Some Pre-Spring Tips for Lambing

I know we posted this back in the end of Fall, but with lambing season beginning soon, we felt that we should bump this post back to our front page. This will help make sure that you’re prepped for lambing this Spring (which is only two months away, by the way). Also, if you’re new to raising sheep or are researching the possibility of adding sheep to your farm, we have a short tip sheet as well as put together a more in-depth guide that you should take a look at!

Even though the winter might feel like it lasts forever, it will eventually come to an end, and lambing season will be upon us sooner than we expect. So, here are a few tips to remember when it comes to lambing this Spring.

Is your space ready?

First thing to remember is your lambing barn ready? No two barns are going to be alike, and there isn’t one correct way of going about this. It all depends on what your needs are and what resources you have available to you. However, there are a few things that you need to make sure of. Firstly, that you have a warm, clean area for the ewes and their babies. However, there is a fine line between a warm barn and one that isn’t getting good airflow and has high humidity, you have to find a balance between getting fresh air into the barn but not creating a draft through it. Secondly, you need to make sure you have the lambing pens ready at the same time, these should be a large enough space so that the lambs have room to move around, and are equipped with a heat lamp.

Attentiveness is key!

I cannot stress this enough, when lambing you need to make sure that the lambs are getting colostrum right away. Producers should always be prepared to deal with weak or cold lambs as this can happen, especially when lambing gets into full swing. The longer these lambs go without an colostrum adequate intake and/or are still cold the most likely they won’t recover.

Nursing

In an ideal situation the lamb should nurse from the ewe around an hour after birth so that the lamb can get the full nutritional benefit of the colostrum. If the lamb is too weak to nurse, it might be necessary to tube feed the lamb. This should be done by someone who is skilled at this due to the potential health risks on the lamb from tube-feeding. Additionally, you should have some frozen colostrum and milk replacer handy in case of weak lambs. When defrosting the colostrum make sure to bring it up to temperature via warming in hot water, never in the microwave as this will destroy any nutritional value of the colostrum for the lamb.

Finally, you should have an immunization schedule in place prior to the start of lambing, by doing this you’ll be prepped for lambing and will have all the necessary equipment in place.

Lisa Podwirny is the owner of Ketchum Mfg. Connect with her on Google+!

Share this:

December 4, 2015December 10, 2018

Holiday Safety Tips for Pets

The holiday season is upon us, and many pet parents plan on including their furry counterparts in the festivities. As you gear up for the holidays, it is extremely important to try to keep your pet’s routines as close to normal as possible during the holiday madness. Also, for your safety (and sanity) and theirs, make sure to be careful with how far you go with your holiday decorations. Here are some tips to make sure your pets have a safe and happy holidays with the rest of the family.

Secure Your Christmas Tree

Make sure you securely anchor your Christmas tree so it doesn’t tip and fall, causing possible injury to your pet. This will also prevent the tree water from spilling which can cause your pet to get sick.

No Meeting Under The Mistletoe

Mistletoe and Holly can be poisonous or sometimes deadly to your furry holiday companions. Opt for safer artificial plants made of silk or plastic, or a pet-safe bouquet.

Wires, and Batteries, and Ornaments Oh My!

Keep wires, batteries, and glass or plastic ornaments outside of a paw’s reach. Wires could give your animal a potentially lethal electric shock, and a punctured battery can cause severe burns to their mouth and esophagus, while shards of broken ornaments, outside of being a pain to clean up can be a safety hazard to your pets’ paws.

No Desert for Fido

Of course, it’s a no brainer to never feed your pets chocolate or anything sweetened with xylitol, but, to make sure your pets don’t get into anything they’re not supposed to, make sure to keep your pets away from the table and unattended plates of food, and be sure to secure the lids on garbage cans.

Careful With The Adult Beverages

If your celebration includes some extra booze in the eggnog or other cocktails, be sure to place your drinks where pets can’t get to them. Alcohol can put your pets into a coma which can ultimately lead to death.

I know this sounds extremely gloomy for the holidays, but making sure your pets are safe can make sure your pets help you bring in the holidays without worrying about what trouble they can get into.

Share this:

November 20, 2015November 20, 2015

Cow Tips: Raising Cattle

With calving season once again around the corner, I wanted to revisit an old post of ours that gave out some quick tips on how to raise your cattle. So, without further ado, here is part one of our cow tips!

Most people who live in the countryside, at some point, learn how to raise cattle, especially when spring comes. Greener pastures and warmer temperatures make it ideal to raise cattle for dairy or for meat. However, raising cattle is only half the battle, once you raise them you also have to maintain them, and that’s learning what you need to do all year round to make sure that your investment, stays alive and healthy. So here are some tips for raising and maintaining cattle.

Raising Cattle

Buying – The first thing that you want to do once you decide you want to raise a few head of cattle is you need to find a good source for the cows. The best thing to do is to buy a few weaned calves or feeders that are a little bit older depending on your experience and comfort. You can usually scan through local newspapers for ads selling cattle or calves or you can place an ad yourself offering to buy. Also, it would pay to visit the local co-op as this can sometimes lead to some good leads to farmers who have some stock for sale. Auction houses can be another good source for calves, but buyer beware, auctions are notorious for getting rid of sick or ailing animals. If you are unsure what to look for, bring someone who has some expertise with you so you’re not sold a false bill of goods.

Shelter – Once you have your calves you’re going to need someplace to put them. A lot of beginning farmers waste a good sum of money in building expensive barns or sheds to place their cows. Honestly, a windbreak can provide sufficient shelter for calves and older cattle. A lot of beef cows spend most of their life in the open and mainly use what they can find in nature for shelter. While calves should have some protection from wind and rain, even the older feeders are pretty hardy as long as they have access to mom’s udder. One thing you absolutely need to consider when providing shelter for cattle is to make it draft free, but not air tight. Cattle expel a large amount of moisture in breathing and voiding waste. Structures that don’t allow that moisture to escape can cause serious health problems in your cattle.

Also you’re going to make sure you have some sturdy fences when raising cattle. Cows are big and heavy creatures and will tear through things like tissue paper if they’re not built to withstand them. While fences are expensive to build and maintain, one “hot” wire (a wire hooked up into an electric fence charger) will make sure that the cows keep off the fence and will help preserve it.

Pasture – Seasoned farmers have told us that a mixture of alfalfa, brome, and timothy is considered the best pasture for cattle as it encourages grazing. However, don’t overestimate the carrying capacity of your pastures. While you might see some great lush growth in the spring, that growth will easily turn into much drier and shorter come July and August and you can easily end up with too many cattle and not enough pasture. Plan ahead so you have more grass than cattle and not the opposite.

Water – Finally, make sure you have a good supply of water. Just to give you an idea, cows, on average, drink about 12 gallons of water per day. This average is a good rule of thumb to remember when setting up troughs or tubs as a water source. For the winter time, tank heaters are a great way to save your back from doing too much ice chopping as the weather drops.

Well thanks for coming by for some tips on how to raise cattle, come back next week to see some more tips on how to maintain your cattle and as always, for all your tag needs make sure to check out our range of cattle tags.

Lisa Podwirny is the owner of Ketchum Mfg. Connect with her on Google+!

Share this:

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015

Rainy Day Fun With Your Cat

With Fall now in full swing, the rainy days have once again come to Upstate New York. However, just because you want to curl up with your favorite blanket and binge the latest season of your favorite show on Netflix, doesn’t mean that your feline friend wants to as well. So, here are some great ways to entertain yourself and your cat at the same time. Plus, you get to add to the multitudes of cat videos on social media.

The Treasure Hunt

Cats are hunters by nature, so an excellent way to stimulate your cat is to set up a treasure hunt for your indoor cat. You can hide special treats for your cat inside puzzle feeders for your cat to discover. Also, spread a few around the house so that they never know when they’re going to find a treat. This is a great option to break up boredom for the cats when left home while their humans are at work.

The Agility Course

Creating a homemade agility course for your cat sounds complicated but actually isn’t at all. Start by making a paper bag tunnel and then give them a treat when your cat goes through it. Then add a second obstacle, then a third, and so on. Cats love being active and love the exercise. More important though, is to make it fun and stress-free, for yourself and for the cat. One of the nice things about a homemade agility course is that you can customize it as you see fit and build it to match your cat’s physical abilities.

The Paper Bag

One of the great things about cats is that it doesn’t take much to entertain them. Sometimes, all you need is a paper bag and they’ll be entertained for hours on end. One thing you can do is take 3 or 4 and put them around the room and sprinkle a little catnip inside the bag and watch your cat dive, pounce and generally act silly.

iPad Playtime

If you’re feeling particularly tired from the day, you can also set up an app (yes, they have apps for cats) that lets them hunt after bugs and fish. Some of the apps, even interact when the cat catches a fish or bug.

Whatever indoor games you decide to set up with your cat, keep in mind that your furry feline friend was born to move, and they have highly tuned senses. While it’s important to keep them safe indoors, it is also very important to provide them with adequate stimulation and environmental enrichment. After all, indoor games and activities may go a long way in preventing behavior problems down the road due to boredom or separation anxiety.

Share this:

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015

Preparing Your Pet for the Cooler Weather

We originally posted this during the rainy end of last summer as it gave way to fall. While the weather is a little warmer this time around, the information that it brings is perfect for making sure that your pets are ready for the Fall because like it or not, cooler weather is right around the corner.

dog-fall It’s not even the end of August, yet people are walking around with jackets and sweatpants. Let’s be real — it’s been a bit nippy outside lately. It’s not just rainy, it’s now rainy and cool. What gives, Mother Nature?

As much as I’d like summer to stick around another couple of months, Ketchum Mfg. is located in upstate NY. And of course, upstate NY is definitely not the warmest spot in the U.S. We can basically kiss summer goodbye at this point.

And of course, as the cooler weather starts to creep in, it means you need to follow different pet care protocol. Here are 5 tips for preparing your pet for the cooler weather.

Go to The Vet

It seems like this is something you get told at the start of every season, right? Well that’s because it’s the truth! Pets need a routine check up. You know how when the temperatures start to dip, humans tend to get sick? The same thing can happen to your pet. If your pet was fine without a checkup last year, it doesn’t mean that’s okay for this year.

Stay Extra Alert

For many American workers, the summer is a symbol of an easier work routine (a.k.a. “summer hours”). This usually means you’re around for your pet much more often. So when you get back to the normal routine in the fall, your pet may experience separation anxiety. They may start acting abnormally (chewing on household items is usually an issue). When you are around, look for changes in your pet’s personality.

Fall is also the time that decorations and holiday goodies start to come out. Keep your pets away from Halloween candy, Christmas lights & tinsel, etc.

Brushing

Noticing the start of a lot of shedding? At the end of the summer, pets tend to shed so that they’re winter coat will come in. Brush your pet regularly, as this will help to stop hair from being everywhere. If your pet is shedding heavily, you should get in touch with your vet. It can be a sign of deeper health problems.

Food

As humans, we often associate the cooler weather with hardier meals. Big holiday feasts, hot chocolate, and big bowls of soup sound familiar?

Pets aren’t the same way. Since most pets aren’t as active in the winter, they don’t need more food. In fact, they usually need less. This brings me to my next point…exercise.

Exercise

Summer is a time that pet owners can get lazy because it’s too hot to walk. Fall should be the opposite. It’s a great time to walk your pets – you won’t be dripping with sweat immediately upon walking outside. So get out there! Also remember –hydration is still important for your pet (and you as well!)

Lisa Podwirny is the owner of Ketchum Mfg. Connect with her on Google+!

Share this: