Deuteronomy 3:22 ESV You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’ Deuteronomy 28:7 ESV “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. Joshua 10:25 ESV And […]
Miniature donkeys cannot defend themselves from the predator and some older and slower donkeys standard and mammoth cannot. A cougar or wolf is a serious threat.
We love living on our farm theDonkey Whisperer Farm. Every blessing is from GOD in Jesus Christ name,we thank GOD every day for this farm. Dogs are a huge part of keeping our farm working to live in peace and harmony. Predators will destroy your farm. If you are looking for a livestock guarding dog we highly recommendMarble Peaks Anatolian and Shepherd Rest Anatolian breeders.
Please remember the Anatolian dog is not for the beginner dog owner. This breed requires a fair human leader, a fence and is a self-thinker. This breed is not for the beginner dog owner. Large fenced farms are a requirement as these dogs love to bark, run and dig!
The Anatolian is a serious dog, built to remove predators from the farm. It is our belief all animals require clean water, fences and shelter to get out of the elements. A vet is required for all animals just like people need to see a doctor. Common sense is vital to the health of your farm animals and the farm you manage. Please do your homework before making the decision to bring the Anatolian into your life. These dogs do not enjoy change, they need a fair leader just like the donkey.
Thank you for visiting our blog!
Scott & Melody Johnson,
Owner Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC
Melody & Scott Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) doesn’t make headlines as often as it once did. But this potentially debilitating neurological disease remains a threat to horses all over the United States. If anything, its range is spreading.
Therefore, a primary objective in disease prevention should be to minimize stress so a horse’s immune system can operate at maximal capacity. Bill Saville, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor and chair in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University, and his colleagues investigated risk factors for development of EPM. In this study they acknowledged the important role of the immune system in fending off disease. “When animals are stressed, suppressive proteins produced by the central nervous system are released and lead to suppression of lymphocyte production and function,” said Saville. This, coupled with elevated cortisol levels related to stress, might increase a horse’s risk of developing EPM.
Control Measures to Reduce Risk Saville’s comprehensive study (Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2000) revealed the following findings that tell us how we can more effectively prevent EPM in our horses:
Age The highest risk of infection occurred in horses aged 1-5 years. This could be due to the use of young horses in competitive situations and the associated stress.
Opossums Presence of opossums on a farm poses an increased risk.
Location Horses on farms with previously EPM-infected horses had a higher risk of developing EPM, likely due to the presence of protozoa in the feed or water and increased likelihood of exposure.
Seasonal effects More EPM cases occur in spring, summer, and fall, possibly related to hot weather acting as a stressor, as well as this being a time of increased travel to competitions with accompanying transport stress affecting the immune system.
Stress An association of stressful events (such as injury, accidents, foaling, surgery, transport, and illness) with increased risk might be related to suppression of a horse’s immune system.
Natural water source Presence of water sources (creek or river) on the farm provided a preferred habitat for opossums away from the horse barns, thereby decreasing exposure and risk.
Food storage Securing feed and water sources from opossum fecal contamination is important in limiting exposure and risk. It is important to limit opossum presence since sporocysts (the infective stage of the protozoon) are able to survive for as much as a year in the environment. Additionally, birds feed on insects and plant material in the feces of opossums, thereby serving as a vehicle to disseminate sporocysts in the environment. David Granstrom, DVM, PhD, one of the pioneer researchers of EPM when he worked at the University of Kentucky, emphasizes how environmental management can go a long way toward limiting infection.
“It looks like the only way to clean barns that is effective and will not destroy the barn is by the heat of steam cleaning.” –Dr. David Granstrom
“It’s most important to protect feed and the local environment from contamination with opossum feces,” states Granstrom. “Protect livestock feeds and hay from opossums. Keep the local area free of anything that attracts opossums, such as pet food, garbage, and carrion.”
Saville says it isn’t easy to kill the parasites in the environment, and sporocysts are resistant to even the most intense disinfectants.
Granstrom adds, “It looks like the only way to clean barns that is effective and will not destroy the barn is by the heat of steam cleaning.”
Source: The Horse & Equis links are attached to this blog.
2017 is our year! This has been a long process of praying, planning and waiting for the exact right time.
Things To Consider Before You Start To Build
Marrigage – Did you plan your dreams with your partner? If not things could get rocky. Marriage is a give and take each must learn to let go. ReadHow to stay married while building.
Land – Will you purchase the land or use your builders land? If you use the builders land the builder may or may not want you to use their builder and cookie cutter plans. These plans will not be your custom plans.Do your homework, easements, wetlands, etc., are important before purchasing land with nothing on it.
Working with an architect is not always easy. Just like everything in life you must do some work if your goal is excellence. Interview and research to find the right architect who is willing listen to you, build your home not their creative project. This is your money. Try to find an architect that actually has experienced building a home from beginning to end. Some never get out of the office.
Learning to read the house drawings. Ask you architect before you start paying and working with him/her to teach you how to read the drawings. This seems to get lost in the middle of the storm of creating the house.
Read your contract
The builder must follow the contract i.e., you asked for a certain size (material) of window, door this must be installed. No cheap stuff can be exchanged without your signature on the contract.
Change orders is a NO, NO. Do not do re-work, make sure all of your house is in 3D to walk around inside your home before signing off on the house. This will save you tears and money. When you have a great builder everything is wonderful. Let the experts take care of your home the first time correctly. The cost to do re-work is too expensive both financially and emotionally.
Live on your land for at least one to two years. Why? Neighbors, noise, weather helps determine where you want to place your home. We lived on our land for two years before construction started, this has been an invaluable experience in determining where to place the home on our farm.
Do your homework before purchasing your land, easements, wetlands, etc., are important before purchasing land with nothing on it.
The most important person to hire is your builder. Meet people who have used the builder, ask to walk in and see their work. A good builder will have references. Interview at least three builders in your area.
Finally it’s time to build. Make sure your builders contract reflects you do not want garbage left on your property, loud music blasting, cigarets, food thrown about. Write this on the contract.Install video surveillance! Be sure to keep outstanding records and an outstanding budget. Did you know you will pay tax for building your home? Yes!
Did you know building a home is stressful? Yes! Dreams and reality sometimes do not match depending on your pocket-book. The computer is your friend for design ideas and it’s free. Use this tool save yourself money with a fancy designer. Be sure to send photos to your builder.
Donkey Whisperer Farm is proud to announce Donkey 101 Online Training Video Course, the first in a series of online training courses by Trainer Melody Johnson.
Donkey 101 teaches the fundamentals of resistance-free, natural training for you and your donkey. Donkey 101 offers a holistic training approach that includes insight and guidance into donkey psychology, emotion and behavior. Donkey 101 focuses on unique and proven techniques that train you, the owner, to train your donkey so you and your donkey enjoy a balanced, positive and rewarding relationship.
Donkey 101 includes 19 instructional videos and a PDF highlighting the vital aspects of donkey training for just $59.99. Videos include such topics as, building trust, staying on donkey time, teaching your donkey to catch you, introverts vs extroverts, teaching your donkey “walk-on and “whoa”.
Donkey Whisperer Farm is proud to announce Donkey 101 Online Training Video Course, the first in a series of online training courses by Trainer Melody Johnson.
Donkey 101 teaches the fundamentals of resistance-free, natural training for you and your donkey. We offer a holistic training approach that includes insight and guidance into donkey psychology, emotion and behavior. Donkey 101 focuses on unique and proven techniques that train you, the owner, to train your donkey so you and your donkey enjoy a balanced, positive and rewarding relationship.
Donkey 101 includes 19 instructional videos and a PDF addressing the topics below all for just $59.99!
Introduction
A Small Training Area
Training Tools
On Donkey Time
Building Trust
Three Second Rule
Personal Space
Your Donkey Catches You
Walk-On and Whoa
You are the Leader!
How to Ground Tie
Going in and out of Stalls
Introverts and Extroverts
Backing up
Teaching “Over”
Walk-On, Whoa and Back Up
Donkeys are not Stubborn!
Going in and out of Gates
Taking Your Donkey for a Walk
We recommend each Course participant purchase aDonkey Whisperer Farm Rope Halter. Our rope halters are designed specifically for the training donkeys, not horses or mules! Our rope halters are made in the USA with high quality yacht rope and have a lifetime warranty.Visit our Online Store to purchase your rope halter and the Donkey 101 Online Training Video Course.
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