Are you ready for HURRICANE season?

As Hurricane season is full steam ahead, have you stopped and thought "Am I prepared?" Being prepared ranges from gathering extra batteries and filling your bathtub with water to locating rabies records for your pets and making sure you have a plan for them as well. Think about it: A Hurricane is barreling towards eastern NC (never heard that phrase before, have you?) and you have goats and cattle. What are you going to do? What about your cats and dogs? To better prepare yourself and your pets / livestock, please visit the websites below that tell you how to do just that. Remember: PLAN AHEAD and STAY CALM :) Hurricanes let us know when they are coming, so you have plenty of time to get ready.

Craven County and Jones County have a plan. It is called the CARTs (County Animal Response Team) plan and it involves Cooperative Extension, local government and local Emergency Management, Department of Social Services, local Health Department, Animal Control, local animal shelters, NC Department of Agriculture veterinarians, American Red Cross and local volunteers. Read on to see exactly what the CARTs team does.

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At the end of August 2011, Hurricane Irene descended upon eastern North Carolina. We knew she was going to hit hard at the coast. We decided to push forward with our Jones CART plan and open the animal shelter as a part of the human shelter – a co-location shelter. We had several people bring their dogs with them before the storm. We registered them and housed the animals in a separate part of the building in their crates with food and water. Just as we thought the storm was passing over, we started to hear a terrible sound within the building. We looked outside and noticed hundreds of small pieces of insulation blowing all around in front of the building. It was then that we heard the roof blow off of the building where the animals were. As it turns out, we were able to safely move all of the animals to another building, as well as we had to relocate our human shelter. As you can imagine, the people and animals that attended this shelter came from homes that would not have fared even as well as the Civic Center did (where the shelter was located). It is important for your county to have a plan in place, and volunteers available, as well as have a good working relationship with local government, especially the Department of Social Services and the local Red Cross, who will be in charge of opening a shelter once given the authority to do so.

For NC Cooperative Extension's disaster website, click here.

For EDEN's (Extension Disaster Education Network) disaster website, click here.

For the Animal Health Network website, click here.

For the NC Department of Agriculture's animal sheltering website, click here.

Goat Biosecurity

The Importance of Biosecurity on your Goat Farm

By: Margaret A. Bell, Livestock Agent

Craven & Jones Counties

Adapted from “APHIS Biosecurity on U.S. Goat Operations.”

Have you ever thought about biosecurity on your farm? What is biosecurity? Biosecurity is various different practices you can implement on your farm to reduce the risk of introducing disease into your herd. This is a very important part of your herd’s health. Even one animal having a disease on your farm could affect the rest of your animals. Read on to learn more about how to make biosecurity improvements to your herd and your farm in general.

Herd Additions

Every time you add a new animal to your herd, you run the risk of introducing disease. There are three good practices to fend off disease from new animals. First, you can choose to have a closed herd, meaning the only way you add animals is through kidding on your farm. Obviously, this is not ideal for all farms because there is no way to add new bloodlines or improve genetics in a closed herd. Second, new animals should be quarantined and checked for signs and symptoms of disease for at least 30 days. Lastly, health management practices are a good way to help ensure your herd stays healthy. These may include: veterinary exams, deworming, vaccinations, and testing for disease.

Usage of Needles

By reusing needles between animals, you greatly increase your risk of disease transmission. The best practice would be to not reuse needles. However, if this is not possible, you can reduce your risk of disease transmission by disinfecting needles between each use.

Veterinarian – Patient – Client Relationship

It is very important to have a veterinarian who has a good client – patient relationship with you and your goat herd. Veterinarians are a good source of information about the goat industry as well as goat health. Regular farm visits by your veterinarian may help improve your herd, genetics, and provide a great opportunity for you to ask questions about your herd.

Farm Visitors

When visitors come to your farm, it is very important that they take precautions not to spread disease. Disease agents can be spread through various locations such as clothing, hands, boots, vehicles, or instruments. You can require that visitors take any and all of the following precautions: change into clean boots, use shoe covers, wash hands before touching the animals, don’t park near the goat area, and use a footbath before entering goat area.

Kidding Management

It may be a very good idea to keep does that are kidding for the first time away from the rest of the herd because if they become infected with bacterial pathogens while pregnant, they could abort, have abnormal kids, or kid early. Also, it is important to promptly remove placentas and aborted fetuses because they can hold infectious organisms that could possibly spread to other goats.

You should also consider taking precautions with your goats having physical contact with other animals including raccoons, skunks, and opossums. These animals can carry disease and infect your herd. Also, it is very important to make sure your animals are properly identified with an identification number, such as a Scrapie tag. Various forms of identification are required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture when animals are sold or moved from the farm.

These are just a few ways you can make your farm less susceptible to disease. Follow these steps to help raise biosecurity at your farm: work closely with your veterinarian, isolate new animals, disinfect or do not reuse needles between animals, limit outside animal contact as well as visitor contact, use proper animal identification, and properly manage kidding areas to reduce disease transfer. If you have any questions about how biosecure your farm is, feel free to contact your local Cooperative Extension agent.

and the winners are...

i am so proud of my skillathon team and beef showmen i can hardly stand it! please help me congratulate the following youth from jones county: logan murphy, cheyenne pike, paul pike, jonathan murphy, ashley murphy, evan andrews, and megan downs for placing FIRST in the jr. skillathon competition and FIRST in the intermediate skillathon competition as well as jonathan murphy for placing 4th overall in intermediate, paul pike for placing 2nd overall in jr. and logan murphy for placing 3rd overall in jr. also, help me congratulate logan murphy and brandon gillen for competing in the jr. beef roundup. brandon's heifer placed 1st in her class; logan's heifer placed 2nd in her class and both got to go back for divisional championships. brandon and logan competed in the ultimate heifer makeover as a team of 4 and placed 3rd overall! logan placed in the final round of showmanship. nicholas gillen competed in a coloring competition and received a ribbon. please help me congratulate all of these wonderful youth on their accomplishments this past weekend. jones county was very well represented! i am so proud of ya'll :)

Integrity of Horse & Livestock Trailers

Click here to read the full article on why horse trailers need to be properly maintained and checked after each time you haul your animals. WARNING: Some images may be too graphic for young viewers.

Farming at a Young Age

Do you remember what you were doing when you were two years old? I bet you weren’t running your own business like Melody Mauney who sells her chicken eggs. Not only does this teach her responsibility for caring for animals, but also financial responsibility. Read on to learn how Melody’s parents describe her entrepreneurial skills at such a young age.

Some of life’s best lessons can be learned on the farm and it is never too early to start.  A “farm” doesn’t have to encompass a lot of acreage or involve a lot of animals.  We define our “farm” as our little chicken coop and 18 chickens and the garden.  It is more of an agricultural experience than a farm but we like to call it the farm.

Our daughter, Melody, bought her first set of chickens when she was almost 2 years old with some of her birthday money and we constructed a coop with scrap wood and metal from a home project.  She picked out the chicks herself and was tickled to give the cashier her money.  She took great care to play with them everyday and has never been afraid to pick them up.  Melody even lets them sit on her head and shoulders, and the luckiest chick gets taken up the ladder and down the slide!
          A friend of ours gave her a rooster and she has purchased numerous other chickens from various other places over the past year giving her 4 different chicken breeds.  She collects the eggs and feeds the chickens with help almost everyday.  Melody sells her eggs to about 10 different customers for $1.50 per dozen.  She collects the money herself and always says, “Thanks for being a customer.” 

We are trying to teach her how to take care of her money.  Uncle Matt gave her a piggy banking system for her to store the money.  There are three banks, Give, Save and Spend.  We help her divide her money into the banks and she puts 10% in the Give, 50% in the Save, and 40% in the Spend.  The Give money goes to God.  Melody takes the Save money to the bank, puts it through the change machine and gives the cash to the teller for her account.  The Spend money goes with Melody to the feed store to buy chicken feed.   Hopefully by the time she is older she will make enough money to do more than reinvest the money.

This is a very simple system and we weren’t sure when we started if she would be able to grasp the concepts of saving and spending but Melody has a great grasp on money management for a 3 year old. 

Our “farm”, though very small is already teaching Melody about financial responsibility and how to care for animals. We have enjoyed watching and helping her learn these skills.  Our hope is that she will remember and use these lessons as she grows through her teenage years and beyond.  

If you have any questions about raising your own chickens, please contact Margaret A. Bell at the Jones County Cooperative Extension Office at (252) 448.9621.

North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.  In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.  North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.

Check out the Spring Issue of Fencelines!

Here is the Spring issue of Fencelines, the Livestock Newsletter of the Southeast. There is also a calendar of upcoming events. Enjoy :) Click here.

Equine Infectious Anemia & Floating Teeth

           Have you floated your horse’s teeth lately? Have you gotten your horse’s  Coggins test done this year? Do you know what equine infectious anemia is? If you have horses, you need to know the answers to all of these questions. If you have had horses all your life or are just getting started, we have the clinic just for you. Read on below to learn more about these common veterinary horse terms and an upcoming equine Coggins and dentistry clinic.

            Coggins testing is very important because it tests your equine for equine infectious anemia (EIA). EIA is a viral disease that could be fatal to your horse. Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment for the disease. Signs that your horse may have EIA include: anemia, weakness, weight loss, and fever. Horseflies, deerflies, or other large biting insects typically transfer EIA from one horse to another. It can also be transferred by contaminated equipment, such as needles, with blood from an infected horse. It is possible for a horse to be a carrier of the disease and not exhibit the same signs as a horse with a greater concentration of the virus. By taking a blood sample, veterinarians are able to use the “Coggins” test to determine if an animal is positive or negative for EIA. Annual testing is recommended for equine owners.

            Do you know if your horse’s teeth are in good shape? Do you have an older horse that seems to be dropping feed more often? By having a dental examination of your horse’s teeth (free at the upcoming clinic!) you can see if your horse needs dental care. Floating your horse’s teeth is another term for filing your horse’s teeth. If your horse is outside grazing pasture all day, they are continuously eating, meaning they are wearing their teeth down daily. This can eventually cause your horse to have teeth that do not fit together, making it harder for your horse to properly chew and break down feed. Scheduling regular dental checkups, typically at your horse’s annual examination, is a good way to ensure your horse’s teeth are in proper working order.

            Livestock Veterinary Service’s Dr. Justin Martin has partnered with NC Cooperative Extension and REINS (Regional Equine Informational Network System) to present a Coggins and Dentistry Clinic to be held Saturday, March 17, 2012 from 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the Lenoir County Livestock Arena. Dr. Martin will be available for vaccines, dental examinations and floating, as well as Coggins testing. Please call any of the following three contacts: Dr. Justin Martin (Livestock Veterinary Services) at (252) 933.1483, Gina Cox (REINS Coordinator) at (252) 286.4241 or Margaret Bell (NC Cooperative Extension) at (252) 448.9621 to reserve your spot and for a price list.

            If you have any questions, please contact your local Cooperative Extension Office at (252) 448.9621 and speak with Livestock Agent Margaret A. Bell.

            North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.  In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.  North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.