Education Commons^™

Ec91-269 Domestic Poultry Feed Formulation Guide, Earl W. Gleaves, Thomas W. Sullivan, F. John Struwe

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This publication provides basic, practical information about nturition and diet requirements for poultry. Nutrient requirements, diet formulations, feed ingredient analyses, and feeding methods are ever changing. Feed cost is the largest single item of expense in producing poultry meat or eggs. Poultry producers should adopt a comprehensive feeding program based on sound nutrition principles tailored to a specific production purpose. This publication provides the basis for such a feeding program.

Rp367 Strategies For Feeding The Ewe Flock, R.M. Jordan

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This publication covers the strategies of feeding the ewe flock from aspects to consider and problems likely to be encountered, useful feed consumption data, characteristics of feedstuffs for sheep, pastures, mineral deficiencies and toxicities, and feeding the ewe.

G90-978 Byproduct Feedstuffs For Beef And Dairy Cattle, Don J. Kubik, Rick Stock

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide details the type of byproduct feedstuffs available for beef and dairy cattle, a description of their characteristics and discussion of their nutrient value. Byproduct feeds have become a stabilizing factor in the economic success of many beef and dairy operations. Byproduct feeds are the residue that remains after feeds have been processed. The processing of soybeans into soybean meal results in a large supply of soybean hulls. Processing corn into high fructose syrup provides corn gluten feed and corn bran. Converting corn starch into ethanol provides distillers grains. Hominy, a byproduct of processing corn starch for human consumption, …

G90-998 How To Interpret And Use The ProstaphTm Test, Jeffrey F. Keown

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The ProStaph 1^TMMastitis costs U.S. dairy producers almost two billion dollars per year in lost milk production and treatment costs.

Mastitis is the major health problem of dairy cattle. The actual lost income for each mastitis infection is more than $400. Over 70 percent of the economic loss in mastitis is due to lost milk production from subclinically infected cows (those without apparent symptoms).

Subclinical forms of mastitis may not be observed by the milkers or other individuals in the dairy operation. Since there may be little or no visible change in the udder or milk, a laboratory …

G89-915 Testing Livestock Feeds For Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Sheep And Horses, Rick Grant, Bruce Anderson, Richard J. Rasby, Terry L. Mader

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides tips on how to determine feeds you should analyze and nutrients to measure. It tells how to interpret the results of feed analysis.

Why Test Feeds?

Nutrient concentration can vary considerably in feeds, especially forages. Protein in alfalfa hay can range from 10 to 25 percent or more of the dry matter; grass hay will contain between four and 18 percent protein.

Use feed tests to target specific feeds to different livestock. Feed high quality forage to the most productive livestock or when nutrient needs are highest. Feed lower quality forage to animals with lower nutrient needs. …

G89-915 Testing Livestock Feeds For Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Sheep And Horses (Revised April 1997), Rick Grant, Bruce Anderson, Richard J. Rasby, Terry L. Mader

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides tips on how to determine feeds you should analyze and nutrients to measure. It tells how to interpret the results of feed analysis.

Why Test Feeds?

Nutrient concentration can vary considerably in feeds, especially forages. Protein in alfalfa hay can range from 10 to 25 percent or more of the dry matter; grass hay will contain between four and 18 percent protein.

Use feed tests to target specific feeds to different livestock. Feed high quality forage to the most productive livestock or when nutrient needs are highest. Feed lower quality forage to animals with lower nutrient needs.

G88-892 Mixing Quality Pig Feed (Revised July 1992), Duane Reese, Mike Brumm

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Pig feed quality problems and mixing recommendations are covered here. Feed ingredients represent over 60 percent of the total cost of farrow-finish pork production and 65-70 percent of the variable expenses. Attention to quality preparation, in addition to purchasing decisions, is a component of feed ingredient cost management. Errors in formulation, misuse of feed mixing equipment, use of poor quality feed ingredients or lack of a quality assurance program can have costly consequences.

Ec89-263 Nebraska Breeding And Calving Record Book

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This Breeding-Calving Record Book will serve as a useful aid in keeping complete and accurate beef performance records. Performance records have long been recognized as a valuable tool in the selection of genetically superior cattle; in addition, performance records are now being used to eliminate much of the "guesswork" from herd management decisions.

Ec89-265 Ammonia Treatment Of Low Quality Forages, Richard J. Rasby, Ivan G. Rush, John Ward, Terry Klopfenstein

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Increased costs of production have caused livestock producers to reduce feed costs whenever possible. Low quality crop residues, because of their availability, receive attention and offer considerable potential for reducing feed costs for cattle producers; however, because they are low in digestibility, intake by livestock is reduced. Treatment of low quality crop residues with anhydrous ammonia improves digestibility or total digestible nutrients (TDN) and increases consumption of these forages. The positive effects of ammonia treatment on digestibility and intake of low quality forages make them a viable possibility in feeding programs.

G89-915 Testing Livestock Feeds For Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Sheep And Horses, Rick Grant, Bruce Anderson, Richard J. Rasby, Terry L. Mader

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides tips on how to determine feeds you should analyze and nutrients to measure. It tells how to interpret the results of feed analysis.

Why Test Feeds?

Nutrient concentration can vary considerably in feeds, especially forages. Protein in alfalfa hay can range from 10 to 25 percent or more of the dry matter; grass hay will contain between four and 18 percent protein.

Use feed tests to target specific feeds to different livestock. Feed high quality forage to the most productive livestock or when nutrient needs are highest. Feed lower quality forage to animals with lower nutrient needs. …

G88-879 Peafowl, Earl W. Gleaves

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses the care and feeding of the colorful and ornamental peafowl.

The peafowl is an ornamental bird which is often grown to adorn farmsteads, private estates or public parks and zoological gardens. They enjoy living in the open and prefer to roost in trees. The roosting place should be arranged some distance from dwellings because peafowl are inclined to be noisy, especially at night.

G88-878 Management For Disease Prevention In Feedlots, Gene White, Duane Rice, Don Hudson, Dale Grotelueschen

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

When cattle are put in feedlots, they change diets and environments. This NebGuide discusses ways to minimize possible losses caused by those changes. Cattle are a vital link in the human food chain in the United States. The utilized agricultural area in this country is about 1.06 million acres, of which 64 percent is range (government and private). Grazing is the only practical method of harvesting these valuable resources. Ruminants convert forage produced by the soil nutrients, water and solar energy to a high quality protein source for humans. The feedlot phase of cattle feeding follows the utilization of roughages …

G87-860 How To Interpret The Dhia-230 Somatic Cell Count Report, Jeffrey F. Keown

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This guide explains how to examine DHIA somatic cell count reports and use them as valuable aids in identifying the major causes of individual herds.

Losses to mastitis are estimated at more than $200 per cow annually. In Nebraska annual losses total more than $20 million dollars.

G86-783 Complete Rations -- Should You Feed Them?, Foster G. Owen

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses the advantages and disadvantages of feeding complete rations to dairy herds.

Using the complete ration system for feeding dairy cows has become increasingly popular. Nutritionists generally consider it the ideal method of feeding dairy cattle. Milk production per cow can be maximized, and feed and labor costs minimized, with this system. However, the necessary equipment is expensive and may be excessive for loose-housed herds of less than 100 cows.

G86-820 How To Maximize Income By Managing Days Dry, Jeffrey F. Keown

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This guide discusses the benefits of maintaining the optimum calving interval and offers suggestions for accomplishing this reproductive management technique.

Most dairy producers are aware that an optimum calving interval is 365 days. This is a normal lactation length of 305 days with a dry period of 60 days. This interval is often looked at as a goal to strive toward rather than a goal that must be reached to maximize income from the sale of milk.

G86-815 Reproductive Problems In Rams, Alan R. Doster, Dale M. Grotelueschen

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Systematic examination of all males to be used for breeding can prevent reproductive failure, minimize nonpregnant ewes, and increase numbers of lambs born early during lambing season.

The importance of using only highly fertile, healthy rams in breeding programs cannot be overemphasized. This is especially true in the case of small producers where only one ram is required. The ram represents an often neglected part of sheep production.

G86-775 Prussic Acid Poisoning, Norman Shcneider, Bruce Anderson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Prussic acid poisoning and its treatment are discussed in this NebGuide, along with methods to reduce its occurrence.

Sudangrass, forage sorghum, and sorghum-sudangrass hybrids are often used for summer pasture, green chop, hay, or silage. Under certain conditions, livestock consuming these feedstuffs may be poisoned by prussic acid (HCN).

Exposure to excessive prussic acid--also called hydrocyanic acid, hydrogen cyanide, or cyanide--can be fatal. However, producers can manage and feed their livestock to avoid problems with prussic acid.

G86-799 Health Management And Recommended Vaccinations For Dairy Replacements, Duane Rice, R. Gene White

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses the importance of having a good vaccination schedule, and provides recommendations on which vaccinations to give, depending on variables. Correct management decisions are necessary to realize maximum returns on investments in any dairy operation. Dairymen sometimes assume there is a quick remedy for health problems, but the prevention of disease is by far less expensive. Preventing health problems in the dairy herd goes much further than using a veterinarian to treat individual animals with emergency problems. A veterinarian with experience and a genuine interest in dairy cattle is essential to assist the dairyman with herd health problems. …

G86-797 Causes Of Vaccination-Immunization Failures In Livestock, Duane Rice, E. Denis Erickson, Dale Grotelueschen

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses reasons why vaccinations fail to provide immunity against disease, and how to prevent this from happening.

To comprehend the many reasons for vaccine failure, it is important to understand how animals and humans have the ability to resist infectious diseases. It is also important to know what a disease is and how it affects the animal.

According to Stedman's Dictionary, disease is an interruption, cessation or disorder of body functions, systems or organs. Diseases may be obvious even to the untrained eye, or detectable only by sophisticated testing procedures (subclinical disease). Serious irreversible damage may be …

G86-818 How To Use The Milk Progesterone Tests, Larry L. Larson

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This guide discusses the basis for milk progesterone tests, using the test to confirm estrus, as an early indicator of pregnancy, and the availability and costs of kits. Milk progesterone test kits are now commercially available for on-farm use. Correct interpretation of the test results requires accurate estrous detection and good records. Properly used, these tests can help determine (1) if a cow is near estrus and potentially could conceive if bred, or (2) as an early indicator of pregnancy.

G86-822 How To Estimate A Dairy Herd's Reproductive Losses, Jeffrey F. Keown

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Remedies for herd losses caused by calving interval, dry periods, A.I. performance, and age at first freshening.

One of the major areas of lost income to the dairy producer is in the reproductive performance of the dairy herd. These losses are often overlooked because they are indirect costs. If producers could be given a monthly bill indicating the amount of money that improper reproductive management has cost them, then drastic changes would occur.

The majority of reproductive losses occur in the following areas:

1. Calving interval too long or too short.

2. Dry period too long or too short.

3. …

G85-747 Enteric Diseases (Scours) Of Swine, Alex Hogg, Alfonso Torres

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide describes four major enteric diseases of swine, and discusses the cause, clinical signs, differential diagnosis, treatment, and control of each.

Four of the most important infectious enteric diseases of swine are reviewed in this publication. These include colibacillosis, transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE), rotavirus, and enterotoxemia (clostridial enteritis). A fifth disease, swine dysentery, is discussed in NebGuide G85-748.

G85-761 Feed Additives For Beef Cattle, Rick Stock, Terry L. Mader

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses feed additives, including how they work, feeding restrictions and feeding recommendations.

One of the best methods to reduce feed costs is through the use of feed additives. Their primary effects are to improve feed efficiency and/or daily gain. Some feed additives have secondary benefits which include reducing the incidence of acidosis, coccidiosis, and grain bloat, while others suppress estrus, reduce liver abscesses, or control foot rot problems.

Feed additives can be divided into five general categories: 1) ionophores; 2) antibiotics; 3) estrus suppressants; 4) buffers; and 5) others. Each feed additive has its own characteristics and feeding …

G85-755 How To Set Goals For Your Breeding Program, Jeffrey F. Keown

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide describes how to determine which trait(s) to select for, and how multiple trait selection affects genetic progress.

Dairy producers are often concerned with placing emphasis on different production traits in their breeding program. Selecting on only economically important traits should be the objective of every producer. The use of artificial insemination (A.I.) sires is the most economical and productive way to increase the genetic potential of the herd.

A cow's record is a measure of her genetic potential, which is modified by the environment in which she is kept. Environmental factors that directly influence a cow's record include …

G84-696 Small Grains For Silage Or Hay, Paul Q. Guyer, Terry L. Mader

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using small grains for silage or hay, including handling, storage, feeding, animal performance, and nitrate toxicity potential.

Small grain crops are potentially important sources of high quality forage. Harvesting small grains for hay or silage rather than as grain may mean increased dollar returns per acre. Small grain silage or hay represents more total nutrient production per acre than harvest as grain and, when fed to ruminants, results in increased animal production.

G84-694 New Protein Values For Ingredients Used In Growing Cattle Rations, Rick Stock, Terry L. Mader, Terry Klopfenstein

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide assigns new protein values to feeds and describes two new systems for evaluating supplemental protein sources. Information about protein sources has changed greatly in the last 10 years. Words like "bypass," "escape," or "slowly degraded" have been used to describe some proteins. These terms have the same meaning and refer to a protein source's ability to escape breakdown in the rumen. Ingredient tables usually only list the crude protein content of feeds. Although this has been a useful system, it does not adequately evaluate supplemental protein sources. Digestible protein values have helped describe some forages, but can be …

G83-678 Producing Milk With A Low Bacteria Count, Stanely E. Wallen, Don J. Kubik, Stephen L. James, Daniel J. Borer, Gerald R. Bodman, E. Denis Erickson, Duane N. Rice, Philip H. Cole, Foster G. Owen

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide provides cleaning, sanitizing, mechanical, environmental and other procedures to follow to assure a low bacterial count in milk. Bacteria are tiny, rapidly reproducing microorganisms that are too small to be seen without a high power microscope. Their very tiny size makes it very difficult to eliminate them from dairy equipment. Because bacterial growth in milk may cause spoilage and possibly human illnesses, a low bacterial count is one of the best indicators of top quality milk. Milk will almost always be of top quality if properly harvested from healthy, clean cows with clean equipment, cooled quickly and kept …

G83-666 Breeding Soundness Examination Of Beef Bulls, James A. Gosey

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide describes factors to consider when evaluating a beef bull's reproductive ability. These include the reproductive tract, semen and mating desire. A herd bull that will settle a higher percentage of cows during a limited breeding season is essential to a successful cow-calf operation. In many cow-calf operations, however, the bull's role in the herd's reproductive performance is taken for granted. The bull's fertility is several times more important than that of a cow. Each bull can be expected to settle as many as 30 cows. The bull also contributes half of the genetic potential of the entire calf …

G83-655 Management Of Early Weaned Calves, Paul Q. Guyer

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide discusses the benefits and disadvantages of weaning beef calves early, including rations and methods for both drylot and pasture-grain feeding programs.

Early weaning of beef calves is a management practice that should be considered under situations such as fall calving, drylot cow-calf production and drought. In areas where forage quality is very poor in late summer and early fall, early weaning might also be considered as a regular practice. Early weaning can enhance the efficiency of drylot cow-calf operations by allowing greater use of poor quality roughages by the cow herd.

G81-542 The Home Laying Flock, Part Ii Management, Earl W. Gleaves

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebGuide contains management suggestions pertinent to the home laying flock.

NebGuide G81-541, The Home Laying Flock, Part I: Getting Started, provides information on the early decisions, housing, equipment and some management procedures related to these topics. This NebGuide covers other management suggestions pertinent to the home laying flock.