Relating to Farm Animals

One of the most controversial subjects in the United States, with attacks from PETA and the like: slaughterhouse etiquette. Is it humane? Does stunning an animal kill it instantly? Is it the best...

To bring top market price and the best quality of meat, bull calves must have their testicles removed. Banding is the modern way to complete this procedure.

The purpose of an electric fence paddock is to construct a fence that is reasonably durable and one that your animals learn to respect. The heart of every electric fence is the energizer, which...

Urea nitrogen is a natural byproduct of protein consumption. Agriculturalists, physicians, environmentalists and everyday consumers have a vested interest in urea. They produce it, they use it...

Numerous studies have shown that the easier animals are handled, the better quality of meat they produce. This makes sense when you consider how adrenaline and tightened muscles would adversely...

Water for livestock is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Animals must have a readily available source of fresh water. A leaking stock tank can be expensive to ignore and more expensive to replace....

More and more people are discovering the satisfaction that comes from having a backyard flock of chickens, whether for meat or eggs or both, but they also discover that parasites can sweep through...

Are you looking to help animals, become much, much healthier, or are you a vegetarian taking the next step? Well I have a guide just for you!

Fresh eggs and lean meat are two popular reasons chickens are raised in a backyard. Dual purpose breeds are often preferred when raising backyard chickens. Dual purpose chickens lay a good...

Sheep are interesting animals. They produce lambs (young sheep) as well wool (fiber covering their body). A number of terms are used just for sheep. Here is a guide to recognizing sheep terms.

Humans and animals can share a variety of diseases but one increasingly common infection is caused by Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus, often called staph), a potentially dangerous condition...

You will work very hard raising your chickens, and you cannot afford to have them escaping your property, getting stolen or eaten by predators. A chicken fence must enclose the entire boundary...

I'm not a carpenter. I'm a single mom with one goal in mind. I wanted chickens. They needed a house. It can't be that hard, can it? Low on funds, I recycled every scrap of wood I could. And...

While it's true that some guinea fowl breeders seem to possess a magical ability to tell the difference between males and females practically before the shells crack, most of us aren't so...

Red wiggler worms and a compost bin are a marriage made in heaven. Red wigglers in the wild live in leaf litter and manure, so unlike burrowing worms such as nightcrawlers, they can adapt to...

If you want a guarantee of only pullets (female chicks) in your hatchery order, it's best to stick to a chicken breed with a genetic coding to make sexing easy. Though hatcheries employ sexers for...

Polytape fencing with fiberglass poles provide an affordable, temporary fencing option that will contain many species of livestock. Polytape fences provide a psychological barrier rather than a...

Red worms, more commonly known as red wigglers, adapt well to indoor worm bins. Unlike nightcrawlers, which make deep burrows in the earth, red wigglers in the wild nestle in leaf litter, manure...

Guernsey cattle are one of the principle breeds used in the dairy industry of Europe and North America. While not as common as the Holstein, they are often added to herds to improve the efficiency...

After about 4 months as a worm farmer, with any luck you'll have a bin of happy red wigglers who have been doing their job: converting your kitchen scraps into vermicompost for your houseplants,...

Livestock scales are an invaluable tool for farmers and ranchers across the globe. The worth of most market animals is based off their weight and how much they will sell for on the meat market, so...

Worm compost typically contains castings, the "poop" of compost worms, residual bits of their bedding and food, and helpful microbes. Botanists have studied the compost to see how it compares to...

As word spreads of growers obtaining solid results by adding worm castings to garden plots, vegetable beds and even golf courses, worm "poop" becomes a natural sell. Worm castings contain more...

Cattle panels are among the most versatile pieces of equipment today's rancher can own. They are extremely useful, easy to move, simple to store, and a cinch to assemble. Cattle panels can be used...

The American Tilapia Association ranks tilapia as the fifth most consumed seafood in the United States. This lean, white, high-protein fish appeals to the American consumer due to its mild, light...

Worm farms serve a variety of purposes---they decompose food and waste for your compost file, provide fertilizer for gardens, and supply bait for fishing. Worm farms are easy to set up on both...

Red and white clover are two types of clover commonly used to plant or replant pastures, and are very useful in improving the quality of the pasture already in existence by providing nitrogen. For...

Of the 4,000 species of earthworms, one stands out as best for home composting. The natural habitat of the little red wiggler, Eisenia fetida, includes rotting organic matter lying near the soil...

A livestock water tank that has turned green with algae and other aquatic plants is both unattractive and unhealthy for the animals using it. Fortunately there are substances, including bleach,...

If you own chickens, sooner or later, you will catch it..........no, I'm not talking about bird flu, but, the desire to get new chickens to add to your existing flock. Maybe you've been...

The main difference between a rooster and a hen is that the former is male and the latter is female. Their appearance differs in several ways.

Humans have been keeping chickens for hundreds of years. Popular for their meat, eggs and feathers, chickens are generally low-maintenance. Laying hens are particular about where they lay their...

Raise your own laying hens to ensure the freshest possible eggs. You should follow some basic procedures when undertaking the hobby of raising laying hens in order to allow for the best outcome...

Cloning is the process of creating an organism that is genetically identical to another organism. Scientists have been cloning animals since 1952, when they cloned a tadpole. In 1996, scientists...

There are millions of different animals on this planet, and billions of microorganisms. All life forms--no matter how small or large--have a digestive system, many of which are very different from...

Animal reproduction always involves some type of cell division. Whether the cells are fertilized or unfertilized depends on the species, anatomy and physiology of the individual animal.

Livestock enjoy rubbing and scratching themselves on wood fence and fence posts, therefore, you must install a wood fence properly to prevent livestock from breaking it. A morning of brisk...

Goat's milk is used in a variety of products. It's used to make yogurt, butter, cheese and ice cream. It's found in soap and lotion products because it's gentle on the skin. Moreover, the caprylic...

Chicken coops and chicken tractors provide shelter from the elements, protection from predators and a home base to lay their eggs in. Coops are used primarily for chickens on a commercial feed...

The black Angus and red Angus set the bar when it comes to beef cattle, as opposed to milk cattle. An old and hard breed, the Angus dates back to Scotland, where they were first bred in Aberdeen...

Cows could possibly become ill as a result of eating large quantities of Oregon grape, but there are no documented cases of cattle dying after ingesting this plant. While there have been a few...

Like human beings, chickens are vulnerable to all sorts of illnesses and conditions. Bacteria and viruses may cause some of them while others are fungal in nature. Among the conditions that can...

Building your own chicken brooder is simple and does not cost a lot of money. The purpose of the brooder is to maintain the body temperature of the chicks and provide a safe place for them to eat,...

Your success with hatching eggs will depend on the quality and fertility of the eggs you incubate. Choose eggs with a regular shape and free of cracks and chips. There are several types of...

The most popular medication farmers use to get rid of hog mites is ivermectrin. Ivermectrin is a parasite control drug that is injected under the skin. Ivermectrin controls hog mites in every...

There are many different breeds of egg-laying hens. The majority of hen breeds were developed over 100 years ago. Every breed of hen will lay a different color, size and amount of eggs each year.

There is nothing that says “farm” as sweetly as a colorful flock chickens happily roaming across an open range. It is a beautiful sight. Country just wouldn’t be country without them. People...

Determining the sex of geese is not easy. You can be identify some geese by color, with males of one color and females of another, but many geese are virtually identical in many ways until they...

A recognizable symbol of Texas, Longhorn cattle are known as a sturdy breed able to survive harsh weather and conditions. They are known for their immense horns which can reach up to 120 inches...

Hatching goose eggs can be a fun and educational experience for the whole family. Goose eggs are incubated for 28 days. The incubation process is simple and you can do it with just a few basic...