Just because you and the kids are cooped up in the house doesn’t mean you can’t experience the fun of catching up with your favorite furry friends at your favorite zoo or animal conservatory. Zoos and animal habitats have also moved their program online during the COVID-19 pandemic. When visiting a zoo, online or in-person, you can confirm the organization is kind to and … [Read more...]
Rutgers Campus Farm to Host Special Day for 4-H Members (canceled due to COVID-19)
For 4-H members and families interested in animals, Saturday, March 28 is your special day! Come and learn about horses, goats, sheep, cattle, and rabbits from leading veterinarians, professors, and other experts – all at your state university in New Brunswick. The Junior Breeder Symposium is for all youth and families interested in learning more about animals. You have the … [Read more...]
Improve Your Herd with Good Record Keeping
Record keeping is an important aspect of sheep production. It helps to identify which lambs should be kept as flock replacements, which ewes should be kept in your flock or culled, and which rams sire the best lambs. The National Scrapie Eradication Program requires producers to keep records on all animal dispositions (sheep that leave your flock) for five years. As a 4-H … [Read more...]
Sheep Identification – USDA Requirements
Proper identification is an important aspect of raising sheep. Whether you are a 4-H member raising only one market lamb per year or working toward establishing your own breeding operation, you will need to know U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identification requirements and NJ Division of Animal Health rules. Scrapie Identification is required by the USDA for almost … [Read more...]
Paleontologists identify small fossils as that of oldest frog relative found in North America
This article was first published in the February 27, 2019 Virginia Tech News https://vtnews.vt.edu/. A team of paleontologists led by Virginia Tech’s Michelle Stocker and Sterling Nesbitt of the Department of Geosciences have identified fossil fragments of what are thought to be the oldest known frogs in North America. The fossils are composed of several … [Read more...]
I’m All Ears – Understanding the Universal Ear-Notching System for Swine
The Universal Ear-Notching System used to identify individual pigs in a litter has been around for.., a while.., but finding the actual historical roots of the how and why this system originated has proven elusive. What was found is not altogether that informative, nor does it come from any legitimate primary source. As of this writing, the best guess at the history of the … [Read more...]
Webinars as Tools for Animal Science Education
In recent months, the University of Kentucky Department of Animal and Food Sciences has been offering biweekly, 20-minute webinars on very specific topics in animal care and animal science. These livecasts are an effective educational tool because they are interactive. The hosts issue a call for questions at the end of each session and give answers in real time and incorporate … [Read more...]
How Cool Are These? Extinct Amphibians!
Although we have thousands of extant (currently living) amphibians around the globe, there are many interesting extinct ones as well! Here are just a sampling of some of the amazing fossils that have been found of extinct amphibians! Beelzebufo ampinga - The devil frog! Article from https://www.popsci.com/beelzebufo-devil-frog-bite-force-dinosaur/ Beelzebufo … [Read more...]
Farm to Fork – What We Get From Pork
When one thinks of a nutrient rich meal, pork products aren’t generally the first food that comes to mind for most. That written, compared to values from a decade ago, pork today is on average leaner, contains less fat (up to 31%), and also has fewer calories (up to 14%). In fact, according to The Ohio State University, it has been estimated that pigs are about 23% leaner … [Read more...]
“Don’t Root For That!” – Why All Aren’t Fans of Swine Rooting Behavior
There’s something about that nose of a pig that stands out. In addition to its unique shape, it also serves some important functions. Though smell is a given, there are some other utilities employed by pigs that make their nose stand out. One behavior in particular that seems to stand out is rooting. But why? What is it about sticking their noses in dirt that is so … [Read more...]