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By Dr Clive Dalton Bonding of cow & calf only takes a few minutes (Photo Karen Managh) Bonding In dairy cows In beef cows All-round best option Remove the calf at birth and get it off the paddock into a clean dry pen to give it a measured feed of its mother’s colostrum. Disclaimer This … Read more
Finding my way from Newcastle central station up to the School of Agriculture at King’s College in 1952 for an interview was indeed a worry for a country lad from the North Tyne. I was terrified that they’d say I hadn’t done enough schooling. But having been to Korkley Haall saved the day and four … Read more
Sheep, farming, husbandry, disease, animal health, worms, internal parasites, options to avoid drench, organics, homeopathy, minerals, evaluating products, future developments By Dr Clive Dalton When none of these products work any more – what options do you have? When drenches fail – what happens When the day arrives when you find out that the current … Read more
DONKEY BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 2 Donkeys & horses: Senses: Social structure: Communication By Dr Clive Dalton A donkey is not a horse ! Man and the donkey Donkey senses Hearing Smell Sight Touch Taste Donkey’s gait Social structure Communication Zoning out Donkey – human bond There are frequent reports of donkeys showing great stress when … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Training? Who needs training? There have always been far too many farms where new staff arrived and it was assumed that they knew what to do – because they said they did at the interview. It’s often not till after a costly disaster that you find out they really didn’t! There … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton What everybody knows The old solution What needs thinking about now? The solution – genetics What to do Disclaimer This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Rearing a few calves is regularly seen as a way to make some extra cash, on both large and small farms. There are many disappointments with the outcome. Here’s a very simple system if your time and costs are important issues: Source the calves Don’t buy your first calves from a … Read more
Scrapie confirmed on Mana Island quarantine station Slaughter of sheep on Mana Island Burial of sheep on Mana Island By Dr Clive Dalton Slaughter and burial at Mana The funeral pyre for 300 sheep on Mana Island. Photo by Tim Harvey When the first 300 East Friesians and Finns were destroyed on Mana on 3-4 … Read more
Mulesing, welfare issues, New Zealand minimal standards, blowfly, alternatives By Dr Clive Dalton BackgroundThe American breeders who put the wrinkles on the Merino more than 100 years ago to grow more wool could have had little idea about what suffering they would cause the sheep, or the public issue it has turned out to be. … Read more
Sheep, husbandry, farming systems, advice on how to start By Dr Clive Dalton Important decisions to be madeWhen going into sheep you’ll have to decide what kind of enterprise you want to run. This can be tricky as it depends on important issues such as how much time you’ll have to farm, what your facilities … Read more
DONKEY BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 1 Terminology By Dr Clive Dalton
By Dr Clive Dalton Rearing calves. Which system will you choose – and what will the results look like? They should look as good as these! Feeds available Surplus colostrum Surplus whole milk Milk powders The most important part of the bag is the back! The feeding values and instructions are on there. Concentrate feeds … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Balanced feeding Dogs need a balanced diet, which has everything in it to meet their needs for maintenance and production. What does a dog need for maintenance? Table below has a mass of information on the energy and protein that a dog needs. First, look at the layout. Note these features: · There … Read more
Four-wheeler ATVs are top of thieves shopping lists this spring, and it seems that the market cannot be satisfied. I saw a lovely little two-wheel-drive ATV recently in very good order that had been bought “from a mate” for $300. Even though it’s low powered, you have to wonder about its history. People leaving suburbia for … Read more
Chopping down trees for firewood on small farms is always good fun, but it can also be a very dangerous exercise for lifestyle farmers with little or no experience. The problem is that like driving a car, few people will admit to their lack of experience with chainsaws. If you want proof of this, note how many … Read more
Personal hygiene is especially important at lambing time for both humans and sheep. Public health officers report that New Zealand has the highest number of campylobacter cases per head of population in the world, and rural people are most affected because of the large number of animals around. Campylobacter is one of a group of … Read more
Sheep, body condition, condition scoring, description of method. By Dr Clive Dalton In assessing a sheep’s state of health, it’s a great help to know its liveweight. But this does not tell you it’s “condition” which is basically how fat or thin (skinny) it is. A heavy sheep could be skinny and a light sheep … Read more
By Donald Clegg Image: the source of the North Tyne river, on the Scottish border by Clive Dalton, c1961 Phillip, wor youngest, thowt it wad be a good idee for the two of us, him and me, te hev worsells a weekend away, hillwalkin’, somewhere in Scotland. Aa thowt hit was a good idee an’all, … Read more
By Eric Wilson Invariably the farmer would suggest starting with “Betsy”. “Anybody can milk Betsy, she’s as quiet as a lamb” he would say. So she was duly chosen to be introduced to the joys of machine milking. On more than one occasion, after picking up the equipment from the dung channel, washing and re-assembling … Read more
Farm Machinery in the North Pennine Dales By Eric Wilson But of course, all through the hectic activity of haymaking, someone had to be there in the cow byre, twice a day to milk the cows and see to getting the milk cooled and into the twelve-and-a-half gallon churns for collection. Once a day the … Read more