Did you know that foot problems account for two-thirds of antibiotic use in sheep? Yet, despite its significance, foot health is often overlooked in sheep. A lame sheep cannot graze adequately and becomes stressed if it is left behind when the flock moves off. A sheep unable to walk to the water trough soon becomes …
Farm Animals
Many people know that puppies and kittens like to play, but they are surprised to learn that lambs also play. Stock animals such as lambs, calves, and piglets are not often viewed as playful animals. So it is surprising for some that lambs like to play, and they may want to know what lambs like …
Dairy sheep sometimes reject their lambs, causing a major problem for farmers and shepherds. Lambing is a work-intensive time for shepherds, and having complications with ewes rejecting lambs adds to the general mayhem and exhaustion. It is useful to know what to do if a dairy sheep rejects her lamb. It allows the shepherd to …
The feral sheep of the old world didn’t have much wool. Instead, they had more hair than wool. Through selective breeding over the years, we’ve got a plethora of wooly sheep breeds that are useful for meat and dairy production, too. However, shearing sheep costs money and takes a lot of effort, so sheep farmers …
Having a dairy goat with no horns certainly frees up some space at the feeding trough and saves on fence repairs. We had gorgeous Saanens but kept needing to do a perimeter check (with wire cutters) because they kept getting their heads stuck in the fence. However, my mum insisted we never disbudded the kids …
The Guernsey and Jersey dairy cows are known for producing some of the tastiest milk. But what else do these two breeds have in common, and what makes them unique? What can we learn if we compare these two dairy cows? Who will be the “dairy queen”? The Guernsey and Jersey cows are domestic cattle breeds …
