[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Anyone have pig raising stories?
-
Subject: Re: Anyone have pig raising stories?
-
From: Core Support <lpaulson@nas.edu>
-
Date: 3 Apr 1996 17:07:32 GMT
-
Article: 26878 of misc.rural
-
Newsgroups: misc.rural
-
Organization: National Academy of Sciences
-
References: <314D6829.1275@magmacom.com> <315D5AC1.3447@texas.net> <315dec5b.3680595@news.onr.com>
Re watching Babe then slaughtering hogs: The solution of course, is not
to watch movies.
We raised Yorkshire hogs for many years, both breeders and feeders.
Finer, smarter, pretty animals never existed. We raised field and
confined animals--the field hogs got pretty good at swimming down the
river in the summer. They'd bring themselves up to the barn to farrow,
and they always knew when the wash had just been hung, waiting to be
ripped off the line.
I'm not quite sure why anyone would want to raise just 2 pigs though.
Article 491 of sci.agriculture:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!insosf1.infonet.net!usenet
From: edwardbarry@ins.infonet.net
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
Subject: boer goats
Date: 22 Mar 1994 00:52:09 GMT
Organization: INFOnet - Iowa Network Services, Inc.
Lines: 8
Message-ID: <2mlffp$avd@insosf1.infonet.net>
Reply-To: edwardbarry@ins.infonet.net
NNTP-Posting-Host: ins.infonet.net
hello
does anyone have any information on boer goats?
i live in no. california, and i have just reaad an article on the boer
goats and their introduction into the u.s.
i am very interested and would appreciate anything on this topic.
sarah
(not edward)
Article 494 of sci.agriculture:
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!suncad!freenet.Victoria.BC.CA!ug484
From: ug484@freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Wes Combs)
Subject: Re: boer goats
Message-ID: <Cn2tHr.B21@suncad.camosun.bc.ca>
Sender: news@suncad.camosun.bc.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: Camosun College, Victoria, B.C.
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 17:20:14 GMT
Lines: 11
I have a brochure on Boer goats but am still in a state of semi-
unpacking but as soon as I find it, I'll get back to you. The
brochure was distributed by an exporting firm. I am not overwhelmed
by what I know of them but shall review the info.
Wes Combs, Ph.D.
Consultant in International
Livestock Development
Victoria, B.C.
--
Article 495 of sci.agriculture:
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!suncad!freenet.Victoria.BC.CA!ug484
From: ug484@freenet.Victoria.BC.CA (Wes Combs)
Subject: Re: boer goats
Message-ID: <Cn2vEr.Byy@suncad.camosun.bc.ca>
Sender: news@suncad.camosun.bc.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: Camosun College, Victoria, B.C.
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 18:01:37 GMT
Lines: 38
References on Boer goats:
Joubert, D.M. Indigenous South African Sheep and Goats: Their Origin
and Development. Tropical Science XI(3):185-195.
Not a lot of performance data.
"Mature Improved Boer goat females weigh between 60 and 75 kg. when
in good condition. Full grown castrates will reach a weight of no
less than 100 kg. without supplementary feeding."
Australian Breeding Pty Ltd
Business office:
4th Floor, 41 Currie Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Australia
Phone: (08) 410 0233
International +61 8 410 0233
Fax: (08) 410 1195
International +61 8 310 1195
That company title should be Australian Breeding Management Pty Ltd.
ABM claims 170% weaned kids. No dairy production is given or claimed.
My personal view is that breeds without dairy potential have little use
in international development with the exception of fibre breeds.
Several other exotic goat breeds have more potential for both meat and
milk.
Wes Combs, PhD
Consultant in International
Livestock Development
Victoria, CBC
--
Article 6945 of misc.rural:
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!rpi!jonesm2
From: jonesm2@alum01.its.rpi.edu (Michael David Jones)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Poultry novice looking for suggestions
Date: 13 Nov 1993 02:18:03 GMT
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, USA
Lines: 14
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <2c1g4s$iu3@usenet.rpi.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: alum01.its.rpi.edu
Keywords: poultry chickens
We're thinking of getting some laying hens. Does anybody have any
experience with or information about the following breeds of chicken?
Ancona
Black Minorca
Brown Leghorn
We heard about them through the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy;
they're fairly rare breeds.
Mike Jones | jonesm2@rpi.edu
Number of governors who say they would veto any proposed state restrictions
on abortion: 30
Number who said this in 1989: 5
- Harper's Index, September 1992
Article 5132 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!uunet!newsgate.watson.ibm.com!hawnews.watson.ibm.com!tromaville.manassas.ibm.com!dave
From: dave@tromaville.manassas.ibm.com ()
Subject: Free Ranging Fowl
Sender: news@hawnews.watson.ibm.com (NNTP News Poster)
Message-ID: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 13:27:59 GMT
Reply-To: irby@vnet.ibm.com
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM.
Nntp-Posting-Host: tromaville.manassas.ibm.com
Organization: IBM, Federal Systems Company
Lines: 19
Hi,
I'm looking for some information that goes into detail about
free-ranging chickens, ducks and/or geese. I've read a couple of books
("Raising Poultry the Modern Way" and "The Home Duck Flock") but so far they
have just given passing mention to free ranging. I've never raised any fowl
before and I feel that I need more detailed information. I think I would like
to free range to save on feed costs but I'm really not sure what the drawbacks
are (eggs harder to find maybe??). I saw some plans in Eliot Coleman's
"New Organic Grower" for a movable chicken house (on skids) that he uses to
free range chickens on pasture land and I've read some articles in magazines
about using birds as weeders which sounds interesting. If you know of a good
book or have some experience/advice to share I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
dave.
--
David Irby irby@vnet.ibm.com
Dammit Jim! - All ideas and opinions expressed herein are my own.
Article 5152 of misc.rural:
Path: samba!concert!rock!taco!gatech!usenet.ufl.edu!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!news2me.EBay.Sun.COM!exodus.Eng.Sun.COM!appserv.Eng.Sun.COM!appserv!andy
From: andy@elviss.eng.sun.com (Andrew Davidson)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Re: Free Ranging Fowl
Date: 27 Apr 93 09:54:38
Organization: MASTERS OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE
Lines: 38
Message-ID: <ANDY.93Apr27095438@elviss.eng.sun.com>
References: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com> <1993Apr26.185937.6971@mlfarm.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: elviss
In-reply-to: ron@mlfarm.com's message of Mon, 26 Apr 1993 18:59:37 GMT
In article <1993Apr26.185937.6971@mlfarm.com> ron@mlfarm.com (Ronald Florence) writes:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: appserv.Eng.Sun.COM!news2me.EBay.Sun.COM!sun-barr!olivea!uunet!mercury.hsi.com!mlfarm!rosie!ron
From: ron@mlfarm.com (Ronald Florence)
Lines: 16
Sender: news@rosie.mlfarm.com
Organization: Maple Lawn Farm, Stonington, CT
References: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 18:59:37 GMT
dave@tromaville.manassas.ibm.com () writes:
I'm looking for some information that goes into detail about
free-ranging chickens, ducks and/or geese.... I'm really not sure
what the drawbacks are (eggs harder to find maybe??).
We free-range our few chickens. The drawbacks are that they sometimes
hide their eggs until we discover the new hiding place, and they
sometimes make a beeline for new plantings in the gardens. One year
newly planted zinnias disappeared overnight. For the next week, the
chickens laid purple eggs.
For much of the year we don't have to feed the chickens, the only
clean-up is under their roost, they seem to do a good job on weeds,
grubs, and other nasties, and the eggs are delicious and attractive,
with deep yellow yolks that are nothing like storebought eggs.
--
Ronald Florence
ron@mlfarm.com
What about flies? I have heard that free range chickens are great at
reducing flies around that barn yard. I have also heard that they
create more flies than they eat?
Andy
Article 5162 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!gatech!asuvax!ennews!mcdphx!schbbs!mothost!white!rtsg.mot.com!blazer9!sticha
From: sticha@blazer9.Berkeley.EDU (David A. Sticha)
Subject: Re: Free Ranging Fowl
Message-ID: <1993Apr28.224927.6978@rtsg.mot.com>
Sender: news@rtsg.mot.com
Nntp-Posting-Host: blazer9
Reply-To: sticha@blazer9.Berkeley.EDU (David A. Sticha)
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
References: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1993 22:49:27 GMT
Lines: 43
news@hawnews.watson.ibm.com writes:
> I'm looking for some information that goes into detail about
>free-ranging chickens, ducks and/or geese. I've read a couple of books
>("Raising Poultry the Modern Way" and "The Home Duck Flock") but so far they
>have just given passing mention to free ranging. I've never raised any fowl
>before and I feel that I need more detailed information. I think I would like
>to free range to save on feed costs but I'm really not sure what the drawbacks
>are (eggs harder to find maybe??). I saw some plans in Eliot Coleman's
>"New Organic Grower" for a movable chicken house (on skids) that he uses to
>free range chickens on pasture land and I've read some articles in magazines
>about using birds as weeders which sounds interesting. If you know of a good
>book or have some experience/advice to share I would appreciate it.
I've been free ranging my chickens for four summers now. The benefits include
reduced feed, healthier birds and better tasting eggs. The downside is reduced
egg laying (can't find them all and they use a lot of energy scratching for a
living) and losses due to raccoons, possums, feral cats, and my retriever.
Generally, if I let them out (in an enclosed area if the dog is out, free if she's not) first thing in the morning and remember to lock them up 1/2 hour
before sunset, I have no problems. While they are out, I keep the coop door shut.
My garden is within the 20X20 confines of the chicken yard. I fall sow a cover
crop and let the chickens start on that early in the spring. It also trains
them to stay close to the roost. Always count heads before closing the door for
the night and shoo any inside that have an inclination to roost anywhere else.
After two weeks, my flock of a dozen or so has usually stripped the fall cover
crop to the bare earth and has redeposited it in the form of droppings. I then
turn the garden area over by hand (the soil is butter soft) and plant my early
crops. The chickens then switch to foraging outside the yard. Again, count heads
at night and find any that are trying to go wild. The retriever is good at this.
After the early stuff is cashed in I let the chickens back in for a week or so
and they cleanup the leftovers. I then plant warm weather stuff and the cycle
continues.
Throughout the summer I keep their feeder filled with laying mash
but it lasts a long time because they don't bother with it except for rainy days.
I also feed them table scraps through out the year, except for meat. Also fruit
cores, rinds, stale (not moldy) bread, etc. In short, any non animal based
organic matter. They do have a tendency to gobble the landscaping and occasionally
mess the porch or patio with their droppings. But the benefits I mentioned above
far outweigh the bad things. Finally, I just enjoy watching them. I've heard
people refer to this form of entertainment as "chicken tv".
Dave Sticha
Article 5169 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba!concert!gatech!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mercury.hsi.com!mlfarm!rosie!ron
From: ron@mlfarm.com (Ronald Florence)
Subject: Re: Free Ranging Fowl
In-Reply-To: sticha@blazer9.Berkeley.EDU's message of Wed, 28 Apr 1993 22:49:27 GMT
Message-ID: <1993Apr29.185539.10650@mlfarm.com>
Lines: 15
Sender: news@rosie.mlfarm.com
Organization: Maple Lawn Farm, Stonington, CT
References: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com> <1993Apr28.224927.6978@rtsg.mot.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1993 18:55:39 GMT
David A. Sticha writes:
I fall sow a cover crop and let the chickens start on that early in
the spring. ... After two weeks, my flock of a dozen or so has
usually stripped the fall cover crop to the bare earth and has
redeposited it in the form of droppings.
Another option is a `Dutch Roto-Tiller.' Build a one-meter on a side
cubic frame and cover every side but one with chicken wire. Put a
couple of chickens inside with the open side down on the garden site.
When the chickens have tilled, weeded, and fertilized that square
meter, move the cube to an untilled area. In a few days, the whole
garden is done.
We've never tried it. The chickens like our gardens too much as is.
--
Ronald Florence
ron@mlfarm.com
Article 5191 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura.net!haven.umd.edu!uunet!digex.com!news.intercon.com!psinntp!witch!east-wind!jay
From: jay@east-wind.win.net (Jay Miller)
Subject: Re: Free Ranging Fowl
In-Reply-To: andy@elviss.eng.sun.com's message of 27 Apr 93 09:54:38
Message-ID: <JAY.93Apr30132247@east-win.east-wind.win.net>
Sender: jay@east-wind.win.net (Jay Miller)
Organization: East Wind Community, Tecumseh, Missouri, USA
References: <C63Eqn.u0L@hawnews.watson.ibm.com> <1993Apr26.185937.6971@mlfarm.com>
<ANDY.93Apr27095438@elviss.eng.sun.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1993 19:22:47 GMT
Lines: 36
Regarding free-ranging chickens (I don't know anything about ducks
or geese, I would like to know more about ducks):
I tend the chickens here at East Wind. We have something I've heard
referred to as an "eggmobile". It's great. It's a house on wheels,
ours is about 12' x 18' with 32 nest boxes around the sides, and roosts
inside. The chickens get into the nest boxes from the inside and they
open up outside to collect the eggs. Every morning we go out and open
the coop. The chickens come out and scratch around and eat bugs and
worms and the like. We still give them feed, which we put inside the
coop, so they keep going inside. At night, they like having a place to
roost, so they go inside. Someone goes out at dusk and closes up the
house. At first you have some of them wanting to roost underneath the
coop, so you have to climb underneath and get them out. Eventually they
learn and all go inside. The only time this is trouble is when the coop
is near trees, which they like roosting in almost as well.
We find this to be a great system. We figured that we get 2/3 the eggs
but provide 1/2 the feed, so we come out ahead. I'm told that the eggs
have been much healthier since we started doing this, but I wasn't around
before so I don't know.
If you move the coop frequently enough (every 2 weeks or more often) then
the pasture doesn't get too messed up in one spot, and actually thrives
from all the chicken litter being spread on it. If you have them in a
pasture with cows, they scratch up the cow patties to get maggots, cutting
down on flies and spreading the manure.
--
--------------------------------------------
Jay Miller East Wind Community
jay@east-wind.win.net Tecumseh, MO 65760
--------------------------------------------
--
--------------------------------------------
Jay Miller East Wind Community
jay@east-wind.win.net Tecumseh, MO 65760
Article 633 of alt.agriculture.misc:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!iat.holonet.net!wildbee!andy.nachbaur
From: andy.nachbaur@beenet.com (ANDY NACHBAUR)
Newsgroups: alt.agriculture.misc
Subject: Guinea fowl?
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 02:28:00 GMT
Message-ID: <940302043457204@beenet.com>
Organization: Wild Bee's BBS, 209-826-8107
Distribution: world
Lines: 42
+-------------------------------+
###From: geoff@netcom.com (Geoffrey Leach)
###Newsgroups: alt.agriculture.misc
###Subject: Guinea fowl?
###Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 16:13:03 GMT
###
###I am looking for sources of information on guinea fowl.
###Care and feeding, sources, ...
###The local county extension researched the question and was unable
###to come up with anything.
+-------------------------------+
Hi Geoffrey,
I have had experience with guinea and pea fowl in Monterey,
Merced, and Mariposia counties.
First, check for any noise ordnances...they all make a lot of
racket that is quite unsettling to the neighbors, even out in the
country, whats left of it in California.
As for feeding them when young they do well on most any game
bird or chicken chow, or you can look for some high price special
stuff for them. They are really adapt at fending for themselves and
we never discouraged them from doing just that. They need places they
can hide at night, like a big brush pile, or trees they can get into
to roost. If you let them they will be happy to set in a tree over the
roof of your home and scream bloody murder when you least expect it.
With pea fowl your neighbors 5 miles down the road may call 911 to
report you are murdering your wife.
The guinea hens are not as bad as the pea fowl, they can defend
themselves and are quick, will do well on their own and reproduce.
Dog packs will work them over at times if they are roosting on the
ground. After the young hatch they are soon on their own, and may
require a little extra care when small if you expect 100% success.
I think they are great if you have the space, I don't think
guinea's or peacocks are pen birds.
ttul Andy-
Article 5028 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba!concert!uvaarpa!caen!nigel.msen.com!sdd.hp.com!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!haven.umd.edu!uunet!mercury.hsi.com!mlfarm!rosie!ron
From: ron@mlfarm.com (Ronald Florence)
Subject: Lambing FAQ (draft)
Message-ID: <1993Apr13.212813.23527@mlfarm.com>
Lines: 320
Sender: news@rosie.mlfarm.com
Organization: Maple Lawn Farm, Stonington, CT
Distribution: misc
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 21:28:13 GMT
This is a first try. I'd welcome comments, suggestions, additions,
and corrections.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lambing
version 1.0 - 13 April 1993
1. What equipment and supplies do I need for lambing?
If everything goes right, and it does most of the time, you need
nothing more than:
- a pair of surgical scissors, available from a drug store or
vet supply;
- a wide-mouthed bottle of 7% iodine solution;
- a clean, dry, bedded pen for the ewe and her lamb(s). The
dimensions can range from 4x4 feet for smaller breeds to 5x5 feet
for larger breeds, with a water bucket and a hay feeder for each
pen. For a small flock, plan on one pen for every five ewes; a
larger flock can get by with one pen for every seven ewes.
It's a good idea to have the following available, just in case:
- a baby bottle (4 or 8 oz.); use a heated needle to expand the
hole in the nipple;
- a tube feeder; vet supply houses sell them, or you can buy a
rubber catheter and large syringe from a drug store;
- a hair-dryer and/or a heat lamb;
- 60cc. syringes, 20ga. needles, and a solution of electrolytes
with 5-10% glucose;
- shoulder-length plastic examining gloves;
- a rubber or plastic bowl and Ivory liquid soap or an
obstetric/vaginal lubricant;
- Penicillin & syringes, or antibiotic vaginal boluses;
- frozen colostrum from an earlier birth, or from a goat or cow;
- warm, dry towels.
2. How do I know when a ewe is ready to lamb?
No two ewes manifest the same signs. Some wander off to a far corner
of a pasture, or find a corner of the barn. Some will go off food.
Most will `drop' as the position of the uterus shifts lower in their
bodies, and hollow areas appear in their flanks; this is sometimes
hard to see in older ewes, who are `dropped' most of the time. Ewes
usually `bag out' as milk develops in the udder within a day or two of
lambing. As the ewe goes into labor, she may paw the ground as if
digging a nest, and is often restless, getting up, circling or moving
to a new spot, lying down, and repeating the cycle. As she moves
further into labor, you can see contractions, the water (amnion) will
often break, and she may grit her teeth in pain.
3. What do I have to do for a `normal' birth?
Most ewes can handle things pretty well. Within four hours of the
onset of labor, the ewe will deliver a lamb and set to cleaning and
mothering it. The vigorous licking is important stimulation to the
lamb, and helps trigger hormones that accelerate the development of
milk, contractions for twins or triplets, and the afterbirth. If
you're there when the lamb is born -- and you should try to be --
clear any mucus from the lamb's nose and make sure it is breathing.
If it isn't, tickle the nostrils with a piece of straw. If that
doesn't work, grab the lamb by both back legs and gently swing it in a
vertical circle over your head; the up and down movement of the
diaphragm as the lamb swings is an efficient artificial respiration.
Some shepherds use oxygen or even mouth-to-nose respiration to start a
lamb. c but most need little help beyond a tickle with straw. Then,
allow the mother a few minutes to mother her lamb, before you CLIP,
DIP, and STRIP.
- CLIP the lamb's umbilical cord within an inch of the lamb's navel.
- DIP the umbilical cord in the iodine solution, making sure it it
thoroughly covered with iodine.
- STRIP the ewe's teats, to make sure the wax plug is gone from both
and milk (actually colostrom) comes out.
You may want to weigh the lamb, and on a very cold night, a hair-dryer
on the lamb's ears, or a heat lamp, can help. Be careful with heat
lamps: they are dangerous, and too much time under the heat lamp can
encourage pneumonia. It's not a good idea to dry the lamb too much;
letting the ewe do the work stimulates the lamb and encourages bonding
between them.
When the ewe is finished lambing, which can take a while for twins or
triplets, gently drag the lambs into the lambing pen. The ewe will
follow the trail of smells in the bedding. She will want a bucket of
water (warm if possible, adding a few tablespoons of molasses will
encourage her to drink) and a nice tab of hay. She won't need grain
for a day or two, but should have free choice hay and plenty of water.
When you spot the afterbirth, usually from an hour to eight hours
after birth, remove it.
4. How do I know if the ewe is going to have twins or triplets?
Sometimes you can tell in advance from the size of the ewe. If
another lamb is coming, the ewe may get restless again, walking away
from her lamb, or lying down with contractions. The second (or third)
amnion may break with another flood of fluid. If a bag of reddish
fluid and a white wormlike tissue appears, it probably means she is
NOT going to have any more lambs that year. Sometimes the only way to
be sure whether there is another lamb is to physically examine the ewe
with a glove and lubricant. Unless something seems to be awry, it's
best not to interfere.
5. What do I do if the ewe rejects her lamb?
Some rookie mothers don't know what to do; they drop a lamb and walk
away as if they had just pooped. Putting the lamb in front of their
noses, or putting them into a pen with the lamb is usually enough.
You may have to help the lamb nurse the first time. It usually works
better to nudge the lamb from behind, the way a ewe does, than to drag
it to a teat. Tickling the lamb's bottom when it has the teat in its
mouth is usually enough to get it sucking. A wagging tail on the
lamb, or the belly going in and out, is a sure sign the lamb is
getting milk (colostrum).
Some mothers will reject a lamb, often one of twins or triplets. If
you hold the ewe so the lamb can nurse, either manually or by putting
her in a stanchion, after several days the ewe will usually begin to
accept the lamb. The key for the ewe is the smell of the back end of
the lamb; after a few days, the ewe will detect her own milk. Another
trick is to bring a dog into the barn. Often, the instinct to protect
the lamb from the dog is strong enough to reestablish the bond of ewe
and lamb. If the mother bashes the lamb as well as not allowing it to
nurse, you may have to take it away and bottle feed it.
Grafting a lamb to another mother, because the first mother lacks milk
or has too many lambs, is tricky. There are many techniques: bathing
the graftee in amniotic fluids from the new mother, stanchions, tying
the feet of an older lamb so it won't seem too active. It takes
patience and luck. Ewes are smart, and even if they initially allow
the lamb to nurse, they often figure out that it isn't their lamb and
reject it.
6. What if the lamb can't or won't nurse?
Make sure the ewe has colostrum by milking each teat. If the ewe
wasn't shorn before lambing, or crutched, you may need to use hand
shears to clear some of the dung locks away so the lambs can find the
teats. Lambs aren't the brightest little creatures, and will often
suck away on a tag of wet fleece instead of the teat.
The lamb may be too small, too cold, or too weak to nurse. Put your
finger in the lamb's mouth to see if it is strong enough to suck. If
it is, milk 2-4 ounces of colostrum from the mother into a baby
bottle. Then, using a nipple that has had the hole widened with a hot
needle, feed the lamb two ounces at a time. One or two feedings of
colostrum may be enough to jump start the lamb.
If the lamb is too weak to suck on your finger, tube feed two ounces
of colostrum. You can buy ready-made tube feeders from vet supply
houses, or make your own from a surgical catheter and a large syringe.
Lubricate the tube with oil or warm water, measure how much tube it
takes to reach the lamb's rumen, and slide it down gently. Stop
frequently and hold a wet finger over the other end of the tube; if
you feel air coming out, you're in the trachaea or lungs; pull out and
start again.
A really weak lamb may be dehydrated. You can inject 30-50 ml. of
5-10% dextrose solution subcutaneously, in three or four spots (10 ml.
each) along the back and sides to rehydrate the lamb.
Whatever procedure or combination of procedures you follow, the lamb
should get only colostrum for the first eight to twelve hours. If the
mother doesn't have any, use frozen colostrum saved from a ewe with a
single lamb, or colostrum from goats or cows.
7. How can I tell if a birth isn't going right?
If a ewe has been in labor for four hours without dilating enough to
deliver a lamb, if the lamb appears in an unbroken amnion, or if you
see indications of a presentation other than the normal two front feet
and the nose of the lamb together, the ewe may need help.
If the cervix of the ewe remains tight after prolonged labor, careful
manual massage may help, or she may need an injection of Oxytocsin to
induce contractions and to relax the cervix.
If a lamb appears in an unbroken amnion, use a fingernail to gently
break the the sack AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. The danger is that the
lamb will take a breath inside the sack and drown.
If the presentation of the lamb is wrong, you will need to help. Make
sure your fingernails are cut short, put on one or two long obstetric
examining gloves, and lubricate your gloved hand and arm in warm water
with dissolved Ivory soap, or with an obstetric lubricant. The ewe
should be on her back or her side, with an assistant holding her back
legs. Even ewes who are normally shy are often cooperative when
you're helping them with lambing, but you want to hold her still.
Ease up when she has a contraction, so you aren't fighting her; the
contractions are strong enough to clamp hard on your arm. You will be
working by feel, so try to imagine what is connected with what as you
_gently_ work your fingers up the vaginal canal.
Some situations are relatively easy. If one leg and the head present,
you can usually turn the lamb slightly and ease one shoulder out. If
the lamb is in breech position (fanny first), hurry it out so it
doesn't drown in amniotic fluids when the cord breaks. If the
presentation is head first without the front legs, gently push the
head back in and sort out the hooves so they come out the canal with
the head. Sometimes twins are tangled. Gently and sort out the twin
closest to the cervix into a proper presentation. It's a good idea
for a person with a relatively small hand to do the job. Above all,
be _gentle_. Some presentations, like a transverse lamb at the
cervix, are jobs for an experienced vet.
If you have intervened, even with a sterile glove, you probably want
to give the ewe either a uterine antibiotic bolus or an injection of
Penicillin afterwards.
8. What medications do the ewe and lamb need after birth?
Ewes are susceptible to worms after lambing, and should be given a
dose of wormer the next day. If you had to intervene to assist the
birth, the ewe may need an antibiotic series. If the afterbirth isn't
expelled within twelve hours, you may want to give the ewe an injection
of Oxytocsin.
Local conditions will determine what, if any, medication the lambs
need. If you didn't dip the navel in iodine immediately after birth,
you may want to give the lambs a precautionary injection of
Penicillin. If your pastures and feed are selenium-deficient, and
you've had lambs develop white-muscle disease, you may want to inject
lambs with BOSE (Selenium & vitamin E supplement). If you've had
pneumonia problems with lambs, you may want to administer PI-3, a
nasal vaccine approved for cows, at birth. If the ewes weren't
vaccinated with CD/T before lambing, you should vaccinate the lambs
early; otherwise, wait until the lambs are at least a month old before
their first vaccination with CD/T. The tetanus part of CD/T may only
be necessary if you have equines on your farm or other indications of
tetanus.
A few days after birth, and before the lambs are out of the lambing
pens, you will want to do the tails, ear tags or tatoos, and possibly
castrate ram lambs that are not going to be bred.
9. How long should the lambs and mothers stay in the lambing pens?
A veteran with a strong single lamb could come out after twenty-four
hours. Rookies, and ewes with multiple lambs, should stay in for two
or three days, until the ewes have thoroughly bonded with their lambs.
Sometimes, if you let them out early, the lambs can get lost, or ewes
can forget their lambs in the rush for feeders. You might have to put
them back for another day or two.
After the ewe and lambs leave the pen, clean it out as much as
possible, lime thoroughly with hydrated lime, and rebed with fresh
straw before the next tenants move in.
10. What do I do with orphans?
Lambs without mothers, or whose mothers don't have enough milk for
them, can be raised on milk-replacer. For the first twelve hours, the
lambs should have only colostrum. Then, one option is to put them in
a pen with free-choice cold milk-replacer from a bucket with nipples.
The other choice is to feed warm milk-replacer from a bottle, which
will allow the lamb to stay with its mother, who may have some milk.
The lamb may learn to sneak milk from other mothers too. For the
first few days, the lamb shouldn't get more than four ounces per
feeding, six times a day. You can then gradually increase the amount
and decrease the number of feedings per day. After two weeks, two or
three bottles a day is plenty. Baby bottles work best for little
lambs. Later, beer or soda bottles with lamb nipples are fine. More
than 12-16 ounces in a feeding is likely to induce scours. Unless you
like chasing lambs all hours of the night with a bottle, encourage
bottle babies to eat grain and leafy alfalfa in the creep as young as
possible, so you can wean them early.
Some lambs need a little help but not a complete bottle regimen. The
runt of triplets, or even of twins, may need a bottle or two a day to
keep up. You can usually see when one lamb isn't getting a fair
share; hungry lambs are often hunched up, they cry; if they're really
hungry, their mouths will be cold. Sometimes a bottle or two will get
them going again, or they may need a bottle or two a day.
11. What care do lactating ewes need?
A good ewe pours so much of the nutrition she consumes into milk that
it is difficult for her to maintain her weight. You want to give her
energy-rich grain, a pound a day for ewes with singles, as much as two
pounds per day for ewes with twins and triplets, the highest protein
hay you have, such as good leafy alfalfa or early-cut timothy, and
plenty of clean fresh water. If you're lambing in late spring, the
ewes may do fine on fresh pasture. You should also check the udders
of the ewes daily, watching for signs of mastitis. A hot red bag, or
a cold blue bag, are bad signs. If you detect mastitis, treat as soon
as possible with antibiotics, both systemic and applied directly by
teat infusion. It may help to milk out a bad teat.
12. Why do ewes need help lambing? Wild animals do it without help.
Sheep aren't wild animals anymore. The sheep we raise have been bred
to produce multiple-births and big, fast-growing lambs. Most of the
time, they can give birth without help, and do a marvelous job of
taking care of their lambs. When the lambs are too big, or if there
are more lambs than the mother's milk can support, we help out. In
return, we get the pleasure of watching the miracle of birth and one
of the strongest and loveliest bonds in nature.
--
Ronald Florence
ron@mlfarm.com
Article 8240 of misc.rural:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!hp81.prod.aol.net!search01.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
From: camelid@aol.com (Camelid)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Llama Faq 1
Date: 26 Mar 1994 02:48:02 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 65
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
Message-ID: <2n0pbi$dni@search01.news.aol.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: search01.news.aol.com
LLAMA FACT SHEET
Background Basics
Llamas are members of the camel (camelid) family. Camelids originated
on the central plains of North America where they lived 40 million
years ago. Three million years ago llama-like animals dispersed to
South America. By the end of the last ice age (10,000-12,000 years
ago) camelids were extinct in North America. Llamas were domesticated
from guanacos in the Andean highlands of Peru 4,000-5,000 years ago
and are among the oldest domestic animals in the world. Primarily a
beast of burden, they provided native herdsmen with meat, wool for
clothing, hide for shelter, pellets for fuel and offerings to their
gods. Today there are an estimated 50,000 llamas in the United
States and Canada.
Physical Facts
Life span: About 20 years
Average height: 45" at shoulder, 5-6' at the head
Average weight: 250-400 lbs.
Average gestation: 350 days
Birth: A single baby (cria) is normally born, without assistance,
from a standing mother during daylight hours. Twinning is rare.
Babies: Average birth weight is 18-35 lbs. Babies are normally up and
nursing within 90 minutes. They are weaned at about 5-6 months.
Reproduction: Females are first bred at 14-18 months of age. Llamas do
not have a heat cycle but are induced ovulators (ovulation
occurs 24-36 hours after breeding). Thus they can be bred
at any time of the year.
Color: Wool ranges from white to black, with shades of gray, beige,
brown, red and roan between. It may be solid, spotted or marked
in an array of patterns.
Health: Because llamas and their ancestors are specially suited to the
harsh environment of their Andean homeland, North American
owners will find them remarkably hardy, healthy, easy to care
for and virtually disease-free.
Llamas are environmentally sensitive, intelligent creatures. Their feet,
comprised of soft pads with 2 toenails, impact the environment less than
the boots of an average hiker, yet llamas are strong. A conditioned
llama can carry approximately 25% to 30% of its body weight, making a
llama as strong, if not stronger, than a horse.
Llamas are great working partners and family pets. They have predictable,
calm responses to new situations. Llamas are trustworthy. Their
intelligent, gentle nature allows even small children to interact with
them. The fiber of llamas can be spun and woven into sweaters, blankets,
hats and the like. Llamas are used in animal facilitative therapy because
of their calming effects. Families can get involved with llamas in 4-H,
Scouts and other youth groups.
Llamas make excellent guardian animals for sheep herds. They have similar
dietary requirements and will defend the herd from many types of predatory
animals.
Llamas have discrete bathroom habits. Their pelleted droppings, similar
to a deer, are virtually odorless and are generally deposited in the
communal dung pile. This neatness minimizes parasite contamination,
reduces fly problems and makes cleanup easier for the owner. A llama's
effective digestive system also helps to eliminate introduction of
noxious weeds into the environment. These pellets also make a superb
fertilizer for home and garden.
Article 8248 of misc.rural:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!corpgate!news.utdallas.edu!wupost!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.ans.net!hp81.prod.aol.net!search01.news.aol.com!not-for-mail
From: camelid@aol.com (Camelid)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: Llama faq2 Periodicals
Date: 27 Mar 1994 00:39:04 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Lines: 61
Sender: news@search01.news.aol.com
Message-ID: <2n365o$qgb@search01.news.aol.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: search01.news.aol.com
Lotta stuff here tell me if you are intersested!
Llamas Magazine
P.O. Box 100
Herald, CA 95638
Subscription: $25.00 for 8 issues/year; $30.00 in Canada; $35 Other Foreign
$45.00 for 16 issues (2 years); $55 in Canada; $65 Other Foreign
Llama Life
2259 County Road 220
Durango, CO 81301-8019
Subscription: $16.00 for 4 issues/year; $26.00 in Canada; $40 Other Foreign
The Llama Link
Drawer 1995
Kalispell, MT 59903-1995
Voluntary Subscription: $12.00 for 12 issues;
Canada - paid subscription only $24.00 for 12 issues
Backcountry Llama News
2857 Rose Valley Loop
Kelso, WA 98626
$10/year $18/2 years Canada $12/yr Foreign $18yr
Llama Banner
Box 1968
Manhattan, KS 66502
$24/year (Canada & Mexico add $6/yr)Llama Periodicals:
Llamas Magazine
P.O. Box 100
Herald, CA 95638
Subscription: $25.00 for 8 issues/year; $30.00 in Canada; $35 Other Foreign
$45.00 for 16 issues (2 years); $55 in Canada; $65 Other Foreign
Llama Life
2259 County Road 220
Durango, CO 81301-8019
Subscription: $16.00 for 4 issues/year; $26.00 in Canada; $40 Other Foreign
The Llama Link
Drawer 1995
Kalispell, MT 59903-1995
Voluntary Subscription: $12.00 for 12 issues;
Canada - paid subscription only $24.00 for 12 issues
Backcountry Llama News
2857 Rose Valley Loop
Kelso, WA 98626
$10/year $18/2 years Canada $12/yr Foreign $18yr
Llama Banner
Box 1968
Manhattan, KS 66502
$24/year (Canada & Mexico add $6/yr)
Camelids!
An Online electronic journal
To Subscribe Contact: camalid@aol.com
Article 617 of alt.agriculture.misc:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!udel!pacs.sunbelt.net!vader.york.tec.sc.us!wtraylor
Newsgroups: alt.agriculture.misc
Subject: Chicken Hatcheries List
Message-ID: <1994Feb28.082626.1@vader.york.tec.sc.us>
From: wtraylor@vader.york.tec.sc.us
Date: 28 Feb 94 08:26:26 -0500
Organization: York Technical College
Nntp-Posting-Host: default-gateway
Lines: 96
Poultry Hatcheries
Stromberg's Marti Poultry Farm
Pine River 41C, MN 56474 Box 27-5
Windsor, MO 65360
Inman Hatcheries Hoffman Hatchery
PO Box 616 Gratz, PA 17030
Aberdeen, SD 57402-0616
1-800-843-1962
Oakwood Game Farm MacFarlane Pheasant Farm, Inc.
PO Box 274 2821A Center Avenue
Princeton, MN 55371 Janesville, WI 53546
1-800-328-6647 1-800-345-8348
Wild Wings Clearview Hatchery
Dept. SF Box 399
9491 152nd St. North Gratz, PA 17030
Hugo, MN 55038
Hoover's Hatchery Rouse Game Farm
1-800-247-7014 RR #4
Moravia, NY 13118
Mother Goose Hatchery Atlas Chicks
1-800-A1 GOOSE 2651 Chouteau
St. Louis, MO 63103
Sunny Creek Hatchery The Country Boy
Red Lake Falls, MN 56750 3428 Beret Lane
Dept. F&S
Wheaton, MD 20906
Wildlife Nurseries, Inc. Cross Keys Pheasantry
PO Box 2724-F PO Box 594
Oshkosh, WI 54903 Dept FS.
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
Crow Poultry Comstock
Box 106-10 Beaumont, TX 77708
Windsor, MO 65360
Grain Belt Hatchery Horan's
Box 125-AA Box 417-0
Windsor, MO 65360 Tamaqua, PA 18252
Oakridge Outdoors Meadowbrook Game Birds
Maysville, AR 72747 Richfield, PA 17086
Clinton Chicks Reed's Hatchery
Box 548-FS 208 College
Clinton, MO 64735 Alva, OK 73717
Ridgway Hatcheries Blue Ribbon Chickens
Box 306 Box 850830
LaRue 18, Ohio 43332 Yukon, OK 73085
1-800-323-3825
Bedwell Farms Glacier Springs
1500 Hunsaker Rd. 190A Becumier Lane
Boonville , Indiana 47601 Sobieski, WI 54171
Texas Longnecks Chick Master Incubator Co.
PO Box 156 945 Lafayette Rd.
McKinney, TX 75069 Medina, Ohio 44256-3510
Poultry Products of Maine Poultry Specialties, Inc.
433 Bemis Rd. 517 East 5th St.
Hookett, NH 03106-0000 Russellville, AR 72801-0000
National Poultry News Fett
Dept. UIPD RR 1ME24
Box 1647 Minden, IA 51553
Easley, SC 29641
PHR Hatchery Conn Hatchery
Box 428 Rt. 3 2005 Penoak
Squires, MO 65755 Roswell, MN 88201
Hall Brothers Hatchery Holderread's Waterfowl Farm
PO Box 1026-ME PO Box 492
Norwich, CT 06360 Corvallis, OR 97399
This is not a complete list, so I will be posting more later. I have
received catalogs and price lists from a majority of these, but some
of them I haven't written to, so I don't if they still exist. Anyway,
I'll try to get the other ones on later this week, and if anyone has
an address to add, post it where I may see it also.
Happy Hatching,
Ernie Traylor
wtraylor@york.tec.sc.us
Subject: Guniea Hens against ticks & fleas
Date: Tue, 19 May 92 20:00:25 GMT
Guinea hens, free-ranging, eat lots of fleas and ticks.
Raising them is neither hard nor expensive. They cost $2 per/chick
in my area (NE). Initially they must be kept in a wire cage inside,
with a light bulb burning (this is when they're newly-hatched). At
this point they eat a mash(check with your local feed barn). In a
few weeks (they're fast growers) they need a bigger cage. After
3-4 months, they are ready to be released, but don't release all of
them at once. They have a nasty, ungrateful habit of simply making
fast feet to parts unknown and you never see them again.
To prevent this, release only 2 of them at first. They like to
flock and will hang around waiting for the rest of their flock to
join them. After a week, let out another one; after 4 days,
release another and so on. The idea is that by the time the entire
flock is released(usually folks buy 9-12 of them) they're used to
the area and stay there.
Foxes and raccoons do eat them, so stock replenishment is usually
required from time to time. Some seem to be smaarter than others
and survive our foxes, raccoons, and coyotes. Guinea hens roost in
trees at night so that keeps them safe at the worst predator times.
My cats are terrorized by them and leave them alone. I'm not sure
about dogs.
They're awfully funny. They sound like someone breaking a bunch of
dishes when they cackle. They run real fast and altogether
resemble something a cartoonist would have created.
Good Luck
Kathy
Subject: ticks
Date: 18 May 92 18:10:17 GMT
Guinea hens!!! They eat ticks and fleas--they eat a whole lot of
them. I never believed this until I moved to a 32 acre farm with
guinea hens(the farm has had them for the last 10 years). The farm
has NOT had fleas or ticks for the last 10 years. This is
remarkable because other places in the area (where I lived) had
many fleas and , dangerously enough, deer ticks. They're pretty
cheap to buy around here--2 bucks a chick.
Kathy
Subject: Turkey Genetic Conservation
Date: 5 Dec 91 17:19:01 GMT
(Holiday repost on Turkey genetic conservation)
The author of the article below, David Sullenberger, is a professor of
biology at New Mexico State University. He is an AMBC member, and keeps
a flock of Wishard Bronze turkeys. For a copy of the entire article plus
the bibliography, send a 45-cent SASE to AMBC, Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312.
In the not too distant past turkey was strictly holiday fare. Supply was
seasonal and nearly always lagging demand, which made turkey too expensive
for everyday meals. Intense management, close confinement, balanced
rations, sub-therapeutic medication, growth hormones, selective breeding
and artificial insemination (AI) have changed all that.
The use of AI has been critical, because over the past 25 years breeders
have been busy putting more meat on the birds - especially breast meat -
and those large, meaty breasts very effectively prevent the toms from
mating.
There is, however, at least one breed of domestic turkey that can procreate
without aid from man. The "unimproved" breed is the Wishard strain of
naturally mating Bronze turkeys. Wishard naturally mating bronze turkeys
are vigorous, flight-capable, intelligent, good-looking, weather-tolerant
and disease resistant. They got that way by virture of nearly 50 years of
what for all practical purposes amounts to natural selection - Wishard
turkeys have never been pampered.
"They either made it or they didn't. They flew to avoid coyotes, hid to
avoid hawks, foraged for a lot of their diet ant if they got sick they lived
or died on their own." Wishard hatched eggs from his own hens, raised the
poults to 8 weeks on wire, then turned them out to pasture to fend for
themselves until harvest. The ranging birds were provided with minimal
care in simple facilities consisting of pastures enclosed by woven wire
fence, elementary shelters and roots, feeding and watering stations
which were moved a few yards each week to minimize ground contamination,
and rotation to new pasture as appropriate. Breeding stock were those
birds held over at harvest time. No formal selective or pedigree breeding
was practiced and all mating was the responsibility of the toms - exclusively.
The Wishard strain of bronze turkeys represents an invaluable genetic
resourse of highly adapted, low-input, production meat birds. As we enter
the 1990's - a period in which our nation's agricultural productions
practices will be seriously questioned by chemically-conscious consumers,
environmentalists and politicians - there is comfort in knowing that at
least one low-input, self-propagating turkey breed is still around and
competing nicely.
If you are interested in beginning a flock of Wishard Bronze turkeys,
contact Wish Hatchery, Box 362, Prairie City, OR 97869, (503) 820-3509.
AMBC member Peter Jorgensen also has a flock of Wishard Bronze, and can
be reached at CS Fund Conservancy, 469 Bohemian Highway, Freestone,
CA 95472, (707) 874-2942.
Newsgroups: alt.agriculture.misc
Subject: Chicken Hatcheries List
Message-ID: <1994Feb28.082626.1@vader.york.tec.sc.us>
From: wtraylor@vader.york.tec.sc.us
Date: 28 Feb 94 08:26:26 -0500
Organization: York Technical College
Nntp-Posting-Host: default-gateway
Lines: 96
Poultry Hatcheries
Stromberg's Marti Poultry Farm
Pine River 41C, MN 56474 Box 27-5
Windsor, MO 65360
Inman Hatcheries Hoffman Hatchery
PO Box 616 Gratz, PA 17030
Aberdeen, SD 57402-0616
1-800-843-1962
Oakwood Game Farm MacFarlane Pheasant Farm, Inc.
PO Box 274 2821A Center Avenue
Princeton, MN 55371 Janesville, WI 53546
1-800-328-6647 1-800-345-8348
Wild Wings Clearview Hatchery
Dept. SF Box 399
9491 152nd St. North Gratz, PA 17030
Hugo, MN 55038
Hoover's Hatchery Rouse Game Farm
1-800-247-7014 RR #4
Moravia, NY 13118
Mother Goose Hatchery Atlas Chicks
1-800-A1 GOOSE 2651 Chouteau
St. Louis, MO 63103
Sunny Creek Hatchery The Country Boy
Red Lake Falls, MN 56750 3428 Beret Lane
Dept. F&S
Wheaton, MD 20906
Wildlife Nurseries, Inc. Cross Keys Pheasantry
PO Box 2724-F PO Box 594
Oshkosh, WI 54903 Dept FS.
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
Crow Poultry Comstock
Box 106-10 Beaumont, TX 77708
Windsor, MO 65360
Grain Belt Hatchery Horan's
Box 125-AA Box 417-0
Windsor, MO 65360 Tamaqua, PA 18252
Oakridge Outdoors Meadowbrook Game Birds
Maysville, AR 72747 Richfield, PA 17086
Clinton Chicks Reed's Hatchery
Box 548-FS 208 College
Clinton, MO 64735 Alva, OK 73717
Ridgway Hatcheries Blue Ribbon Chickens
Box 306 Box 850830
LaRue 18, Ohio 43332 Yukon, OK 73085
1-800-323-3825
Bedwell Farms Glacier Springs
1500 Hunsaker Rd. 190A Becumier Lane
Boonville , Indiana 47601 Sobieski, WI 54171
Texas Longnecks Chick Master Incubator Co.
PO Box 156 945 Lafayette Rd.
McKinney, TX 75069 Medina, Ohio 44256-3510
Poultry Products of Maine Poultry Specialties, Inc.
433 Bemis Rd. 517 East 5th St.
Hookett, NH 03106-0000 Russellville, AR 72801-0000
National Poultry News Fett
Dept. UIPD RR 1ME24
Box 1647 Minden, IA 51553
Easley, SC 29641
PHR Hatchery Conn Hatchery
Box 428 Rt. 3 2005 Penoak
Squires, MO 65755 Roswell, MN 88201
Hall Brothers Hatchery Holderread's Waterfowl Farm
PO Box 1026-ME PO Box 492
Norwich, CT 06360 Corvallis, OR 97399
-------------------------------------------------------------
Murray McMurray Hatchery
1-800-456-3280
Webster City, Iowa, 50595-0458
1-515-832-3280
Rare Breeds
bantams
chickens (they sell Dominiques ["Domineckers"] and Araucanas)
guineas
turkeys
peafowl
partridge
pheasants
goslings (they sell "weeder geese")
ducklings
supplies
equipment
books
- this entry added by london@sunSITE.unc.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------
This is not a complete list, so I will be posting more later. I have
received catalogs and price lists from a majority of these, but some
of them I haven't written to, so I don't if they still exist. Anyway,
I'll try to get the other ones on later this week, and if anyone has
an address to add, post it where I may see it also.
Happy Hatching,
Ernie Traylor
wtraylor@york.tec.sc.us
Article 7923 of misc.rural:
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!corpgate!news.utdallas.edu!convex!darwin.sura.net!spitfire.navo.navy.mil!enterprise!jkc
From: jkc@pops.navo.navy.mil (Jay Cliburn)
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Subject: On raising chickens commercially...
Date: 2 Mar 1994 19:34:20 GMT
Organization: POPS Supercomputer Center
Lines: 195
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <2l2pns$aau@spitfire.navo.navy.mil>
Reply-To: jkc@pops.navo.navy.mil
NNTP-Posting-Host: enterprise.navo.navy.mil
The long term readers of this group may remember my query of about two
years ago when I sought information on the pros and cons of commercially
raising vast numbers of chickens. At the time, my father was contemplating
retiring from his riverboat captain job and entering the poultry business
full time on our farm in Lawrence county, Mississippi. I received several
responses to my initial post of oh-so-long-ago -- mostly negative
recommendations -- but, alas, despite the naysayers, Daddy went ahead with
the effort. This is a followup to that post. It's LONG (~190 lines), so
bail out if you're not interested.
( First, something totally unrelated to the subject. You may have
chuckled at my use of the term "Daddy." However, virtually all
adult men and women in rural Mississippi (including this 37-year
old male) refer to their fathers as "Daddy" -- pronounced "Deddy."
Mom is called "Mama." Is this true in other areas as well?
)
I'll start by describing the buildings that house the chickens. There are
four houses; each house measures (about) 400' x 40'. The construction
utilizes regularly spaced, opposing, angular steel trusses with the bottom
end of each truss attached to the concrete foundation wall and the other
(top) end connected to the top end of the opposing truss at the crown
of the roof. The trusses form the structure for the walls and roof. The
side walls are made of heavy vinyl/canvas type material which can be
raised and lowered automatically by a motorized system of pulleys to allow
ventilation and assist in temperature control. There are four wall-mounted
ventilation fans -- two on one wall bring fresh air into the house and two
on the opposite wall exhaust air from the house. These fans activate for
30 seconds every 10 minutes.
The floor of each house is dirt, but is covered with about four inches
of heavy pine sawdust (and smells wonderful to me when it's fresh and no
chickens have yet soiled it). A thin layer of fresh sawdust is added
atop soiled litter prior to the arrival of each new batch of chicks after
the soiled litter is "cleaned". Cleaning is accomplished by a specialized
piece of machinery towed behind a tractor. It scoops up the soiled litter,
filters out the larger, chunky stuff and lays the finer sawdust back down
onto the floor. We then use this same pooper scooper machine (which has
a spreader mechanism on the back) to distribute the manure on our pastures.
After cleaning, we get the thin layer of new sawdust spread over the old
stuff so the next batch of chicks won't get their little feet dirty. :)
After seven batches of chickens, the litter is completely removed and
replaced. This occurs about once per year. Removal is performed by a
nice man with a front loader and several tractor-trailer dump rigs. He
comes in at no cost to us, loads up the manure/sawdust mixture, and takes
it to various points on the globe to sell it. We then notify the chicken
processor that we have clean floors and are ready for "shavings." Several
truckloads of the sweet-smelling pine sawdust arrive over the next couple
of days. The trucks simply drive slowly through each house and spread the
shavings over the floor.
At each end of the house is a large door to allow trucks and machinery
to pass into and through the house. Personnel access to each house is
normally gained by passing through a small equipment control room annex,
located at the midpoint of the building. Inside this control room are
the various timers, valves, compressed air lines, and controls for feeding
and watering the birds and maintaining the feed and water lines.
Lighting inside each house is provided by incandescent bulbs (lots of them)
on a timer circuit. The on/off ratio varies according to the age of
the chickens. The side walls described above are opaque and are sometimes
lowered (that is, opened; they open downward), so lights are only used
during hours of outside darkness. There must be two independent sources
of electricity for each house. Our sources are (1) the standard supply
provided by the local REA affiliate, and (2) a diesel generator used
during outages of (1).
Heating is provided by four large, high capacity, thermostatically-
controlled, gas-fired heaters. Four fans mounted on poles hang down from
the ceiling to provide internal air circulation. The poles are hinged at
the ceiling to allow the fans to be raised (in unison, by pulleys) to the
ceiling to allow clearance for trucks and machinery passing through the house.
The heaters are suspended by cables from the ceiling and may be raised
to the ceiling as well.
The chickens receive water through an automatic watering system. There are
four water lines that run the length of each house. These lines sit atop
the litter and are attached to thin cables connected to a ceiling-mounted
pulley system used to raise the water lines up to the ceiling. (Keep in
mind that *everything* must be raised to the ceiling during evolutions that
require passage of machinery through the house.) Conical, plastic, water cups,
spaced at two foot intervals, are mounted to the top of each water line.
An inlet valve at the bottom of each cup (the apex of the cone) sports a
vertical appendage, which, when moved slightly to one side or the other,
opens the valve to allow water into the cup (from the bottom). A one-inch
diameter plastic ball floats in the cup, and when the water level gets
low enough, the ball comes into contact with the valve appendage, opens
the valve, and water enters the cup. Like electricity, two sources of
water are required. We use (1) what we call "city" water, piped in from
the local water authority, and (2) a well for backup. Water lines can
become plugged from time to time, and we clear them by blowing compressed
air through them. Antibiotics and such are injected into the watering
system through a special fitting within the equipment control room.
The feeding system is designed to be automatic, although in practice it
is much less so than the watering system. Bulk feed is trucked in
periodically and loaded into two 25-ton feed silos at each house. The
formulation of the feed varies with the age of the chickens. Feed is
provided by the processor. (FWIW, the processor in our case is Sanderson
Farms, Inc., of Laurel, Mississippi). There are two feed lines which
run the length of each house, each line originating from its own 50 pound
feed hopper. Again, like everything else in the house, all feed lines and
hoppers are configured so that they may be raised to the ceiling. The
hoppers are filled from the silos using motorized Archimedes screws.
Similarly, the feed lines themselves use Archimedes screws to take feed
from the hoppers. Evenly spaced about every two feet along each feed
line are feed distribution ports. When the chicks are very young, the
feed simply dumps into shallow trays which the chicks can easily hop into.
(We place these trays on the floor prior to the chicks' arrival.)
At this age, the chicks are fed as much as they can eat. When the birds
are ten days old, the trays are removed and cleaned (a dreadful task) and
the feed is distributed into circular feed troughs, also spaced at two
foot intervals along, and permantently mounted to, the feed lines. We
close off the ports along the feed line which dumped into the trays. From
this time onward, feeding occurs every six hours and care must be used
not to overfeed or underfeed the birds. A timer is used to distribute
"x" amount of feed at each feeding, where we have control over "x". As
you might expect, chickens will just about eat themselves to death if
provided with enough feed, so we can't feed too much. On the other hand,
we don't want to underfeed either, since that produces smaller chickens,
and hence less money. The trick is to find that elusive balance of
maximum bird weight with minimum feed consumption and mortality rates.
That about wraps it up for the particulars of the houses. Are you still
here? :) Now I'll talk briefly about the day to day operations involved
in raising the chickens.
We raise broilers. We receive 22,400 chicks from the hatchery into each
(preheated) house at or before dawn on delivery day (it's no accident
that we refer to this as D-Day). We end up with a total of 89,600 chicks
entrusted to our loving care for about 41 days. The chicks arrive aboard
specially modified school buses (without seats, of course) in stacked,
shallow plastic crates, not unlike the ones that you find holding your
drinking glasses in your high school cafeteria. We simply dump the little
fellers out onto the floor of their new home, and the hatchery folks load up
their empty trays and hit the road. For the first few days, we check
on the chicks frequently; replenishing food and carefully monitoring their
health and condition. Each morning we walk through the houses to pick up
the birds that died the day before. The highest mortality is almost always
suffered on day four -- about 40 - 50 chicks per house. (In one "defective"
batch early this year we suffered a staggering day four loss of over 300
birds in a single house!) Carcasses are buried in pits about 100 meters
away from the houses.
As mentioned earlier, on day 10 we remove the feed trays, convert
to the circular troughs, and begin 6-hour feeding intervals. Life gets a
little easier at this point. The birds grow pretty rapidly, and on day
39 or 40 have reached about 4.0 - 4.5 pounds. The processor comes to
pick up the chickens after dark on day 40 or 41 -- after dark because
the birds are somewhat calmer than during daylight hours. It's a busy
evening for us, which starts four hours before the pickup crews arrive.
We have to empty feed and water lines and raise all lines, heaters, and
fans to the ceiling to make way for the pickup crews. They come at the
prearranged time (hopefully) and spend the rest of the night -- usually
until dawn -- picking up chickens by hand and putting them into stacked
cages on semi trucks. Mortality is fairly high during this evolution;
a poultry biologist told us it's due to heart attacks and smothering as
the frightened birds pile onto one another to avoid their captors. By
dawn, the trucks rumble off into the distance carrying a few tens of
thousands of bewildered chickens to meet their destiny and leaving a
red-eyed and haggard family behind.
Once the chickens are gone and we've caught up on our sleep, we "clean"
the litter, wash down and disinfect the inside of each house, and spread
a thin layer of new pine shavings on the floor (or replace it altogether,
if it's time). Any maintenance on the various suspension equipment in the
houses is performed at this time, and if we want to go on vacation or
anything, now is the time to do it. We have about two weeks of "empty
time," and four days prior to the arrival of the next batch of chicks,
we check out all heaters, fans, feed lines, water lines, and controls.
Twenty-four hours prior to their arrival, we lay down the feed trays,
lower the feed and water lines, light off the heaters and bring the
temperature in the houses up to 88 degrees F. This must be done at
the prescribed time in order to bring the litter up to temperature,
otherwise the chicks suffer hypothermia from the "cold" floor. The
chick buses return the next morning and we start the cycle all over
again! And we love it!
Well, I've rambled on long enough. Just thought I'd pass along our
experiences. If you're ever in south Mississippi, give me a heads up.
I'd be delighted to show you around. The sight and sound of 20,000+
chickens in one room never ceases to amaze. :-)
--
***************************************************************************
* *
* Jay Cliburn jkc@navo.navy.mil *
* Empress Software (601) 688-5083 *
* Stennis Space Center, Mississippi *
* *
***************************************************************************
Be prepared to undergo privation and labor with cheerfulness and alacrity.
Braxton Bragg
Article 7883 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mlfarm!jenny!ron
From: ron@mlfarm.com (Ronald Florence)
Subject: Re: Lamb creep feeder?
In-Reply-To: bmoon@eis.calstate.edu's message of 26 Feb 1994 13:07:30 -0800
Message-ID: <CLw2M3.HHM@mlfarm.com>
Lines: 24
Nntp-Posting-Host: auda.mlfarm.com
Organization: Maple Lawn Farm, Stonington, CT
References: <2kodmi$qqt@eis.calstate.edu>
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 1994 15:20:20 GMT
Bruce A. Moon writes:
Does anyone have ideas for a small creep feeder? I have never seen
one, let alone plans but people say we should supplement the lambs
with pellets to get them ready for the fair.
You can make a quick & dirty creep feeder out of a standard 16-foot
welded hog or stock panel. Use a boltcutter or hacksaw to cut two
6-inch by 18-inch openings in the panel, cover the rough edges with
duct tape or a length of split garden hose, then bend the panel into a
semi-circle and fasten to a wall of the barn. You may need a couple
of anchors to hold the center section down. Put a small feeder inside
and maybe a bright light over it, add a little leafy alfalfa hay, and
show the lambs where the goodies are.
We find that if the lambs aren't creep trained at a very young age
(one-two weeks), they don't get the habit. This year we're trying a
mixture of cracked corn and soymeal for the creep, and gradually
mixing in the 16% coarse mixture that the ewes get. The lambs seem to
like it.
--
Ronald Florence
ron@mlfarm.com
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
From: jdryan@mmm.com (Jerry D. Ryan - Tech. Computations - (612) 733-3595 - jdryan@mmm.com)
Subject: Re: SHEEP BREEDS INFO NEEDED
Reply-To: jdryan@mmm.com
Organization: 3M - St. Paul, Minnesota
Date: 16 Mar 1994 20:59 -0600
>Does anybody know anything (or even heard of) the sheep breeds:
>Targee
> I quote from Paula Simmons' "Rasing Sheep the Modern Way":
"TARGHEE
The Targhee is a hearty American breed, developed by mating outstanding
Rambouillet rams to ewes of Corriedale x Lincoln Rambouillet stock, and ewes of
only Lincoln-Rambouillet, and following that by interbreeding the resulting
lambs. The work was done since 1926 by the United States Sheep Experiment
Station in Dubois, Idaho to meet the demand for a breed of sheep that was thick
in natural musceling, prolific, producing high-quality apparel-type wool, and
adapted to both farm and range conditions. It gets it name from the Targhee
National Forest on which the Experiment Station flock grazes in the summer.
It is a large-sized, dual purpose sheep with a good meat type and
heavy fleece (11 to 16 pounds) of good wool, about 1/2 blood, 3 inches
length, or more. It has a clean face and no skin folds, with ewes
weighing from 125 to 200 pounds, and rams from 200 to 300 pounds.
Experimental work at the University of Idaho has show the Targhee to
have an inherited resistance to internal parasites and no hoof troubles.
The breed can also claim a very long productive life.
It is noted for an ease of lambing, and high percentage of twins or
triplets.
On the National Livestock Producer's breed chart, ..., it took
second place."
From: arnod@mayo.edu (DREW ARNOLD)
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
Subject: Re: SHEEP BREEDS INFO NEEDED
Date: 16 Mar 1994 21:03:06 GMT
The Targhee (I believe this is the correct spelling) was
developed at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station at Dubois, Idaho.
The Targhee is a Rambouillet x Lincoln crossed back to a
Rambouillet, making it 3/4 Rambouillet and 1/4 Lincoln. The
cross creates a large-framed, medium muscled sheep with about 64
spin count wool (15 micron?).
Drew
*****************************************************************
+ DREW ARNOLD |arnod@mayo.edu |"I'M A REBEL WITHOUT +
+ ENDOCRINE RESEARCH UNIT |(507) 255-6586 | A CLUE " +
+ MAYO FOUNDATION | | +
+ 4-407 ALFRED | | -The Replacements +
+ ROCHESTER, MN 55905 | | +
*****************************************************************
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture
Reply-To: slc@envirolaw.win.net (Stephen L. Castner)
From: slc@envirolaw.win.net (Stephen L. Castner)
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 1994 15:31:51 GMT
Subject: Re: SHEEP BREEDS INFO NEEDED
Targhees were bred in the 1920s at the USDA Sheep Experimental
Station at Dubois, Idaho, combining about 3/4 fine wool breeding
(Rambouillet) with about 1/4 long wool breeding. Targhees are
white faced and resemble Rambouillets in appearance, intermediate to
large in size, with ewes weighing in the 140-200 pound range and
rams in the 200 to 300 pound range. The ewes are durable, often
producing for a decade.
Targhees were developed for range conditions and are a major breed
in Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. They also do well as a farm
flock breed, and are widely raised in Wisconsin, among many other
states. They are quite adaptable to varied forage and climatic
conditions.
Their fleeces are somewhat less fine than Rambouillets and Merinos,
but are considerably finer than most of the meat breeds.
Targhee ewes have good mothering and milking ability. They have
high twinning rates under range conditions. The breeder of the
1993 U.S. champion ram has a consistent lambing record of more
than 200 percent from his flock in Wisconsin.
Targhees produce large lambs, which have a high rate of gain. The
breed exhibits a high rate of pounds of lamb weaned per ewe bred,
making them desirable for both feeder and custom freezer lamb
operations, important qualities for the post-Wool Act period.
For more information, contact:
George Mann, President
U.S. Targhee Sheep Association
Route 1, Box 199B
Fairchild, Wisconsin 54741
715-286-5041
Dean Von Krosigk, Vice-President
U.S. Targhee Sheep Association
111 Hoot Owl Road
Riverton, Wyoming 82501
307-856-3125
You might be interested to know that the U.S. Targhee Association
directory lists four Canadian members, three in Alberta and one in
Ontario, but, alas, none in B.C.
_______________________________________________________
/`-._ Steve Castner slc@envirolaw.win.net |
{ }/ 1650 Ninth Avenue, P.O. Box 164 |
\ ./ Grafton, Wisconsin 53024-0164 |
|___| Voice: (414) 377-9377 Fax: (414) 377-5002 |
Article 5550 of misc.rural:
Newsgroups: misc.rural
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!news.kei.com!ssd.intel.com!dand
From: dand@ssd.intel.com (Dan Dreiszus)
Subject: Re: Free ranging turkeys? (Followup)
Message-ID: <C825py.ADB@SSD.intel.com>
Sender: usenet@SSD.intel.com
Nntp-Posting-Host: gormley
Organization: Supercomputer Systems Divison, Intel Corp.
References: <C6z5Fv.MJ2@SSD.intel.com> <110@east-wind.win.net>
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 18:22:45 GMT
Lines: 59
Several netters forwarded me the original post, which appeared
some time ago. Since there seems to be a lot of interest in this,
I'm re-posting it.
The name of the breed is the Wishard Bronze turkey.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The author of the article below, David Sullenberger, is a professor of
biology at New Mexico State University. He is an AMBC member, and keeps
a flock of Wishard Bronze turkeys. For a copy of the entire article plus
the bibliography, send a 45-cent SASE to AMBC, Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312.
In the not too distant past turkey was strictly holiday fare. Supply was
seasonal and nearly always lagging demand, which made turkey too expensive
for everyday meals. Intense management, close confinement, balanced
rations, sub-therapeutic medication, growth hormones, selective breeding
and artificial insemination (AI) have changed all that.
The use of AI has been critical, because over the past 25 years breeders
have been busy putting more meat on the birds - especially breast meat -
and those large, meaty breasts very effectively prevent the toms from
mating.
There is, however, at least one breed of domestic turkey that can procreate
without aid from man. The "unimproved" breed is the Wishard strain of
naturally mating Bronze turkeys. Wishard naturally mating bronze turkeys
are vigorous, flight-capable, intelligent, good-looking, weather-tolerant
and disease resistant. They got that way by virture of nearly 50 years of
what for all practical purposes amounts to natural selection - Wishard
turkeys have never been pampered.
"They either made it or they didn't. They flew to avoid coyotes, hid to
avoid hawks, foraged for a lot of their diet ant if they got sick they lived
or died on their own." Wishard hatched eggs from his own hens, raised the
poults to 8 weeks on wire, then turned them out to pasture to fend for
themselves until harvest. The ranging birds were provided with minimal
care in simple facilities consisting of pastures enclosed by woven wire
fence, elementary shelters and roots, feeding and watering stations
which were moved a few yards each week to minimize ground contamination,
and rotation to new pasture as appropriate. Breeding stock were those
birds held over at harvest time. No formal selective or pedigree breeding
was practiced and all mating was the responsibility of the toms - exclusively.
The Wishard strain of bronze turkeys represents an invaluable genetic
resourse of highly adapted, low-input, production meat birds. As we enter
the 1990's - a period in which our nation's agricultural productions
practices will be seriously questioned by chemically-conscious consumers,
environmentalists and politicians - there is comfort in knowing that at
least one low-input, self-propagating turkey breed is still around and
competing nicely.
If you are interested in beginning a flock of Wishard Bronze turkeys,
contact Wish Hatchery, Box 362, Prairie City, OR 97869, (503) 820-3509.
AMBC member Peter Jorgensen also has a flock of Wishard Bronze, and can
be reached at CS Fund Conservancy, 469 Bohemian Highway, Freestone,
CA 95472, (707) 874-2942.