CATTLE BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 2 Cattle as ruminants: Grazing & milking: Feed intakeBy Dr Clive Dalton Cattle daily routine Pictures of stomachs Milking effects on grazing routine Feed intake. Getting dairy cows to eat more
SHEEP BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 1 Origins: Senses: Social behaviour: FeedingBy Dr Clive Dalton Origins Uses for sheep: Modern sheep problemsWorld sheep populations tend to be on the decrease for a number of reasons such as: Sheep senses Sight Smell Hearing Social order Feeding
Cattle, farming, husbandry, feeding, feed budgeting, how to do a budget, managing a feed deficit and feed surplus. By Dr Clive Dalton Feed budgetsDoing a feed budget is the best way to see if you have enough feed for the stock on the farm. Here are some basic things you need to know before starting: … Read more
Cattle, farming, husbandry, feeding, feeds available, pasture, silage, balage, hay, good and bad features of feeds, stocking rate, stock units By Dr Clive Dalton Pasture“Pasture” is what grows in a paddock, and if you mark out a square metre to make close inspection easier, you’ll see different species of grasses, some of good feed value … Read more
Farming, animal husbandry, goats, Angora, Mohair, feeding, nutrition, behaviour By Dr Clive Dalton FeedingFeeding behaviour Nutrition Feed intakeA goat doesn’t eat knowing its nutritional needs. Seeking out fibrous plants or salt may prove this statement wrong, but generally they are mainly interested in feeds that are palatable and to continue eating until they are satiated. … Read more
DONKEY BEHAVIOUR BASICS: PART 3 Beast of burden: Guards: Feeding: Feet: Coat: ReproductionBy Dr Clive Dalton Beast of burden Donkey ambulanceTB (Barney) Muckle working as an agricultural engineer in Kenya invented a ‘donkey ambulance’ to rescue people had to be taken to hospital from places with rough terrain and in the bush where vehicles could … Read more
Cattle, farming, husbandry, monthly management tasks, livestock, feeding/pasture management, animal health, fertiliser, general & business management tasks By Dr Clive Dalton All farms are different Every NZ farm is different and there are enormous differences between regions and districts in the timing of farm operations. Generally farming activities in the NZ South Island are at … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Feed stock wellIf you keep feeding your stock well and they are healthy and producing well, you’ll probably not need any of this blog. Cattle eat and drink a lot compared to other species on the farm. For example a newly-calved dairy cow will eat up to 17kg of dry matter … Read more
Feral horses in New ZealandSocial behaviour Kaimanawa Wild Horses. Photo copyright Wendy Brewer.Feral herds are the best place to study basic horse behaviour, because there are sufficient numbers of animals and a big enough territory to appreciate the role an individual horse has in the herd hierarchy. So many problems of individual horses isolated from … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton Feeds available to goats Pasture Supplementary feeds HayGood things about hay Bad things about hay Pasture SilageGood things about silage Bad things about silage Balage and haylage A buyer’s guide to silage Silage quality check list Send a good representative sample of the silage to a laboratory for feed analysis to … Read more
By Dr Clive Dalton FeedingFeeding behaviour Nutrition Feed intakeA goat doesn’t eat knowing its nutritional needs. Seeking out fibrous plants or salt may prove this statement wrong, but generally they are mainly interested in feeds that are palatable and to continue eating until they are satiated. At certain times such as when they are suckling … Read more