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Colic can be a tricky condition in horses, difficult to diagnose and effectively treat. With care, however, most horses do recover completely, and knowing how to deal with colic in horses can help you stay alert to your equine friend’s health. The better you understand colic, the more comfortable you can keep your horse during a painful bout and the better you can minimize the animal’s risk of another incident. What Is Colic? Colic is a relatively general term used to refer to abdominal pain. In horses, this pain may originate from various sources, including the stomach, intestines, or liver,...

Forages.  Forages are the edible parts of plants that provide feed for grazing animals or can be harvested for feeding.  This fibrous plant material helps produce the many meat and dairy products we consume making it essential to our lives.  Forage also plays a role in conservation by limiting soil erosion, providing food and habitat for wildlife, and protecting surface waters.   Examples Include:  *Forages cover about 55% of the land area in the US.   *Well-managed forage systems help keep our waterways clean and free of unwanted chemicals.   *There are about 14,000 species of grasses in the United States.   *Forages are...

Summer Forages Bermudagrass is a great warm season perennial used for grazing and hay.  If you have bermuda, make sure you are providing it with adequate levels of nitrogen and potash this summer to get optimal performance.  Bermuda is a heavy feeder.   There are also several warm season annual options producers can plant for grazing and baleage.  Summer annual grasses are high-yielding and have rapid growth during the hot, humid Georgia summers.  Once established, most are extremely drought tolerant.  Annuals are generally higher quality than their perennial counterparts.  Summer annuals work best in a rotational grazing situation.  Some of the...

FLY CONTROL INCLUDES A MULTI-STEP PLAN I love the growing season, but one thing I really dislike about late spring and summer are FLIES!  Flies are annoying because they invade your personal space and will even bite you.  There is no one practice or a magic wand to make them go away, but there are some practices we can implement to help minimize their adverse affect on our cattle herds.   Biting flies are carriers of such diseases as anaplasmois and bovine leukosis virus.  Face flies can spread Moraxella Bovis which causes pinkeye.  The economic loss from each horn fly biting...

It can be endearing to raise baby chicks, whether it is part of an urban homesteading plan, a family farm, or a classroom project. Young chicks are vulnerable and can easily become sick, however, and it is important to recognize symptoms of sick baby chicks in order to provide proper care for a healthy and thriving flock. Sick Baby Chick Diseases and Symptoms There are several common illnesses that might occur with any baby chicks, including young chickens, turkeys, quail, guineafowl, or ducks. Symptoms can be similar between these different diseases, but recognizing the signs of illness quickly can help...