Category: Articles

What to Consider Before Raising Chicks

The season is upon us. While my gardening friends are all flipping through their seed catalogs, I am studying hatchery websites and excitedly waiting to hear the loud peeps of new chicks as they arrive at my local farm store! Whether you intend to purchase from a hatchery, incubate, or let your broody mommas do […]

LifeGuard® Swine- What Is It and How Does It Help Your Pig?

Why You Should Choose Kalmbach® Chicken Feeds

Keeping backyard chickens is a wonderful experience.  The health and productivity of our birds is often our top priority.  Handing a carton of beautiful fresh eggs to our family, friends, and neighbors is often our proudest moment as backyard chicken keepers.  It’s our best way of saying, “We care and we love our birds!” One […]

Complete Beginners’ Guide to Raising Chickens

Learn everything you need to know about starting your first chicken coop!  In this article, you’ll learn about planning a chicken coop, choosing a flock, and caring for your birds.  There are a lot of moving parts that go into raising a happy, healthy, productive flock of hens. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all […]

Tips for Traveling with Your Show Cattle

One of the most stressful things about showing cattle can be keeping them on feed and hydrated when traveling to shows. Everything else might be as good as can be – the calf looks great, their hair is in good shape, they’re clipped out to the max, you have an awesome fitting crew lined up […]

Proven Ways to Help Your Chickens Lay More Eggs

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to help your laying chickens produce more eggs?  The answer to that question isn’t as black and white as you may think.  Yes, there are management practices and feed choices that can help your birds maximize their genetic potential.  However, there is no magic button that turns on […]

What Causes Thin-Shelled Eggs?

Backyard poultry keepers have sure become popular lately!  With the demand for our eggs increasing and spring right around the corner, it’s only logical that we are looking forward to increased egg production very soon.  If you have had backyard chickens or ducks for a few years now, you may have occasionally had problems with […]

Creep Feeding Show Calves

Each summer, our family brings in a group of calves to sell for kids to buy for their next 4-H project and show season. The calves come from a variety of farms, and often have had a huge difference in how they were started. It’s not hard to tell which ones have been pampered and […]

Do I Need to Change Feeds in the Winter?

It is perfectly natural for your laying hens to significantly decrease or completely stop laying eggs in the winter.  Since these birds are not producing, you may wonder if you need to switch feeds during this time.  In this article, we are going to discuss some various reasons why you may or may not want […]

How to Feed Ewes Through Breeding, Pregnancy and Lactation

Raising sheep can be a very rewarding venture and there’s nothing quite like a barn full of lambs. There are a few things that every shepherd/ess needs to know before they dive into lambing. This article will provide you with an easy reference for facts about breeding and feeding recommendations for each stage of reproduction. […]