Nov 28 2011

Keeping Pigs As Pets – Vital Precautions And Considerations When Rearing Pigs

You love keeping pigs at home, and as weird as it may sound, you are now looking for resources about keeping pigs as pets. Not so many people would find the idea of keeping pigs as pets amusing. You, on the other hand, know better than that. More people got the same old notion for pigs, that these are filthy animals with a foul smell.

As an animal lover, you were first encouraged to find out more about keeping pigs as pets after you have read that these are intelligent animals. These traits can actually give their pet owners some headaches as they always find ways to escape no matter how genius you thought their fence or other types of enclosures to be. They are actually not only intelligent, but curious as well.

These are very determined animals, as well as hedonistic, greedy and gregarious. Keeping pigs as pets can actually become a challenge, so if you love it and you are up for such, you might as well pursue the venture. But if you are the laid back type of pet owner, you should already be contented with cats or dogs that can be very obedient once they have recognized you as their master.

Pigs love the attention that you will bestow on them, especially if you will speak to them and scratch the back of their ears. They adore being pampered, but there are also certain things that you must never do to these animals if you don’t want them to end up sulking for days or even for weeks. They also love getting scrubbed with a brush. Pigs do no like it when they are being slapped on the rear end or on their shoulders.

No matter how much you love your pigs, you must stay cautious, especially when you are feeding them. Even though you love them, you must still remember that pigs are voracious eater and will eat just about anything. You have to make sure that you keep your hands off or remove your hands immediately after you already have given them their food. You wouldn’t want to risk losing your hand in the process of adding these animals as you pets at home. For additional supplements to keep them in good shape, consult your veterinarian. He or she can suggest the proper supplements needed. Either way, you will be fairly rewarded with all your hard work when the pigs are ready to be sold out in the market.

Sep 24 2011

Raising Ducks For Beginners – What Beginners Should to Know to Raise Ducks Successfully

Plenty of people raise ducks for profit. They find ducks better than chickens for a lot of reasons. For instance, ducks tend to live longer than chickens. In addition, they do not easily acquire common avian diseases. So, they can make profits even during the second year of laying. They also need a longer interval for stock replacement. Duck housing is also less elaborate and less costly than poultry houses.

However, raising ducks for beginners can be stressful and exhausting. Young ones can be quite difficult to handle.They are very delicate, and they cannot be fed just anything. But as they grow older, they become more independent. If you want to raise ducks yet you have no experience yet, you can follow these tips on keeping ducks for beginners:

1. Set up the duck houses in a peaceful, cool place that is near to a pond or stream. You can use cogon and bamboo materials for the housing. Then, you must provide every duck with three square feet of floor space. You can cover the floor with hulls to keep it clean and dry.

2. Create an artificial pond or use a children’s pool for the ducks. This will keep them cool. Then again, this step is not compulsory. You can still raise ducks without this.

3. Acquire one drake for every five ducks to start breeding. Also, you must remember that the eggs intended for hatching must come from those which are at least seven months old to ensure better hatchability. This is actually a very important step on raising for beginners. You can start choosing breeders when they are around two months old. Younger ones are less fertile.

4. Another tip on raising ducks for beginners is that drakes must be a month older or the same age as those when breeding. These drakes must be raised in a separate house, though; and they can only be placed with others when it is time for mating.

5. Feed them with the appropriate feeds. Newly born ducklings must only be fed with starter mash. Six-week old ducklings may be given grower mash until they are four-month old. Older ducks beyond four months can be fed with laying ration. Nonetheless, you must only get feeds from reputable dealers.

Whatever your reasons, this guide will help you learn how to raise ducks.Ducks can bring interest and variety to your life. Ducks can be a good source of income too. People raise them for meat or for eggs.