Month: June 2017

Four Tips for Raising Your Own Chickens

No Comments Chicken nest box Chicken nesting box Roll out nest box

Benefits of a rear roll out nest box

In a time when convenience and cost are so important, it can be difficult to eat healthy. Time restraints simply make it easier to run to the local fast food restaurant. Even when you do attempt to eat healthy, you can never really know what is in the food items you purchase at the local grocery store. Really, the only way to ensure that you are eating healthy and fresh is by growing and producing your own food sources. For this reason, chicken nesting and the collection of fresh eggs is more popular than ever. Even you can raise your own chickens and have direct access to the healthiest and freshest of foods.

Start out with a couple of chickens
Starting out with a couple of chickens is ideal. It can take some time to get used to the raising, feeding, and collecting process. You will also have to take time to set up an appropriate nesting area. Without a good chicken nesting box, you will not see good results. However, if you do build a successful chicken nesting box, you are likely to see an increase in the number of chickens. Typically hens will start to lay when they are around 5 to 6 months of age and will lay approximately 200 to 300 eggs annually, based on the breed type. Because of the rapid growth and egg laying, it is important to start out small.

Benefits of chicken nesting boxes
Chicken nesting boxes are absolutely necessary in the successful raising of chickens and eggs. Without enough nest boxes, your chickens will not successfully lay enough eggs. One box for every 4 to 5 hens is the minimum for your hens to feel comfortably laying them. If you can encourage comfortable laying, you will see many benefits to chicken nesting boxes. When you buy nest boxes, you receive an increased number of eggs, as well as better quality of eggs. The nesting box also acts as a storage device, carefully protecting the eggs until you are ready to collect them.

Importance of clean nesting boxes
Creating a metal chicken nesting box is not enough for successful chicken raising and egg collecting. The boxes also need to be extremely clean for the chicken to feel comfortable laying its eggs in it. Clean nesting boxes includes fresh water, fresh box contents, and regular cleaning of manure. Cleaning manure up is one of the hardest parts of keeping the nesting boxes clean. Managing chicken manure is all about minding the bedding. Consider that it absorbs both the manure substance and the moisture that goes along with it. Chicken manure is essentially made up of 85% water.

Convenient storage of nesting boxes
Nesting boxes only need to be used when the chicken is actively laying eggs. If you have a period of rest, the nesting boxes could potentially get in the way of other raising duties. Consider purchasing a rear roll out nest box for easy storage. With a rear roll out nesting box, you can easily roll them underneath the shelves and then pull them back out again when nesting restarts. However, be careful to replace the nesting and to properly clean the nesting box in between nesting times.

There are many benefits to producing your own food sources. When you grow and raise your own food, you have more control over the health of your ingredients. It can also be more convenient than running to the grocery store every time you need something. However, raising chickens and nesting can also be a lot of work. It is important that you are prepared and that you have sufficient knowledge to provide the right materials and raising environment. Chicken nesting boxes that are of high quality are important to the entire process.

Dark Park Accessories Must Include Doggy Waste Bags

No Comments Dog crate end table Dog crate furniture Doggy playground

Dog training obstacle course

The joke is that Mom has one nemesis.
Mom is generally an easy going person who seems to be on a mission to find the good in every person in every situation, but when it comes to her arch enemy there seems to be no chance for reconciliation.
The situation started when Mom stepped into dog poop one day when she was going over the short split rail fence into the park behind her house. She was going out to take some pictures of her two teenage daughters playing catch and attempting batting practice at the ball diamond less than 50 yards away. When Mom’s foot landed in that dog poop, however, the picture taking venture came to an abrupt end. Her favorite shoes were ruined in her opinion, and no amount of cleaning could convince her otherwise. Never really much of a pet person anyway because of her allergies, this incident sealed the deal.

Fast forward about two weeks to when the nemesis entered the scene. This dog owner probably thought that he was safe walking his dog in the secluded area between the trees and the split rail fence. When mom finally happened to be home, however, and caught sight of him walking his dog with no regard for the mess that was being made, the poopy bags were flying!

Mom bolted out the door to deck and down the stairs before the offending pooch could finish doing his duty. Armed with some pet poopy bags that she found on a clearance rack, mom loudly approached the dog owner and pretended that she was coming to his rescue. In a voice loud enough that the neighbors could hear, Mom expressed her sympathy that the irresponsible dog owner could not afford to buy his own poopy bags. Offering the bags in a mostly aggressive fashion, Mom insisted that he accept the gift of the multi colored poopy bags that she had purchased. Angered, more than embarrassed, at being caught, the man began picking up pile after pile of both fresh and dried dog poop.
Obviously more a friend to his canine than an enemy to Mom, however, the dog owner continued to walk his dog on its favorite route every night. He did, however, now carry his own dog poop bags.

Are You a Responsible Pet Owner?
It is no secret that people love to make social media posts about their dogs. On any given day you can see videos of dogs playing frisbee, dogs playing dead, and dogs playing with children. Pet owners post photos of their dogs napping, messing up already made beds, looking out the window at annoying birds, and lounging in the sun.
The one issue that these adorable photos and videos seem to ignore, though, is that of responsible dog ownership. A responsibility that dictates that the owner will pick up after their pets when they are out for a walk. Whether it is a dog park or a playground for children, responsible owners know that they have to use dog wast bags and clean up after their pets. To the frustration of the many owners who follow this common sense protocol, however, there are many owners who simply do not seem to care. Their carelessness and neglect, then, becomes a problem for everyone else. Even when doggy waste stations are provided in high traffic areas like dog parks, there is always that one owner who tries to get away without following the rules.
As more and more neighborhoods and cities are working to combat the mess left behind by irresponsible owners, some groups are taking the situation more seriously than others. From fines in some cities to apartment complexes that make all pet owners register their dog’s DNA from a poop sample, many are trying to make it clear what it means to be a well mannered pet owner.

If you want even more reasons, other than becoming the arch enemy of an angry Mom, about why to pick up after your pet, consider these facts:

  • 23 million fecal coliform bacteria can be present in a single gram of dog feces.
  • Dogs defecate an average of twice a day, which adds up to about 14 piles of feces in a single week.
  • 40% of dog owners do nott pick up their pet?s poop.

How To Protect Your Animal?s Health

No Comments Healthcare for pets Pet health insurance plans Pet insurance

Plans for pet insurance

When it comes to human medicine and animal medicine, neither one comes very cheap. Animal care is actually one of the most expensive form of medicine in the nation and the costs just keep rising year after year. It?s gotten to the point where many pet owners are opting to put their animals down due to the simple fact that they cannot afford the treatment. Expensive health care for animals and pet health insurance plans has made it quite a challenge for animal owners to protect your animals health.

What makes it even more difficult to protect your animals health is that it?s almost out of your control. The warning signs of an unhealthy or sick animal is not the same as it is for a human being. Unless you know your animal very well or make frequent visits to the vet it’s hard to tell whether their healthy or not. But maybe following these tips will help you prevent and illnesses or having to pay the extra bucks for expensive insurance for pet care.

Tip 1
Make sure your pet?s life and living situation as stress free as possible. A happy pet makes for a healthy animal. With the rise of pet medical insurance cost, it will save you time, money, and trouble if you opt for preventative care and it all starts by making your animal?s living situation as comfortable as possible. Make sure they get plenty of exercise and remain active. Further try to give your pet it?s own living space where they can roam around freely and do whatever they like.

Tip 2
Water is the nectar of life for all living things. Ensure that your animal is getting plenty of water throughout the day. Your pet must remain hydrated so that their kidneys and heart doesn?t have to work too hard. While it might be difficult to measure the amount of water your pet drinks but it might be as simple as just making sure that water is always available. Hydrating your animal is possibly the most simplest and effective way to protect your animals health.

Tip 3
Make sure that you are feeding your pet healthy food and avoiding the kinds of food that may cause health problems. This will require you to do some extensive research and guidance from a pet health care professional. The food your animal eats is what fuels their body and feeds their ells. Animals cannot read the nutrition labels that are on the food?s packaging but you have the ability to have a better understanding for what type of ingredients are included in your pet?s food. It?s important that you feed them the right amount of food as well as knowing what kinds of foods to avoid.

Tip 4
Pet proofing your home might be a huge life saver and a great way to protect your animals health. It?s imperative that you stay aware of the objects in your home that might pose a threat to your pet?s safety. Make it part of your pet wellness plans to do a walk-through of not only your house but the neighboring area. Check for anything that might be harmful to your animal. If there?s a pond in the neighborhood or if you have a pool in the backyard make sure your pet does not have unsupervised access to the region.

Tip 5
Another important step to help protect your animals health is to either spay or neuter them. Besides helping in preventing any unplanned pregnancies, this medical procedure has several health benefits. Spaying your female pets helps prevent breast cancer and infections that might occur in the uterus. It also prevents them from going into heat. Neutering your male animals also provide the similar benefits. Male pets tend to be less aggressive when they are neutered and it also keeps them from getting testicular cancer and prostate problems.

The key point to this is to nurture your pet and stay vigilant of any possible health concerns that might occur. The best way to do this is to have a preventative approach and making sure that you have plans for pet insurance.