ASC-231: Breed Selection for a Small-scale Egg Production Enterprise

Jacquie Jacob, Tony Pescatore | January 12, 2018 (New)

Once you have decided you are going to go into egg production, you need to determine what breed of chicken will best suit your needs. A variety of different commercial breeds are available for use in small-scale commercial egg production operations. Most lay a brown-shelled egg, which is typically preferred by the people purchasing eggs produced in alterative production systems. Most of these commercial chickens are hybrids selected specifically for these systems.

ASC-229: Marketing Regulations Affecting Small-scale Egg Producers in Kentucky

Jacquie Jacob, Tony Pescatore | January 12, 2018 (New)

It is important that you comply with all the laws and regulations with regards to the marketing of eggs. Eggs are capable of carrying bacteria such as Salmonella enteritidis. As a result, eggs are considered a hazardous food and their sale is regulated. With regard to small-scale producers, if you sell more than 60 dozen eggs in any one week, you will require an egg handler's license. You will also need an egg handler's license if you sell to someone who sells eggs to someone else. This would include grocery stores, restaurants, or wholesalers. The same will hold true if you sell to a bakery, confectionary or ice-cream manufacturer.

ASC-206: Common External Parasites of Poultry

Jacquie Jacob, Tony Pescatore | September 8, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Periodic examination of your flock is recommended so that infestations can be detected early and a larger flock outbreak contained. It is especially important to detect infestations early in food-producing poultry because there are restrictions on the treatments available.

ASC-228: Body Condition Scoring Ewes

Debra Aaron, Don Ely | August 25, 2017 (New)

Body condition scoring is a system of classifying breeding ewes on the basis of differences in body fat. While it is subjective, with practice it can be accurate enough to indicate the nutritional status of individual ewes as well as the entire flock. Thus, it allows the shepherd to identify, record, and adjust the feed intake of ewes determined to be thin, in average flesh, or fat. In the long run, this can save money for producers and/or prevent problems attributable to ewe condition.

ASC-226: Help! My Horse Roars! What Is Laryngeal Hemiplegia?

Fernanda Camargo | October 10, 2016 (New)

Various ailments can affect the different parts of the larynx of horses. Diseases of the larynx can produce airway obstruction and sometimes dysphagia. Obstructive diseases, such as laryngeal hemiplegia, often produce an abnormal respiratory noise and, most important, they limit airflow, which leads to early fatigue and poor exercise performance.

ASC-227: Foodborne Illness: Risks and Prevention

Melissa Newman, Gregg Rentfrow, Paul Vijayakumar | September 27, 2016 (New)

In recent memory, there has been a considerable increase in food recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks. To ensure food safety, everyone involved in the food production chain needs to understand the different factors that could contaminate food and lead to foodborne illness.

ASC-225: Managing Precision Dairy Farming Technologies

Jeffrey Bewley, Lauren Mayo, Amanda Stone, Nicky Tsai, Barbara Wadsworth | September 22, 2015 (New)

Precision dairy farming is the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral, and production indicators of individual animals to improve management strategies and farm performance.

ASC-221: Keeping and Using Flock Performance Records

Debra Aaron | December 17, 2014 (New)

Performance records serve as the cornerstone of any good livestock management program. Unfortunately, the task of collecting, maintaining and using performance records is the one area of livestock production in general that gets the least attention. This fact sheet provides ten reasons why all sheep producers need to keep performance records on their flocks. Then, some ways of maintaining and using those records are discussed.

ASC-224: Crossbreeding Considerations in Sheep

Debra Aaron | December 16, 2014 (New)

Crossbreeding is the mating of individuals from different breeds. To a certain extent, it is a simple concept, but embarking upon a crossbreeding program, in sheep or any other livestock species, involves long-term decisions. The primary benefits of a crossbreeding program are heterosis and breed complementarity.

ASC-219: An Introduction to Sheep

Debra Aaron, Don Ely | December 16, 2014 (New)

The information in this fact sheet was developed to provide a quick reference to the most frequently asked questions about sheep and sheep production.