Animal Production Resources
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RenewedPlanting pollinator-friendly flowers in your yard is a great first step for improving the quality of pollinator habitats. Adding nesting sites and nesting materials is another important measure in creating sustainable habitats, especially for native bees. When bees have access to a diversity of nesting materials, their numbers are positively affected, so providing nesting resources in your landscape is very beneficial to bees.
Published with the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources as WSFNR-17-48.
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Pine shavings are the most popular bedding material used in poultry houses. Due in part to the expansion of the poultry industry, pine shavings are in short supply, and alternative bedding materials are being tested.
Giant miscanthus grass (GMG) is one such material. GMG is a perennial grass that is dried and chopped into one-inch pieces for bedding. When compared to pine shavings, GMG is a good option for bedding material in poultry houses.
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An abundant supply of clean, safe drinking water is essential for human and animal health. Water from municipal or public water systems is treated and monitored to ensure that it is safe for human consumption. Many Georgia residents, especially in rural areas, rely on private water systems for human and livestock consumption. Most private water systems are supplied by wells. Water from wells in Georgia is generally safe for consumption without treatment. Some waters, however, may contain disease-causing organisms that make them unsafe to drink. Well waters may also contain large amounts of minerals, making them too “hard” for uses such as laundering, bathing or cooking. Some contaminants may cause human health hazards and others can stain clothing and fixtures, cause objectionable tastes and odors, or corrode pipes and other system components.
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Forages are a key component to grazing animal diets in Georgia. Accurately testing the nutritive value of your forage is important. The nutritive value of most forages in Georgia can be evaluated through near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). This resource focuses on common questions from forage-livestock producers about NIRS.
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The USDA-Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) indicated that if water is to be reused in a poultry processing facility, then this reuse water must be accounted for in the plant’s HACCP program.
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Feather coverage is important for both thermoregulation and disease prevention. Because feathers are made of protein, there are obvious nutritional factors that affect feather coverage in high yield broiler breeds. This resource summarizes the importance and structure of the feather and the feed-related factors that impact feather coverage.
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Providing the right nutrition for your chickens means ensuring that what they eat supplies all of the essential amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water that they will need to produce the meat or eggs you hope to collect. This resource provides an overview of what you should look for when choosing poultry feed and how to choose a diet that is appropriate for various types of poultry.
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C 1180
Fescue Toxicosis in Horses
Tall fescue is the primary cool season perennial forage grown in the state of Georgia, and toxicity issues related to the grass can have significant impacts on equine reproduction. Tall fescue is the most heat tolerant of the cool season grasses due to a fungus that grows within the plant called an endophyte. This endophyte produces ergot alkaloids that can have negative effects on animals that eat the infected forage. The toxic effects of the endophyte can be successfully managed by eliminating the grazing or feeding of toxic tall fescue, as described in this publication.
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This management guide provides producers with specific tactics that may minimize the potential for short- and long-term problems during a drought. These tactics are based on specific characteristics including water loss, forage growth, and rainfall.
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