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7 Chickens to Raise for Colorful Eggs

When it comes to chicken eggs, white is not a color. Blue is, and green, rose and olive—not to mention eggs so chocolaty-brown you expect them to be filled with caramel. Adding colored-egg layer chickens to your hobby farm’s flock can lend a bit of magic to egg-gathering and bring buyers flocking to your market table.

When choosing chicken breeds to raise, it helps to know that chickens fall into two basic body types. Type-A birds put most of their nutritional intake into egg production. While this makes them prolific egg layers, they tend to be leaner and more nervous than type-B birds. Type Bs are dual-purpose chickens with calm, easy-going temperaments. They lay eggs, but because they convert more of their food into bodyweight, they don’t produce as many per week as their type-A counterparts.

If you’re looking to add color to your egg selection, here are some breeds to consider.

1. Araucanas
If a chicken lays blue eggs, it’s safe to assume they have Araucana in their genetics. The breed is reputed to have originated in Chile, though its origin is still unclear. What is clear is that Araucanas are rumpless (without a tail head), are often tufted (tufts of feathers hang by fine, elastic skin threads on each side of the head) and lay blue eggs. "A true Araucana is always rumpless,” says Lanae Cash, who breeds, shows and sells Araucanas, at Cash’s Blue Eggs. "They are not always tufted, but rumpless is a must.” These chickens are body type B. "The Araucana is a very self-assured bird with a mild temperament,” Cash adds.

2. Ameraucanas
Hatcheries might advertise Araucanas for sale, but beware: If the birds have tails, they are not Araucanas. However, they might be Ameraucanas. "Ameraucanas are less rare than Araucanas, and hatcheries do sell true Ameraucanas,” says Traci Torres, co-author of My Pet Chicken Handbook (Rodale, 2014) and founder of MyPetChicken.com. Careful breeding of Araucanas with other breeds produces certain feather patterns. "There is a wild variety of colors, and each will have a different parentage,” Torres says. "Ameraucanas are easygoing birds, and they should all lay a blue egg.” With Araucana genetics, they tend toward body and temperament type B.

3. Easter Eggers
Note the spelling of Ameraucana. "If a hatchery is selling chicks under the label of Araucana/Americana, what it really is is an Easter Egger,” Torres says. "There’s no breed standard. An Easter Egger is literally just a mutt, but they’re fabulous birds.” Friendly, smart, cold- and heat-hardy, they lay well in the winter, with eggs that range in color from blue, green, rose or brown to sage, olive or cream. "Their eggs tend to be ginormous,” Torres says. "Much more a type B, they’re not a huge bird, but they’re just an all-around wonderful pet, and of course, everyone loves the egg colors.”

4. Cream Legbar
Another blue-egg layer is the Cream Legbar, developed in Great Britain by crossing Barred Plymouth Rocks, Golden Leghorns and Araucanas. Leghorn genetics introduce type-A body and temperament traits. "People are all about the Cream Legbar,” Torres says. "They’re not flighty, but they’re active, and they make fabulous foragers.”

5. Marans
Common brown eggs pale in comparison to the deep-brown eggs laid by the French breed, Marans. Marans are calm, easygoing birds of medium size and type-B build. According to Debi Stuhr, who breeds and sells Black Copper Marans at Heaven Sent Ranch, "Marans also come in a blue, blue copper, splash, solid black, wheaten, and a couple other colors still being developed.”

According to Torres, "Black Copper Marans are the friendly chickens with the feathered feet that lay the ­really dark chocolate-brown eggs.” Brown eggs are ­graded on a scale of zero to nine, zero being white, and nine a deep, dark brown. Stuhr says, "You want your Marans egg color to be five to nine,” Stuhr says. "A Marans is not a true Marans unless it lays at least a four or five.”

6. Welsummer
Lissa Lucas, head writer and ­marketing communications specialist at MyPetChicken.com and co-author of My Pet Chicken Handbook, lists the Welsummer as her pick for best all-around chicken. With a type-B build, Welsummers are great foragers that lay large chocolate-brown eggs with darker speckles and do well in both heat and cold. Lucas considers these friendly, intelligent brown-egg layers among the sweetest-­tempered birds in her flock.

7. Penedesenca
Penedesencas originated in Spain and are noted for laying some of the darkest brown eggs of any breeds. "Their eggs are beautiful,” Torres says. "A dark, dark, reddish brown.” Being of type-A body build, Penedesencas are alert and wary of their surroundings. "Though they won’t be the first ones to approach you, if you go out every day and give them treats, and you don’t move too quickly, they will become more docile,” Torres says. Penedesencas have what is called a "king’s comb,” also called a cresta en clavell or carnation comb, which begins as a single lobe at the front, parting into several lobes in the back.

Dill: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting

Dill is an annual, self-seeding plant with feathery green leaves. It is used most commonly in soups, stews, and for pickling. Dill is easy to grow and attracts beneficial insects to your garden, such as wasps and other predatory insects.

Planting
Sow dill seeds about 1/4-inch deep and 18 inches apart in rich soil, then gently rake the seeds into the soil. The soil should be around 60 to 70ºF for best results.
Dill does not grow well when transplanted, so start the seeds fresh in the garden in early summer. Make sure to shelter the plants from strong winds.
After 10 to 14 days, the plants should appear in the soil. Wait another 10 to 14 days, then thin the plants to about 12 to 18 inches apart.
In your garden, plant dill next to cabbage or onions, but keep the dill away from carrots.

Care
Water the plants freely during the growing season.
In order to ensure a season-long fresh supply of dill, continue sowing seeds every few weeks. For an extended harvest, do not allow flowers to grow on the plants.
If the soil remains undisturbed throughout the growing season, more dill plants will grow the next season.

Pests
Leaf spot and occasionally a few other types of fungal leaf and root diseases

Harvest/Storage
As soon as the plant has four to five leaves, you can start harvesting. Pinch off the leaves or cut them off with scissors.
If you have a lot of plants, you can pinch off entire stalks.

Recommended Varieties
Fernleaf dill, which is good in potato salads, cucumber soup, and fish dishes

Pros and Cons of Raising Your Own Grass Fed Beef

Cons

Space - Unlike chickens, cows need more than just a backyard, so you need some acreage to raise cattle. Depending upon your climate, an acre per cow is a good rule of thumb.

Cost of feed - Even with adequate pasture, you’ll have to purchase feed for the winter months. Our hay bill is usually around $900 for the year, depending on the season, and going rate.

Fencing - There’s the initial cost of fencing. We use barbed wire. It’s fairly easy to put up and unlike electric fence where you have to worry about the electrical ground, weeds/brush touching the wire, and a constant power source, barbed wire is good to go. However, cattle can be notorious for getting out of any fence. Be ready to herd them back.

Care - Cattle don’t take an extreme amount of care, but they do require some. They need a constant supply of fresh clean water, and during the winter, feeding.

Breeding - If you keep a cow to breed back every year, you either have to purchase a bull, artificially inseminate, or haul your cow to a bull or a bull to your cow every year. Unless, you’re lucky enough to have a bull in the neighboring field who hops the fence when it’s time, and then goes back home. (This only happened to us one year and was with a bull we didn’t mind cross-breeding)

Pros

Taste - You can’t beat the taste of naturally grass fed beef. I’d talked about the difference so passionately that a co-worker bought half a beef from us. (This isn’t a sales pitch as we can’t meet the demand now) After having our beef, his wife refused to ever go back to store bought beef. You can taste the difference!

Price - While the cost of feed can be a lot up front, the cost of natural grass fed beef is much cheaper to raise than to buy in the store. Our local butcher charges a $55 kill fee (divided by how much of the beef you purchase) and $.50 per lb cut and wrap. If you butcher and wrap it yourself, then this cost is eliminated. Beef tastes better when allowed to age and as we don’t have the proper hanging facilities, we hire ours out. The average rate in our area is between $2.10 and $2.75 a lb, making every cut of beef around $3.00 a pound, including your expensive cuts of steak.

Plus, you get to decide which cuts of meat you want and how it’s packaged. We do butcher our own pigs, read How to Butcher a Whole Pig here.

Peace of mind - I know exactly what goes in to our cows. We buy our hay locally from local fields so I know they haven’t been treated. Our own pasture is managed organically, even though we’re not certified. (It costs too much for our tiny operation) Our cattle are cared for humanly. I’ll never have to worry about my children eating pink slime.

While raising your own grass fed beef isn’t for everyone, if you have acreage, it’s something to consider. I love that my children grow up knowing where the food comes from. And I suspect they’ll be as grateful of that as I am now.

Even if you can’t raise your own, you can look for a local ranch, and purchase from them. Or contact your local butcher and ask for referrals.

Grow Your Own Tomatoes Indoors This Winter

Tomatoes here, tomatoes there, tomatoes everywhere. When we're adrift in a sea of tomatoes, why a column about growing more tomatoes?

Think about the taste of those store-bought facsimiles you purchased last January and you have the answer. Those pale, hard, tasteless, imitations made you long for the real thing. This winter, you can have it.

You don't need a green thumb or a greenhouse to grow vine-ripened tomatoes indoors. "Window-sill" tomatoes will do well in 6-inch pots filled with good potting soil. You'll also need the right tomato seed, seed starter mix, fertilizer, and plant stakes. Presto! Tomato salad comin' up!

Window-sill tomatoes are smaller than their outdoor relatives -- quarter-to-half-dollar-size. But don't let their small size fool you -- they come with a big tomato taste. They aren't "slicers," but they are perfect for salads or snacks.

Here's how to grow a winter tomato garden:

You can grow one plant in a 6-inch pot or two plants in larger pots. For a continuous winter supply, start one or two new plants from seed every two weeks. Recommended varieties are Pixie, Patio, Toy Boy, Small Fry or Tiny Tim. These varieties will produce small plants, but they still may need to be staked, especially when they begin to bear fruit. Quarter-inch dowels make good stakes.

Germinate seeds in a small pot with starter mix. Plant seeds about 1/4 inch deep and water. Keep starter mix moist but not soggy. Germination should occur in 5 to l0 days.

Transplant from starter mix into potting soil when seedlings are about 3 inches tall. Fertilize regularly, but lightly, beginning about two weeks after transplanting. Water plants thoroughly, but not too frequently. A catch pan under the pot will keep windowsills dry.

When plants bloom, help Mother Nature along: Tap the main stem and larger side branches with your finger. This moves the plant slightly and encourages pollination. As you tap the plant, you might see a small cloud of pollen falling from the open flowers.

Turn plants occasionally, so all sides get a fair share of sunlight. After each plant has provided a bumper crop and has become unproductive, cut it off at the base, saving the potting soil for future transplants. Toss the old plant in the compost pile.

Tips for Feeding a Horse !

Feeding a horse can be confusing. There are a large number of different feeds available and no two horses are alike. The amount and type of feed given will depend on the horse’s type, age, weight, health, workload, the climate and what is locally available.

Feed little and often – The horse’s stomach is small compared to its body size and cannot hold a lot of food.

Don't feed a heavy meal before or after work- leave about 1 to 1,1/2 hours either side of work. Hay does not have to be removed.

Mix feeds daily and remove uneaten feed- By mixing feed daily rather than mixing all the feed together when it arrives, allows the feed to be rationed and allows you to see what the horse is eating. If the horse leaves any feed or becomes sick you can remove a feed product.

When you feed your horse after work, give them 1 flake of hay. But depending on what type of horse you have give them a cup of oats or pellets.

Weight bridges are expensive and not everyone has access to one. Ask vets, dealers and studs if they have one and if they are willing to let you use it. However "changes" in weight are more important.

Feed good quality feed and forage- Poor quality feeds that may be mouldy or sour can cause colic. Cheap or bad feeds may end up not being eaten and cost more in the long run.

Weigh feed – Don’t feed by “scoop”. Weigh how much a “scoop” is for each type of feed.

Feed plenty of Forage – Grazing, haylage, hay or oat straw so the horse has something in its stomach all day. This helps keep the peristaltic movement and digestive juices going, and avoid behavioural and health problems.

If you have regular access to a weight bridge, condition score as well. A horse that has gained weight may not have gained fat, but gained muscle.

If a horse doesn’t require a feed other then forage, but other horses kept with him do, give a “dummy feed” of low-energy chaff and balancer. This will mean the horse doesn’t feel left out when the others are fed.

Saving Vegetable Seeds For Next Year !

You can save vegetable seeds from your garden produce to plant next year. Seed saving involves selecting suitable plants from which to save seed, harvesting seeds at the right time, and storing them properly over the winter.

Plant selection

Tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas are good choices for seed saving. These plants have flowers that are self-pollinating, and seeds that require little or no special treatment before storage. Seeds from biennial crops such as carrots or beets are harder to save, since the plants need two growing seasons to set seed.

Plants with separate male and female flowers, like corn and vine crops, may cross-pollinate, so it is difficult to keep the seed strain pure. A stand of sweet corn can be pollinated by popcorn from a nearby garden on a windy day. The flavor of the current sweet corn crop will be affected, and a crop grown from these seeds will be neither good sweet corn nor good popcorn.

Cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, and gourds can all be cross-pollinated by insects. Although the quality of the current crop will not be affected, seeds from such a cross will grow into vines with fruit unlike that of the parent plant--often inferior in flavor and other characteristics.

When saving seed, chose open-pollinated varieties rather than hybrids. If open-pollinated varieties self-pollinate or are cross-pollinated by other plants of the same variety, they set seed which grows into plants that are still very similar to the parent plant, bearing similar fruit and setting seeds that will produce more similar plants. Open-pollinated varieties may be "heirlooms," varieties that have been passed down from one generation of gardeners to the next, or they may be more recent selections.

Hybrid vegetable plants are products of crosses between two different varieties, combining traits of the parent plants. Sometimes a combination is particularly good, producing plants with outstanding vigor, disease resistance, and productivity. Hybrid seeds are generally more expensive as they cost more to produce.

Hybrid plants, such as 'Big Boy', 'Beefmaster' and 'Early Girl' tomatoes will produce viable seed. Plants grown from that seed, however, will not be just like the hybrid parents; instead, they will be a completely new combination of the good and bad traits of the plants that were initially crossed. It's impossible to predict just how the seedling plant will perform or what qualities the fruit will have.

Some tomato varieties are not hybrids; instead they are open-pollinated types such as 'Big Rainbow', 'San Marzano' and 'Brandywine'. Seed produced by these varieties will grow into plants very similar to the parent plants, with nearly identical fruit. Likewise, 'Habanero', 'California Wonder' and 'Corno di Toro' peppers; 'Lincoln', 'Little Marvel' and 'Perfection' peas; and 'Kentucky Wonder', 'Blue Lake' and 'Tendercrop' beans are all open-pollinated varieties that will come true from seed.

Once you have planted an open-pollinated crop, select the plants from which you want to save seed. Choose only the most vigorous plants with the best-tasting fruit as parents for the next year's crop. Do not save seed from weak or off-type plants.

Harvesting seed

Saving tomato seeds is easy. Allow fruits to ripen fully and scoop out the seeds, along with the gel surrounding them, before you eat or cook the tomatoes. Put the seeds and gel in a glass jar with some water. Stir or swirl the mixture twice a day. The mixture will ferment and the seeds should sink to the bottom within five days. Pour off the liquid, rinse the seeds and spread them out to dry on paper towels.

Saving pepper seeds is even easier. Allow some fruits to stay on the plants until they become fully ripe and start to wrinkle. Remove the seeds from the peppers and spread them out to dry.

Save pea and bean seeds by allowing the pods to ripen on the plants until they're dry and starting to turn brown, with the seeds rattling inside. This may be as long as a month after you would normally harvest the peas or beans to eat. Strip the pods from the plants and spread them out to dry indoors. They should dry at least two weeks before shelling, or you can leave the seeds in the pods until planting time.

Storage

Store seeds in tightly-sealed glass containers. You can store different kinds of seeds, each in individual paper packets, together in a large container. Keep seeds dry and cool. A temperature between 32° and 41°F is ideal, so your refrigerator can be a good place to store seeds.

A small amount of silica-gel desiccant added to each container will absorb moisture from the air and help keep the seeds dry. Silica gel is sold in bulk for drying flowers at craft supply stores. Powdered milk can also be used as a desiccant. Use one to two tablespoons of milk powder from a freshly opened package. Wrap the powder in a piece of cheesecloth or a facial tissue and place it in the container with the seeds. Powdered milk will absorb excess moisture from the air for about six months.

Be sure to label your saved seeds with their name, variety, and the date you collected them. It's too easy to forget the details by the following spring.

How to Build a Sleeping Shelf for Your Goats

Goats sometimes choose to sleep outside, depending on the weather. But they need to have access to a secure indoor area to sleep in. You meet that desire by building them a sleeping shelf. You can build a sleeping shelf for your goats in an existing barn, garage, or other building. You need very few materials to build it.

Although the directions here are for a triangular corner shelf, you can modify them to fit your particular building, or you can even make one along a full side of your building. This shelf is set 14 inches from the ground, which is a good height for miniature and full-size goats. These directions assume that the corner of your barn is square.

An added benefit of a sleeping shelf like this is that kids like the safety of an enclosed area where they can’t get stepped on, and they curl up underneath it when they aren’t sleeping with their moms.

First, gather your tools and materials:

One piece of 5/8-inch plywood (4 feet x 8 feet)

Four 8-foot 2 x 4s (one for each side brace, one for center braces and one for front)

One pressure-treated 28-inch 4 x 4

Two dozen 1 1/4-inch screws or nails

Two dozen 2 1/2-inch screws

Pencil

Level

Circular saw

Screwdriver (preferably battery- or electric-powered)

Hammer

Here’s how you build your shelf:

Cut the plywood into a triangle with one 8-foot side and two 68-inch sides.

Draw a line from each bottom corner to the top center line. Each line will be 68 inches long.

Place the plywood with 8-foot side across and measure and mark the center of the top (4 feet).

Cut the plywood with your saw along the two lines into three triangles. The center piece will be 8 feet on the bottom (full length of the plywood) and 68 inches on each side.

Cut your first two 2 x 4s.

Cut 65 inches from one 2 x 4 and 63.5 inches from another, making a 45-degree angle at one end of each.

Cut your third 2 x 4.

Cut two 42.5-inch pieces with one end of each at a 45degree angle. Fasten them together lengthwise with five 2-1/2 inch screws, making sure that the longer points of the angles are together.

Cut your 4 x 4 in half.

This creates two 14-inch pieces.

Measure and draw a level line 14 inches from the floor on the walls where you will set the frame of the sleeping shelf.

Using two screws or nails, attach the 63.5 inch piece of 2 x 4 (left side) to the 65-inch piece of 2 x 4, making a V.

The flat end of the 65-inch piece should be level with the side of the 63.5 inch piece.

Attach the 8-foot 2 x 4 to each end of the V piece with two 2-1/2 inch screws on each side through the 8-foot piece.

Sleeping shelf frame assembly.
Sleeping shelf frame assembly.
You now have a triangular frame.

Attach the combined support pieces to the frame.

Mark the center (4 feet) of the long piece of your triangular frame. Attach the combined 44-1/2 inch piece to the frame with two 2-1/2 inch screws or nails on the pointed end and four screws or nails on the flat end, with the 45-degree angles abutting the two shorter pieces and the flat end abutting the center point of the front piece. The center of the two pieces should line up with your center mark.

Place one of the 14-inch 4 x 4s upright on the top corner of the frame so that it is perpendicular to and flush with one side. Attach it to the frame with approximately six 2-1/2-inch screws at angles starting at approximately one inch from the end of the 4 x 4.

Repeat Step 9 for the front support, with your support piece upright and flush with the front of the bottom of the frame.

For additional strength, you can add more floor supports on each side of the frame.

Turn the frame over and place in the corner of your building. Check it with a level, then securely attach with a 2-1/2-inch screw every 10 inches or so in solid wall.

If your walls are not square, use shims between the frame and wall when attaching the frame.

Attach the piece of plywood to the top with 1-1/4-inch screws every 8 inches or so.

You won’t even have to invite your goats to get up on the shelf. Within a few minutes after you finish it, they’ll be jumping on the shelf and competing for the choice spot.

Goat born with 8 legs in Croatia

Meet Octogoat, an eight-legged goat born on a farm in northeastern Croatia .

Veterinarians reportedly told the goat's owner, farmer Zoran Paparic, that the condition is likely the result of an underdeveloped twin. The kid was also born with male and female reproductive organ. 

Clearly its name should be Octavio. Or Octavia. Whichever one it feels in its heart.

How to Hand-Milk a Goat

If you're raising goats as part of a green, sustainable lifestyle, you'll want to milk them. Hand-milking a goat isn't difficult, but you do have to practice to be efficient at it. Some goats are like cows and have teats that are large enough for you to use all fingers on them, while others are so small that you can only use three fingers.

Never pull on the teat. This is not how milk is extracted, and it can cause injury to the mammary system.

You need few supplies to milk a goat:

Milk stand: Although people milk their goats in every situation imaginable, investing in a milk stand will make milking easier.

Stainless steel bucket: Start with a six-quart bucket unless you're milking Nigerian Dwarves or Pygmies, which require a smaller one because they're shorter.

Udder-washing supplies: You can use an old plastic coffee can with hot water and dish soap, rags made from towels cut into smaller pieces, and paper towels for drying. You need to wash the container after every milking and rinse with boiling water or a bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water).

Teat sanitizing supplies: You need teat dip and cups or spray teat sanitizer, which you can purchase from a dairy supply company or feed store.

Stainless steel strainer and milk filters: You can buy strainers and filters from a dairy supply company or feed store.

Jars for milk storage: Half-gallon mason jars with plastic lids work great, because the plastic doesn't rust when it gets wet.

To hand-milk a goat, follow these steps:

Get the goat onto the milk stand and secure her in the stanchion with some grain for her to eat.

Wash your hands.

Clean the udder and teats with warm water and soap or sanitize with a wipe such as Milk Check Teat Wipes and dry them with a clean paper towel.

Make sure to thoroughly dry your hands.

Wrap your fingers and thumb around each teat to trap some milk in the teat and squeeze to quickly milk one or two squirts from each teat into a cup.

This step allows you to check for abnormalities and removes any milk close to the surface of the teat that is more likely to be contaminated with bacteria. If the milk is abnormal, dispose of it after milking.

Promptly milk the goat into a sanitized bucket, being careful not to pull on the teats.

If you take too long to milk, the goat may start dancing or causing other mischief.

When you think the udder is empty, massage the back and bottom of the udder and bump it gently with your fist in the front near the teats to encourage further let-down.

Pour the milk through a clean, filtered strainer into a clean jar.

Dip or spray the teats with a sanitizer such as Derma Sept Teat Dip.

If you use dip cups, use a clean one for each goat to avoid cross-contamination.

Return the goat to the herd.

Have some fresh hay or alfalfa and fresh water available for the goat right after milking. She will eat and drink instead of lying down and exposing an open teat orifice to bacteria.

Clean the bucket and strainer and air dry.

Rinse the bucket and strainer with tepid water right away. Wash with warm soapy water and rinse with boiling water or a solution of one part bleach to ten parts water.

To practice milking without fear of injuring the goat, use a rubber glove filled with water and tied shut at the top. This will give you an idea of how closing the teat (finger) off from the udder (hand) traps the water in the finger, allowing you to "milk" the liquid out by squeezing the teat.

How to Protect Your Goat Herd from Toxins

After you finally get the goats you dreamed of to supplement your green lifestyle, you don't want to put them at risk or lose them from an avoidable cause. Goats are curious, and if there are toxins around, they may very well poison themselves. To protect your herd, evaluate items that you have stored or are in use in your yard, garage, or barn with an eye to goat safety. If you're going to drink your goats' milk or eat them, you are also at risk of ingesting any poison that your goats get into. Remove any items that might put a goat at risk, especially.

Lead paint: Goats love to chew and will invariably chew on walls, especially if you don't want them to. Lead paint is common in old barns and other structures. To be safe, assume that the paint on old walls and doors is lead-based, and don't use those areas for goats. Bare, untreated wood is actually best.

Railroad ties: If you are putting up a new structure and have access to free railroad ties, don't use them. They contain creosote, which is poisonous to goats.

Plastic: Keep all plastic, particularly plastic bags and plastic twine, out of reach of goats. Goats that swallow plastic can suffer from a blocked rumen and lose weight or die. Swallowing plastic also causes symptoms such as loss of appetite, decreased milk production, and bloating. Be careful to properly dispose of plastic from mineral blocks or other types of feed.

Solvents and other chemicals: Make sure that you have removed any old kerosene, solvents, or other chemicals that people often keep in garages or barns. These hazards can sicken or kill goats. Even those stored on high shelves within a goat area aren't safe.

Store all feed away from your goats in an area they can't access. If they inadvertently get to grain, they will eat until it's gone — and then you will have very sick or dead goats. If your goats overeat, and you are unaware of it, you may not understand the cause of the symptoms they exhibit. The feeling of panic is terrible, and so is the guilt when a goat dies because of your mistake.

How to Raise a Healthy Bunny

Rabbits are cute, soft, and the most adorable little bundles of joy you've ever seen, and can be the perfect pet if you know how to care for them properly. Educating yourself about this highly intelligent and affectionate creature will go a long way to giving them a long and healthy life.

1. Make sure that the rabbit has a clean, safe hutch to live in and enough room to move around. If it lives outside, it should have a waterproof roof, and in the summer, the hutch should be placed in the shade so that the rabbit doesn't get too hot. The best hutches to buy are those with two 'rooms', one with a secure wire window and a private room for the rabbits to sleep. The hutch should have a good lock so that the rabbit cannot escape.

2. Have a run for the rabbit so it can get daily exercise. It would be best if the run was attached to the hutch, but if this isn't possible, just put a run in your garden. The run should be spacious, but it should be secure in case the rabbit or rabbits try to escape. If its warm, keep the run in the shade and supply water.

3. Clean the cage if you want a healthy and clean rabbit. Eventually you should find out where your rabbit goes to use the toilet, and you could put some newspaper down here, so that you can just remove the paper when it comes to cleaning the cage out. Soiled bedding, food that is not in the bowl or fruit or beg that hasn't been eaten should be removed daily. Clean the hutch out when the rabbit is in the run, so that it can also be getting exercise. Clean out the food bowl and change the food daily.

4. Make sure you have a water bottle for your rabbit. The best kind are those that are placed on the side of the cage on the outside and face into the cage. This is better because the rabbit can not knock it over. The bottle should be cleaned out and fresh water should be supplied every day.

5. Feed your rabbit fresh fruit and veggies and pellets daily and make sure it always has a lot of fresh hay. Feed alfalfa hay for growing bunnies and timothy hay for adults.

6. Grooming your rabbit is also important. If you have a short haired rabbit, brush it every week. Try and find a brush specifically for rabbits and be gentle when you are brushing them. If you have a long haired rabbit, grooming should be done daily. You should trim the rabbits hair or get a groomer to do it so that it does not grow too long. Long haired rabbits should be brushed daily so that their fur does not get matted.

Saanen Dairy Goats

Saanen is among the best dairy goat breeds around the world. They were originated form western part of Switzerland. Many countries in the world like Australia, West Indies, India, Ghana, Kenya, Israel, Malaysia, Philippine etc. are now rearing this dairy goat for commercial milk production. Saanen goats can tolerate almost all types of weather condition around the world.

The body of Saanen goat is covered with white or bright white colored hair.
There are black spots in their nose and ears.
They always keep their ears up.
Udder is very big sized.
They have very small sized hair on their body.
Usually they have no horns over their head.
An adult male goat weights about 70 to 75 kg and female 60 to 70 kg.
Their neck is very long and thin.
They always like to stay under shade.
A Saanen doe produce about 2 to 3 kg milk daily.
Milk of saanen goat contain about 3.5 % fat.

Highland Cattle

Highland cattle (also known as the hairy cow) are an old Scottish breed of cow, bred primarily for their beef. Highland cattle are often bred for cattle shows, and some highland cattle can win many prizes due to the incredible condition of the highland cattle individuals.
The highland cattle are famous for their long haired coats which help the hairy cows to cope with the harsh conditions of the Scottish Highlands. The highland cattle inhabit areas of Scotland close to the Arctic circle meaning that the highland cattle have adapted to endure the most uncompromising conditions.

Highland cattle originally come from Scotland. Highland cattle can now be found in Europe, North America and Australia, where the highland cattle are all commonly farmed for their meat but some people also use the long hair of the highland cattle.

Highland cattle have adapted to living in such harsh terrains as highland cattle have a large, strong build and a thick double layer of long orange hair. Highland cattle also have two horns on the tops of their heads which the highland cattle use to dig through thick snow to find the vegetation that lies underneath and the highland cattle also use their horns in order to defend themselves from oncoming predators and other rival highland cattle.

The highland cattle are also extremely adept at foraging for food and the patience and skill of the highland cattle means that the highland cattle can often be found grazing on steep, mountainous slopes in the Scottish highlands. Highland cattle are herbivorous mammals and therefore only eat plant matter, mainly grasses. Highland cattle are also known to eat leaves from low growing trees and shrubs and the highland cattle are also rather partial to the odd flower!

Due to the sheer size of highland cattle, other than humans highland cattle have very few natural predators in their wild habitat. Depending on the location of highland cattle, packs of wolves are one of the main threats to grazing highland cattle and those highland cattle inhabiting the plains in North America, are also in fear of being hunted by larger animals such as mountain lions, cougars and bears. Coyotes in North America are also a threat to the young and weak highland cattle calves but it is too dangerous for the coyote to hunt a highland cattle calf unless the young highland cattle has been separated from the group.

Advantages of sheep farming

1.       Multi-faceted utility : meat, wool, skin, manure, and to some extent milk & transport … helps it to play an important role in  agrarian economy

2.       The production of wool, meat and manure provides three different sources of income per year

3.       Since the two major products of sheep (wool and mutton) are entirely different in their production and utilization, the price of one may not necessarily have a bearing on the other. Wool may be stored and held for higher prices or sold at shearing time. A crop of lambs may be marketed from 5-6 months onwards (preferably before one year), bringing rather a quick return.

4.       Mutton is one kind of meat towards which there is no prejudice by any community in India

5.       In addition to wool, mutton and to some extent milk, sheep provide employment to about 3 million people in the form of self-employment, as hired labour for tending flocks during migration, and persons engaged in wool shearing and in wool and skin processing. Furthermore, sheep farming is a logical source of livelihood in arid zones where crop production is an uncertainty and thus it suitably fits into desert development programmes in vogue by protecting them from the vagaries of drought and famine.

6.       Most suitable of the small ruminants to utilize the sparse vegetation in dryland areas through rangeland management and developed (reseeded) pasture

7.       Unlike goats, sheep hardly damage any tree

8.       Better adapted to arid and semi-arid tropics with marginal and sub-marginal lands, otherwise unfit for crops, due to their superior water & feed (esp. protein) economy

9.       Since sheep eat more different type of plants than any other kind of livestock, they can turn waste into profit and at the same time improve the appearance of many farms (i.e. excellent weed destroyer).

10.   Sheep dung is a valuable fertilizer, and since they are grazed on sub-marginal lands, their droppings are the only means of improving the growth of plants in such areas

10 Farm Animal Hybrids You Didn't Know Existed

1. #Beefalo

Ah yes, how fondly we remember the 1970s. A time of afros, Nixon, and of course, the peak of America’s interest in #beefalo. English settlers in the American south noticed genetic mixes between American #Bison and domestic cattle as far back as 1749, but it would be 100 years until the first intentional hybrids and more than two hundred until beefalo entered the mainstream of American culture. That decade, a peak 6,000 ranchers agreed to raise the fertile hybrid.

2. #Dzo

#Dzo are the Tibetan cross between #yaks and #cattle. Like #mules, the male version of the hybrid is infertile, but female dzo, or dzomo, are fertile, allowing for the “back breeding” of three-quarter mixes. The hybrids are larger and stronger than the #yaks and #cattle of the region, making them ideal pack #animals for hauling gear to the base of Mount Everest.

3. #Zubron

We will move on from the #cattle hybrids in a second, but we must mention the zubron: a cross between cows and wisent. Oh, and what’s a wisent, wiseguy? Those are European woods #bison that once bordered on extinction, but now are on their way to a comeback thanks to reintroduction efforts. So basically, zubron are Europe’s answer to #beefalo.

4. #Cama

Exactly who authorized the crossbreeding of a #camel and a #llama to create the first cama, and then named it Rama? Oh right: the Crown Prince of Dubai.

#Camels weigh six times as much as #llamas, so suffice it to say that artificial insemination was the only option for researchers in the United Arab Emirates. They succeeded in 1998, creating an #animal they hoped would have the wool of a llama with the even temperament of a camel. Rama, to their disappointment, has proven rather moody.

5. #Yakalo

Alberta is apparently the only home where yakalo — the cross of #yaks and #buffalo — have ever roamed.

A 1926 edition of the Lyon County Reporter describes the successful cross at Wainwright National Park, one of the Canadian national parks created to maintain the population of American Bison (it was later turned into a military base following WWII). The #animals reportedly made for great #meat and shrugged off the Canadian winters, but for some reason never caught on.

6. #Sheep #Goat

Millions of years of evolutionary separation  and a mismatched number of chromosomes wasn’t enough to stop one #goat at #farm in Northern Germany. He jumped a fence for a romantic encounter with a sheep. Usually, such cross-breeding result in nothing or a stillborn, but #farmer Klaus Exsternbrink watched his #sheep give birth to a perfectly healthy geep named Lisa, pictured above. (You could say shoat, but the word already denotes a baby #pig.)

7. Iron Age #Pigs

Iron Age pigs are an ancient #farm animal with a modern appeal. Scientist bred a male wild boar with a Tamworth sow to create #pigs resembling ancient paintings, with one unintended consequence: the meat was delicious. The #animal’s meat is now a common sight at specialty meat markets across around the world.

8. Game #Bird Hybrids

#Birds have a much easier time crossing species lines than #mammals, making avian hybrids much more common than mammalian hybrids. Some notable combinations include pheasants and #chickens, pheasants and #turkeys, and Canada geese mating with just about every other type of #geese. Strangely, no one has been able to successfully breed a chicken and a turkey.

9. #Mules and #Hinnies

The most common and most practical of all hybrids are #mules (the offspring of a male donkey and a female #horse) and hinnies (the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey). Ever since George Washington brought mule breeding to America (you read that right), mules have played a primary labor role as work animals and pack #animals for their superior strength and endurance over #horses. And while they can’t be bred, they can be cloned. In 2003, The University of Idaho succeeded creating the first clone of a hybrid animal — a #mule named Idaho Gem.

10. #Chimeras

Strangely enough, there are two ways to create combinations of #sheep and #goats. The first is the old-fashioned #farm mishap, as described in the case of Lisa the geep above. The other is to mix up the embryos of each #animal in a bioengineering lab. The result is a chimera — an #animal made of two genetically distinct cells.

Abandoned animals find solace and comfort in NY Sanctuary !

Ever since #urban #farming became popular, there’s been a boom in the number of #abandoned #animals. The idea of keeping #chickens, #turkeys, or #goats in a tiny backyard is often more appealing in theory than in practice. Cute #piglets and #rabbits become larger, demanding creatures, and many people don’t know what to do with these #animals once the novelty of caring for them has worn off. Roosters are sometimes sold accidentally as hens (if they haven’t been used for meat), which is problematic, since they’re banned by many cities.

The lucky ones get sent to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, located in the Catskill Mountains, three hours north of New York City. It’s an animal orphanage, where these abandoned #farm #animals can go to live out the rest of their days in peace and comfort. Director Jenny Brown, described as a “militant vegan” in this article from narratively, says, “We’re up to our eyebrows in chickens. We’ve seen more chickens come through here than I can count.” The Sanctuary has had to build another barn just to accommodate former backyard and slaughterhouse #chickens.

The Sanctuary also strives to educate people about the horrors of factory #farming and how most animals are raised under awful circumstances to be eaten. “Those childhood images of happy animals living on sunny, idyllic #farms couldn’t be further from reality,” its website reads. Ironically, many of the enthusiastic urbanites who launch backyard farming projects do so in reaction to the same. They want to escape the factory farming cycle, and so buy chickens that can provide fresh, local, and traceable #eggs. Unfortunately, it’s a bigger job than many anticipate.