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by Jack Dent (2005) When I was fitting, I installed a weird contraption on a farm just outside Hexham; it was called a Runway Parlour and was very successful. First I suspended a runway track around the cowshed, and from it I suspended a cradle which supported a standard 10-gallon milk churn. The churn had … Read more
By Dr Clive DaltonCastrating lambs with rubber ringsUsing rubber rings is the best way to castrate lambs in both large and small flocks. It is bloodless and research has shown that the intense pain only lasts a short time. Lambs should be castrated using rings before they are 6 weeks old – the younger the … Read more
by Jack Dent (2005) I installed a milking machine near my home for a very nice old chap and he was pleased at first, but then complained that it didn’t milk as well as his neighbour’s new machine. The neighbour’s was an Alfa-Laval and I found out that this neighbour was telling him that his … Read more
Agriculture, farming, New Zealand, animal breeding, genetics, farm animal traits, livestock improvement, theory, Mendelism, gene action and interaction, breeding decisions, major traits. An Introduction to Practical Animal Breeding By Dr Clive Dalton PART 1. The Traits in Farm Animals Man and his animals Most of the animals currently husbanded by man were domesticated in neolithic … Read more
Growing and Showing Leeks. – A traditional Northumbrian art and science. By Clive Dalton and Tony Wright Prize pot leeks exhibited by ‘Tom Tom’ Thompson, Bellingham Leek Show, 2009 In the early 1900s and up to the end of the 1939-45 war, ‘Geordies’ in the North East of England who hewed coal, made guns for … Read more
By Jack Dent (2005) I knew an old engineer in Leyburn when I was an apprentice during the war, and used to go into his workshop to get bits and pieces made, as parts were very scarce in those dark days. Old Alf could just about make anything – he had to. One day he … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Casting This is the wide sweep a dog takes around stock when sent to gather them. It’s a strong natural instinct in the Border Collie. When the dog sights its first sheep, it then takes another wider cast so as not to miss any more, and it keeps on casting wider itself. Problems … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton PART 4 Selecting female replacements from the A team Docking ewe lambs Weaning ewe lambs Polled Dorset weaned lambs being picked for slaughter Drenching NO drenching at weaning, unless you have a crisis confirmed by a veterinarian. Tapeworms Developing natural immunity It’s an easy enough job running hoggets through the yards … Read more
Marketing the Sheepac sheep – the planSecondary quarantine unitsHelping shareholders to market their sheepArtificial insemination programmeBuying sheep from Hilson’s unit‘Bundled packages’ for saleSale by public auction Hopuhopu management changes MAFTech Sheep and Beef Officers as sales agentsStock agents So how did Sheepac score in business terms? By Dr Clive Dalton Marketing the Sheepac sheep – The plan … Read more
Dr Clive Dalton Farmed Red deer hinds Deer in New Zealand All deer were introduced into New Zealand in the late 1800s by the early European pioneers for sport, after which they multiplied to become classed as noxious pests due to the damage they did to native bush and were then subject to government culling programmes. Later … Read more
–> By Dr Clive Dalton The law Ownership of a working dog carries with it some clearly-defined legal responsibilities under current legislation. Your main responsibilities are to: · Make sure a dog is registered and that the certificate is in a secure place and readily available. · Have collars, discs, or … Read more
Agriculture, farming, husbandry, animal breeding, beef bulls, for mating dairy cows, breeding dairy beef, need to use top bulls Background to blog By Dr Clive Dalton ‘Dairy beef’ heifers bred by a Hereford bull mated to Holstein Friesian cows “Dairy beef” produced by mating purebred beef bulls to dairy cows (which are not needed to … Read more
DEER BEHAVIOUR BASICS: NUMBER 3 Reproduction: Birth behaviour: Handling: Capture By Dr Clive Dalton The female Red deer hind The male Antlers Red deer stags in velvet Castration Stag behaviour during the roar Fallow buck in velvet Farmed stags Birth behaviour Hinds before birth Hinds during birth Hinds and calves after birth Fawns like to … Read more
Agriculture, New Zealand, farming, animal breeding, genetics, livestock improvement, theory, practical advice, basic biology, Mendel, Mendelism, chromosomes, genes, terminology. By Dr Clive Dalton PART II Basic biology Mendelism Basic biology The cell is the basic component of all living tissue. Its discovery, which led to the ‘cell theory’, occurred in the 1830s and was followed … Read more
The costs of the exotic sheep importations The benefits to the NZ sheep industry Give me a bid on the cost It was not real money By Dr Clive Dalton Do we need to know the cost? I believe we do need to know the costs/benefits of past MAF importations, for the simple reason that … Read more
Agriculture, farming, animal husbandry, reproduction, principles, puberty, breeding seasons, breeding cycles, signs of oestrus, pregnancy, future technological developments, glossary Farm Animal Reproduction – Basic Principles By Dr Clive Dalton Puberty At a certain stage in an animal’s life it reaches “sexual maturity”. This is when it is capable of mating and reproducing. Size and liveweight … Read more
The Texel The Texel always looked a good prospect because of its meat, and when the world discovered the breed, it was in great demand, especially in UK were stud rams make unbelievable money (e.g 23,000 guineas), and rams have been so further selected on phenotype for meat conformation, that they are starting to look … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Mentoring on the job Early humans must have worked out that learning on the job was highly effective, where people with different experienced could share knowledge and learn together, by mutual mentoring and motivation in a relevant environment. I found many ‘mature’ folk initially hated coming to my Polytech Herd Managers’ … Read more
Impact of importations on New Zealand sheep industry NZ Sheep Breeders Association (NZSBA) registrations What happened to White Headed Mutton, White Headed Marsh? What happened to the Oxford Down, Gotland Pelt, Awassi? By Dr Clive Dalton The impact of the exotic sheep importations There was clearly a massive burst of enthusiasm in the first years … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton The fungus Pithoymyces chartarum is found in pastures mainly in the Northern parts of New Zealand, and in autumn after a summer dry period when a lot of dead litter has accumulated in the pasture base, rain and dew can provide ideal conditions for the fungus to produce spores in large … Read more