Farm & Ranch

Connecting the Numbers

Published

10 years ago

March 28, 2014

NTFR

By contributing writer Rayford Pullen

As we continue to get calves on the ground and pray for rain, I often get to tinkering with our numbers to see how we have been doing regarding our birth weights and weaning weights. In 2013, our average birth weight for all calves was 81 pounds. Broken down, it was a 77 pound average for heifers and an 84 pound average
for bull calves. Our average weaning weight for all calves was 612 pounds with heifers averaging 600 pounds and bulls averaging 625. The weaning weights were adjusted to 7 months of age and the calves did not receive creep feed.
Calves were sired by 24 different bulls. When we looked at birth weight difference and weaning weight difference by sire, we saw a range for average of weaning weights per sire from a high of 706 to a low of 570 pounds, or 136 pounds. On the birth weight ranges per sire, we had a range from 64 to 94 pounds or 30 pounds.

To read more pick up the March 2014 issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch.

Farm & Ranch

Hazards of Backyard Poultry

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

NTFR

By Barry Whitworth, DVM

Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.

Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.

The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.

To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.