I’m new to chickens and I want help in raising them. What are those things I am suppose to do?

Why do commercial meat chickens grow their table weight in just 7-10 weeks while backyard chickens takes much more longer to achieve that weight? Do they use some growth hormones or steroid for broilers? Between the two which one is more nutritious?

Have anyone ever consider this as an alternative to antibiotics?

This biogas something is very interesting. Like what size of biogas tank will be ok for a family of 5?

I usually thought that you can only get duckweed from riverine areas but lo and behold, I found it growing in somebody's backyard! I have also seen at somebody's backyard in Lagos but that was when I did not know about it. Attached is the picture.

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Quote:According to this research, it is possible to plant cassava without tilling the soil. This is called no-till farming and the main purpose is to minimize damage to the soil. Using hoe or tractors to till the soil destroys the soil structure and soil microbes.

A B S T R A C T

Cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz) is often cultivated on tilled plots, traditionally on mounds and ridges with the use of hand hoes or tractor driven implements. These two conditions alter the soil structural parameters and most times increase the vulnerability of soil to erosion or compaction as a result of frequent machine movement under the conventional tillage system. A review of the effects of tillage systems on soil bulk density, total porosity and penetration resistance was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of soil conservation for the optimum production of cassava in the tropics. Tillage treatments under review were: conventional tillage (CT), no-till (NT), minimum tillage (MT) and soil compaction (CP). Our review indicated that the bulk density (BD) in plots under CT was not significantly different (p < 0.05) from the value of BD in plots under minimum tillage (MT) within the 0–5 cm soil layer, but was highest in soils under compaction due to traffic passes of heavy duty equipment. Soils under no-till were characterized with lowest bulk density within the 0–5 cm layer, but gradually increased in BD within the 10–20 cm soil layer, which offers the soil some structural stability. However, the difference in bulk densities between plots under NT and CP treatments were highly significant at p < 0.05, with CP plots having the highest bulk density within the 0–30 cm soil layer. Total porosity was highest in soils under conventional tillage (CT) comparatively with other tillage systems. Organic matter accumulation in NT treatment resulted to higher total porosity compared with other systems except CT at the surface soil (0–5 cm) but with reduced porosity at the sub-surface soil. Total porosity was least in plots under traffic passes (compacted plots). Statistically, there were no significant differences in total porosity among plots under conventional tillage with mulch residues, conventional tillage without mulch residues and minimum tillage with mouldboard at the p < 0.05. However, plots under minimum tillage withoutmouldboard had lower total porosity. Penetration resistance was higher in NT plots when compared with plots under CT system, except from compacted plots (CP), which offered highest resistance to penetration. A long term experiment showed that cassava root yield was highest under NT with mulch residues, with or without fertilizer application. The reviewed work further confirmed that cassava can be grown successfully under no-till (NT) to give the optimum growth and yield required of the crop, while conserving the soil physical properties.

I’ve seen many websites that claim that internal combustion engines can be run on water/petrol (gas) mixtures. Is this really true? Has anyone actually done this?

Which of the two is better?

What is the maximum distance an inverter can be from the battery bank? Any farmer know this? We really need to solarize our farms.

Great farmers, anyone know where I can get complete table listing layer's space requirement? I need the one that applies to hot climates.

What is the Difference Between Duckweed and Azolla?

Apple cider vinegar is usually given to birds because it helps keep the gut healthy by its acidity and the probiotics it contains. If you make use of metal drinkers, don’t add ACV to the water to prevent poisoning your birds.
If this is the case and you have more ill hens in the morning, it may still be possible to save them with the relevant injections (usually vitamin K) if you can act quickly enough.

If you want to keep chickens warm when it’s cold, give them corn. As they digest the corn the heat generated (heat of digestion) will help keep them warm.

Deworming a pregnant goat is important before she gives birth so that the kids will not contact worms. And worms can retard growth of kids. If you have a pregnant goat, do not worm her with Valbezen wormer because it will cause abortion, especially during the first 45 days of pregnancy. Oxfendazole is also bad for pregnant does.

It is better to do fecal test before you worm. The test will tell you which wormer to use because there are different types of worms and one wormer cannot kill all types of worms. Some worms are also resistant to some wormers. If you can’t do test, you’ll need to worm every 2 months or so. Worm and quarantine new goats before they come into your farm.

Always worm the doe the day after she give birth because the stress of kidding makes her susceptible to worms and hormones she release can awake dormant parasites in her. Tape worm usually appear like “rice” in the feces. If a goat looks thinner, you should worm.

A safe wormer for pregnant goat are any wormer that contains Ivermectin, fenbendazole, Lavamisole. Overdose of moxidectin is dangerous to pregnant animals.

I'll like to share this tip for those that will like to go into goat farming where feed high in energy will be used. If you feed grains to your goats, it is important to keep a small can of baking soda in their pen. This is because excess grain can make their stomach acidic and they can correct it by licking the baking soda. This is important if by mistake the goat consume excess grain. A goat can die as a result if nothing is done.

Goats waste a lot of grass or hay. To minimize this, chop the grass/hay into small pieces with a cutlass or by using a grass chopper. You'll save a lot of grass from wasting away.

Leucaenas: This is a fast growing tree. It can produce 3-30 tons of leaves per hectare per year (in dry matter, DM) depending on soil, temperature and moisture conditions. For the best yield, they should be harvested at 6-8 weeks intervals in highly productive sites and 12 weeks in less productive sites. In the first year of growth, it should be lightly harvested. Heavy harvesting should start from the third year.
Farmers can use this tree to increase growth of crops like maize because it fixes nitrogen in the soil. It can also be used as a shade tree and as a wind break for crops/trees like plantain, cocoa, climbing crops etc. The leaves can also be use as green manure as it decomposes quickly.

Dangers to be aware of: The leaves contains high level of mimosine (up to 12% in young shoots). Mimosine is a toxic amino acid toxic to non-ruminants (horses, donkeys, pigs and poultry). But in ruminants, the toxic amino acid is broken down in the rumen to DHP, a goitrogen substance that is detoxify by rumen bacteria. When fed at for a long time at a high level to cattle (>30%), the leaves will be toxic. This toxicity can be prevented by supplementing it with zinc sulphate or iron salt. The mimosine content can also be reduced by soaking the leaves in water and then drying. Adding iodine to Leucaenas can prevent the detrimental effects of mimosine in goats.

Leucaenas is a rich protein source for ruminants and they find it highly palatable. Its nutritional value is comparable to that of alfalfa. It can increase milk production in dairy cattle by 14%! However, it is not very good for pregnant cows, breeders and young cattle.

Get More Info Here (http://feedipedia.org/node/282).

Glyricidia sepium: This is a fast growing leguminous tree. Its leaves are high in protein. The tree yield 9-16t/ha of DM. Glyricidia is more hardy than Leucaenas (in terms of tolerance to pest and growing condition). It can also be harvested earlier at 7 months if grown from cuttings and 14 months if grown from seed. Harvesting intervals should be 2-3 months during the rainy season and 3-4 months during the dry season, provided that regrowth reaches 1-2m high before harvest.
Glyricidia can be use as a wind break and shade tree. Glyricidia is less palatable than Leucaenas.

Get More Info Here (http://feedipedia.org/node/552).

Calliandra: Yield can be 7-10 tons per hectare in dry matter. Both its leaves and pods are high in protein. The good part is that unlike the two legume trees discussed above, this one contains no toxic substances.

When is the right time to give gumboro vaccine to chicks?
Ans:

Gumboro Vaccine for broilers:
1. Intermediate plus (Nobilis Gumboro 228E): From 12 days
2. Intermediate vaccine (Nobilis Gumboro D78): From 18 days.

For layers:
1. Intermediate plus (Nobilis Gumboro 228E): From 18 days
2. Intermediate vaccine (Nobilis Gumboro D78): From 28 days.

A chicken is protected within 5-7 days of successful vaccination. 2 vaccination is required with a 5-7 days interval. Give the vaccine 5-7 days before the expected time of Gumboro break out. Eg:
My broilers had a spike in mortality due to Gumboro at 21 days of age. At what age should I vaccinate the next flock?

Ans: 21 day old – (5 or 7 days) = 14 or 16 day old, so vaccinate at this age with intermediate plus vaccine. Give first vaccination at 12 days of age, second at 17.

Que: My layers had a spike in mortality due to Gumboro at 35 days of age. At what age should I vaccinate the next flock?

Ans: 35-(5 or 7) = 28-30 days. Intermediate vaccines are effective in layer. First vaccination at 21, second at 28.

Never give gumboro intermediate plus before 10 days of age in broilers and 15 in layers and breeder pullets so as to avoid damage to the bursa of fabricius.

Source: Gumboro.com/questions

If you intent to grow cassava for starch, the following varieties are good. You can see their root and starch yield per hectare in the table below. I hope you know how to interpret the table. Let’s take the first one, TMS 90257. Root yield per ha is 43 tons and it contains 23% starch. So the starch yield per ha is 23/100 x 43 = 9.89 tons/ha.



However, you have to make research to know if there are better varieties because things change everyday.

Which one will give more biogas? Animal manure or plant materials? Here is what I got somewhere: