are being altered to accommodate the best interest of the livestock during the drought, not necessarily that of the farmers. Two separate breeding groups of goats are now combined into one big herd.  Get get'm, boys.

Next weekend is the local monthly sheep and goat sale, no doubt volume will be high and prices low.  Cannot help that. Blind Hog and Acorn will load up all the bucklings and drop them off.  A couple Dexter cattle are heading to Tennessee at the start of the week, will take those two off our herd-hands. So, downsizing is always helpful in trying times like these, but overall the farm is in good shape.

Acorn had a week in Florida to pack up papers and personal belongings in the house, had a couple showings and even an offer.  That first offer was exciting, but too low- is the slow season there and demand will spike come "snowbird season."  Acorn will go back down in a week and a half for "curb appeal" upgrades then should be good to stay home for a while.

Hot hot hot, dry dry dry. Wah. Wah. Wah...

Antibiotic alternatives can promote growth, boost the immune system, and prevent intestinal diseases, thus improving gut health and function in poultry and swine. In this podcast, Drs. Martin Nyachoti and Chengbo Yang discuss with Amy Johnston the results of research they and others have conducted at the Department of Animal Science, University of Manitoba on various antibiotic alternatives. Although those in-feed antibiotic alternatives can help maintain a healthy gut in poultry and swine, the role of good nutritional strategies, and health and husbandry management practices are also discussed.