Category: Other Livestock

There are many chicken breeds throughout the world, including several dozen domestic chicken breeds from hybrids to heritage lines. Different types of chickens are raised for different purposes, from show animals to meat birds to egg laying chicken breeds. There are many chicken varieties, and all lay eggs, but only a handful are in the […]

Colostrum is that yellow secretion given by the ewe for the first twenty-four hours after lambing. The three main functions of colostrum include: Nutritional, protective, and laxative. The nutritional point of colostrum is due to the highly concentrated nutrients such as proteins, sugar, fats, minerals, and water which are easily and rapidly absorbed in the […]

Hypothermia or birth chill is one of the main killers of baby goats. It is when a newborn kid has been exposed to the wind, cold, and has not been cleaned and dried by their doe or has not eaten soon enough after birth. It can happen in the summer as well as winter. In […]

Calving difficulty, technically called dystocia, is a major cause of death loss in cow-calf herds. CHAPA (Cow/calf Health and Productivity Audit) studies indicate that dystocia is responsible for 33 percent of all calf losses and 15.4 percent of beef cattle breeding losses. Dystocia can have a large economic impact on producers due to calf death, […]

Behavior in an animal is defined as its response to its environment. A basic understanding of sheep behavior will make raising and handling sheep less stressful for both the sheep and shepherd. It will also dismiss the notion that sheep are a stupid animal. Flocking Behavior Sheep are best known for their strong flocking (herding) […]

Body condition scoring is a method of evaluating fatness or thinness in cows according to a five-point scale (also done on an eight-point scale in some countries) and using the score to fine-tune dairy herd nutrition and health. On a five-point scale, a score of 1 denotes a very thin cow, while 5 denotes an […]

The age of your animals can be determined by examination of their front teeth. Although you will not be able to determine the exact age, especially in older animals, a close approximation can be determined. Young animals, like children, have temporary or milk teeth which will be replaced by permanent teeth. Young ruminants have 20 […]

Stomach ulcers are not uncommon in alpacas and they can easily lead to death, so it is important to prevent this alpaca disease. Unfortunately, alpacas are stoic, and it is hard to know that your alpaca is developing an ulcer until they are well advanced. Death occurs because the ulcer has penetrated the stomach wall […]