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UPCOMING
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It’s that time of year when livestock owners are planning to transition from pasture to stored feeds for the winter. I often receive questions about which is the right grain supplement for horses or ponies, but rarely asked about what the correct forage choice is. To address the question of supplementation we should begin with understanding what is available in the hay we plan to feed as that will make up the majority if not meeting the total nutritional needs of our equine companions.
Every summer, I get calls from folks wondering why there are nearly microscopic bugs covering the walls and floors of their feed storage areas and their feed buckets. Looking for a cause, many easily trace it back to their bags of grain. The dust on the exterior of the affected bags appears as if it's moving in a gentle breeze, and there may be a thick layer of dust coating the inside of the feed bags. On closer inspection, it's apparent that the dust is actually hundreds of thousands of nearly microscopic grey-brown looking mites. These are grain mites.
Finally, spring is in the air! It's the time of year where everything is waking up, including predators. Foxes are having their kits, coyotes are having their pups, and birds of prey are migrating to their northern breeding grounds. The lean winter season coupled with the fact that most prey species have not yet had their young means that predatory species are hungry… and poultry are the prefect meal.
What is effective ventilation and what is not? Learn more about ventilation and what is appropriate for livestock barns of all types.
Getting our sheep and goats out on pasture is something that we all look forward to this time of year. Having the animals outside makes it easier to get the barns cleaned and helps decrease our feed bills. Plus, there's nothing more serene than watching our charges walking in the lush green grass, heads down, thoroughly enjoying the buffet after a winter of stored forage.
Breeding is an important time of year for beef producers in that its success will determine the number of calves on the ground the following season. Many beef enterprises run on thin margins, and a cow that's not producing a calf is not pulling her weight.
Attention horse owners and hay producers! The Equine Subgroup of the statewide CCE Livestock Program Work Team wants your assistance in understanding hay sales and purchases within our state for horses.