News

What is grass tetany? Grass tetany, also known as “grass staggers”, “wheat pasture poisoning” & “winter tetany”, is a fatal metabolic disease caused by a low levels of magnesium in the blood serum of ruminant livestock including beef cattle, dairy cattle and sheep. Grass tetany primarily affects mature cows nursing calves two months or younger, but can also occur in young cows and growing calves. Grass tetany is a serious, often fatal metabolic disorder characterized by low levels of magnesium in the blood serum of cattle. It is also called grass staggers and wheat pasture poisoning. It primarily affects older...

Overview of Immune System As humans, we rely on our immune systems every day to protect us from viruses, bacteria, toxins, and fungi. When this network of organs, cells, and proteins defeats a threat to our body, it makes a record of how to defend against the invader. The next time the body is faced with this particular attacker, the immune system can defeat it swiftly and efficiently. The chicken’s immune system functions in a similar way. It is also complex. Its main defenses are lymphoid organs, which produce, store, and carry cells that fight infection. The primary lymphoid organs...

It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be resolving to do things differently. Whatever that means to you, we are putting a horsey spin on resolutions as they relate to what we do with our equine partners and our activities around the barn. Here are some resolutions to consider if you’re trying to change things up for the New Year: Commit to a barn safety evaluation. Look around and identify things that need repair such as loose boards, nails protruding, broken crossties, or loose electrical outlets. This is also a great time to revisit or create your fire evacuation...

People and chickens operate on different schedules that sometimes conflict. As days shorten and the temperature drops people turn on furnaces and electric lights and sleep about as many hours as they do in summer. Not chickens. Their daily schedule is set by daylight. Lacking artificial light they settle into a long night’s sleep as soon as dusk arrives and don’t wake until tomorrow’s dawn. In high latitudes they often sleep 15 or 16 hours a night. For chickens, winter is a time for rest, not reproduction. Cold temperatures don’t reduce laying, but as fall advances, decreasing daylight causes egg...

Water is the most important nutrient that we provide for horses on a year around basis. Horses need 2 to 3 times more water than other feedstuffs. An 1100 lb horse on a dry forage diet at an average temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit will need a minimum of 6-7 gallons of water per day or 48-56 lbs of water, and many horses will drink more water than the minimum. We all appreciate that the water requirement may double at high temperatures, but may not realize that at -4 degrees Fahrenheit; the quantity required is about 10-12 gallons per day,...