Baby chicks arrive at J&N Feed and Seed on Thursday, March 19th!
All baby chicks are pullets, 90% accuracy! We’ll have the following chick types:
We will also be getting Guineas.
Remember, we have everything you need for your new flock including poultry feed, feeders, waterers, heat lamps, fencing and more!
Tips To Prepare Your Chicken Coop
We are in the full swing of chick season. You might have even purchased your baby chicks and they grow fast. When your baby chicks are ready to leave your brooder, make sure you have your coop ready to go.Most chicks can be transferred to their coops as early as 4-5 weeks of age. If you have already purchased your baby chicks, it is imperative that your coop is ready to go as soon as possible. You will be shocked at how fast they feather and grow, and take up space! Here are some tips to ensure your chicken coop is adequately prepared:
Come see us and pick up everything you need from waterers, bulbs, heat lamps and more.
Source: My Pet Chicken
Regardless of what the ground hog says, spring is right around the corner. And so are the weeds. It’s time to start thinking about pre-emergent for your yard. You have about a 6 week window to apply pre-emergents, from the first of February to the middle of March. There are 3 factors that will determine when a seed will germinate, soil temperature, moisture and sunlight. The pre-emergent must be applied and active BEFORE that magic moment of germination occurs.
The all-natural pre-emergent is Corn Gluten Meal. It is available in both granulated and powder form and it is applied at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet.
Synthetic pre-emergents are Dimension for the grassy weeds and Gallery for the broadleaf weeds. The key to success with these products is to apply the correct amount to your lawn. Follow the label directions and know the square footage of your lawn.
Come see us for all your garden and lawn care needs.
Chew on this…did you know that 8 out of every 10 pets over the age of three suffers from gum (periodontal) disease? Proper prevention and dental treatment is necessary, without it your pets can suffer from tooth decay, bleeding gums, tooth loss, and even internal organ damage.
February is National Pet Care Dental Month. Take the time to know the signs of oral disease in pets:
What can you do to prevent oral disease?
Keeping your pet healthy includes their teeth! Start you pet dental plan this month!
At about four and a half months, you’re probably anxiously awaiting the “fruits of your labors”, fresh eggs! Now is the time to introduce your laying pullets to Purina Layena or Purina Layena Plus Omega-3 to insure that they receive the best nutrition to support egg production. Purina Layena Plus Omega-3 has added flaxseed, which helps your chickens to produce with enhanced levels of Omega-3. Each egg will contain 300 percent more Omega-3, an essential fatty acid!
Source: Purina Poultry
We hear plenty in the news about the issue of obesity in America. But did you know that 55% of dogs and cats are overweight?
Risks
A pet weighing more than 10-20% of its optimal weight is at risk for:
Ultimately, overweight pets can have a decreased life expectancy of 2.5 years, which is equivalent to 38 human years!
Is my pet overweight?
Signs that your pet has packed on a few too many pounds:
How much should my pet weigh? Here are some general guidelines for popular breeds:
Feeding
Many pets get 2 times the food they need, plus treats throughout the day. Follow these daily caloric needs for best portion control:
Exercise
We all need exercise on a daily basis and our pets are no different. Include you pet in your exercise routine and you’ll both be healthier for it!
For more information on healthy weight loss tips for your pet, visit http://www.petobesityprevention.com
Deworming treatments are a regular component of horse health maintenance, but many horse owners may not understand the best schedule for their horse. While deworming regimens vary by region, there are some ground rules for owners to follow. We recommend working closely with your equine veterinarian on a proper deworming schedule.
Dr. Thomas Craig, professor at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM), who specializes in epidemiology and the control of internal parasites in equines and grazing animals, offered some insight into deworming. Craig explained that in a given population of horses, about 20 percent will have 80 percent of the total internal parasites of the herd.
Another basic guideline is that deworming should be based on the age of the horse. There is a drastic difference in the deworming needs of a foal (less than a year) and an adult horse.
“What’s effective in adults may not be effective in foals,” Craig said.
Craig suggested deworming foals for the first time at two months of age. Parascaris equorum are of particular concern at this age.
“I recommend using fenbendazole, a broad spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic, such as Safe-Guard, or a pyrantel dewormer such as Strongid for foals two months old,” Craig said.
As the foal matures, it is recommended that the same treatment be used at four and six months of age. When the foal reaches a year old, Craig suggested using an ivermectin or moxidectin treatment for deworming.
When worming adult horses (older than one year), the approach changes considerably. The most dangerous parasitic threat to horses are small strongyles, which are present in most horses. Craig recommended testing mature horses through fecal samples to determine the number and types of parasitic eggs in the horse’s digestive system.
“After strongyles, the rest of parasitic control is really just a numbers game,” Craig said. “In older horses, you really only need to deworm horses with high numbers of parasites. Adult horses with less than a few hundred eggs per gram can be relatively left alone.”
Craig suggested treating all horses during the winter with ivermectin to combat bot fly larvae “A good reminder, is to treat your horse with ivermectin around Christmas time,” Craig said. “They often acquire bot larvae during the fall months, so winter is really the best time to deworm with ivermectin.
Aside from bot fly larvae, other, less common parasites are pinworms and tapeworms. Horses with pinworms are typically kept in stalls. One of the most common signs of pinworm infected horses is an itchy tail. Craig suggested treating an infected horse with a fenbendazole dewormer once a month, for three months along with a good shampoo of the horse’s rear end.
“The pinworm eggs can only survive about 30 days, so I recommend vacating the stall for a month until the eggs die on their own,” Craig added. “There is no product to kill the eggs, but allowing them to die on their own can be helpful in preventing re-infection”
Tapeworms can cause mild colic in horses because they often attach to the valve between the small and large intestine. Craig recommended deworming in the fall (September, October, or November) with a dewormer containing praziquantel or a double dose of pyrantel.
These recommendations are all suggested guidelines for parasite management in horses. Craig recommended following these guidelines, particularly in the Texas region. Altering deworming according to your horse’s age and parasite testing results are the two most important guidelines and can help horse owners develop an effective and sustainable parasite program, Craig said.
Source: College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
As you reach the third month, your chicks are continuing to grow, maturing weekly and becoming quite independent. They become sexually mature between 4 and 6 months of age and with proper care and excellent nutrition the first egg is laid soon!
Source: Purina Poultry
The first few weeks of a foal’s life can be the highest risk period in the life of a horse. There are several gastrointestinal disorders that can quickly drain the health of your foal and cause failure to thrive. Here’s a look at some of the more common GI issues to be aware of in foals.
This is a bacterial infection that can affect foals from several days to three months of age. It is caused by a type of bacteria that produces toxins that damage the intestine.
The primary cause of viral diarrhea in foals is rotavirus. It is extremely contagious. It is caused by a viral organism shed in the feces, which can persist in the environment for up to nine months.
Your vet will identify the virus by testing fecal samples
Supportive with intravenous fluids to prevent or treat dehydration.
Most foals will recover with early treatment if not in a prolonged state of electrolyte imbalance or dehydration.
Disinfect stalls before foaling and quarantine new arrivals before introduction into the herd. Vaccinate broodmare during the eighth, ninth and tenth months of gestation.
The key to avoiding life threatening GI issues is early intervention. When a foal displays a lack of appetite, diarrhea, depression or lethargy you should seek prompt veterinary consultation. Because of the vulnerable stage of life in early foals waiting until tomorrow could be serious, even fatal.
Source: Lone Star Horse Report
Like the human body, plants will limp along despite poor nutrition, but they will thrive and grow best with optimal nutrition, which is why we fertilize—to add nutrients. Fertilizers typically include the soil-supplied nutrients that plants use in largest quantity. Ideally, all these nutrients would be in the ground, but perfect soil is rare. If you improve your garden plot over time, you may eventually achieve an ideal soil, but in the meantime, you can supplement your plants with nutrients from a bag or a bottle.
The Three Main Nutrients That Aren’t in the Bag
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are the three largest components of plants, but these are not available from fertilizer. These come from the air and from decomposing organic matter. That’s one reason why it is important to have good, rich soil with enough pore space to hold water and air (for hydrogen and oxygen) and enough organic matter to break down and supply the carbon.
The guaranteed analysis on the bag is where you can get a close look at what is in the bag, how much is in the bag, and what sources it is derived from.
The Three Main Nutrients That Are in the Bag
A fertilizer has three numbers printed on the package that state the percentage (by weight) of the three main plant nutrients—nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). For example, you might see a bag labeled 4-7-6. The first number (4), refers to nitrogen, the second number (7), refers to phosphorous, and the third number (6), refers to potassium. Common fertilizer formulas you may see sold for vegetables are 4-6-6, 10-10-10, or 14-14-14. Until recently, these three numbers were required by law to always be prominently placed on the front of the package; however, the law changed, allowing manufacturers to move these numbers to back or side panels of the package, so you may have to look a little harder for them. Often they are listed in a section called “Guaranteed Analysis,” which is required by law to list each and every nutrient in the package and the percentage of each. This is where you can dig deeper to see all the nutrients in the bag, allowing you to compare products and prices.
Look for the three-number formula on every bag of fertilizer. Just remember NPK, which stands for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). The formula represents the ratio of these three ingredients always in that order.
What Nutrients Do
Minor, or trace, elements are nutrients used by plants in very small amounts but that are still essential to plant health. Iron (Fe) is the one you will commonly see added to fertilizer because it is often lacking in poor soils; it aids in the conversion of sunlight to energy and helps plant foliage maintain a dark green color. Manganese, boron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum are sometimes present in fertilizer, too. Chlorine and cobalt are also needed for plant growth but are rarely added to fertilizer.
How do you know if a fertilizer is organic? Most of the time, the package will say organic, and you can be sure if you see the OMRI logo, which stands for Organic Materials Review Institute, a body that certifies products as organic. This is voluntary and involves extra paperwork and expense for the manufacturer, so not all organic products will have this certification.
One of the benefits of adding compost made from a variety of garden and kitchen scraps to your garden is that it is likely to supply many of these trace elements.
HOW TO USE THIS INFORMATION
In a nutshell, it is wise to know what your plants need and what you are buying when you purchase fertilizer. If your soil is too low in one of the essential nutrients not included in the fertilizer that you buy, you will still have problems. You can get your soil tested through a service offered by your regional Cooperative Extension service to analyze the nutritional content of your soil. This is not always necessary, but it is a good thing to do for a “baseline” reading of your garden.
The needs of most vegetables are usually met by a complete fertilizer containing a good balance of the three major plant nutrients and often a few other nutrients. Fertilizers with higher N-P-K numbers, such as 14-14-14, indicate a more concentrated product, which means that you need to use less of them than you would use of a fertilizer with a lower number such as 8-8-8. Organic fertilizers usually have low numbers, such as 4-7-6, but they often contain plenty of other nutrients, and they support the health of soil microbes and other components of the soil food web.
When using organic fertilizers, always mix them into the soil thoroughly and then water the prepared site before you set out your plants; this is essential because organic fertilizers depend on soil microbes to break them down into a form that can be taken up by plants. In contrast, most synthetic and liquid fertilizers are quickly available to plants. Most blended organic fertilizers that you buy in packages at garden centers will not burn plant roots when applied correctly, but high-nitrogen sources such as alfalfa, cottonseed meal, feather meal, chicken manure, and other “hot” agricultural by-products can injure plants if they come into direct contact with their roots.
Finally, don’t forget to add compost to your soil each time you plant. Over time, the fertility of your soil will improve, and you will need less fertilizer to grow a healthy, productive garden.
Source: Bonnie Plants