Goat Nutrition Session & Goat Day Info

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, February 24, 4H’ers were treated to another great educational session.  The topic of Tuesday’s talk was goat nutrition, and included three presenters from Michigan Agra including 4-H leader Barb Weston, who works for the company.  Goat Superintendent Vicki Horsley, Assistant Superintendent Diana Yeager, and leader Kevin Yeager were also on hand to help out with the presentation.   The program was full of excellent information about goat health and management, and included visuals to keep the audience engaged. 

Bottles illustrating the importance of clean, fresh water for goats.

 

 

After the presentation, Vicki reminded 4-H’ers in the goat project about Spring Goat Day up at Michigan State University’s campus.  Goat Day is sponsored by the Michigan Dairy Goat Society, but includes valuable information about all types of goats.  There will be a potluck lunch, keynote speaker, and fun activities such as a youth skills contest.  The charge is $5 per person and $15 per family.  Click here for more information on this great program!

 

Attention Horse Project Leaders!

 

If you are in search of great materials for your Horse & Pony Project  youth,  please take a look at eXtension’s Horse Page.  There are several short video clips and some longer learning lessons that would be excellent for club meetings etc..  The site also provides the option of “Asking an Expert” questions, and many other resources.  Karen Waite, Equine/4-H Specialist at MSU helped create the content at the site, along with experts from other landgrant universities across the U.S.  The eXtension site  also includes information on other livestock areas, family and consumer science and more.  Check it out!

 

Poultry Diseases Wrap-Up

The February 17th Poultry Diseases Meeting was very well attended and full of great information. Two experts came down from Michigan State University to talk about poultry disease management. The program began with Dr. Darrin Karcher, a Poultry Extension Specialist in the Animal Science Department. Dr. Karcher talked about biosecurity and how to prevent the spread of illness among flocks. He presented some excellent tips for how to disinfect premises, set up quarantine spaces, and manage birds as to minimize disease risk.

Next, Dr. Mick Fulton spoke about poultry diseases and treatments. Dr. Fulton is a veterinarian and an Associate Professor of Avian Diseases at MSU, and presently works in the diagnostic lab. Dr. Fulton presented a program outlining the common poultry diseases, their symptoms and treatments. His presentation included photographs so members and leaders could identify these diseases by sight. If you would like a copy of the powerpoint presentations from these presenters, stop by the 4-H Office. Copies of the Dairy Feeder Presentation and the Sheep Presentation are also available at the office.

The next livestock educational session, Goat Health & Management, will be on February 24 at 7:00pm at the ISD.

St. Joe 4-H at the Winter Beef Classic

The Michigan Winter Beef Classic was held in December 2008 at the MSU Pavilion. Several St. Joseph County 4-Hers had the opportunity to exhibit their 4-H beef projects at the show. Exhibitors competed in showmanship, market steer and heifer classes as well as breeding stock classes. The Winter Classic is held every year in December and is a great place to show your prospect animals for the following years fair. Members in attendance from St. Joe County were; Ben Crites, Marie Bennett, Drew Pueschel, Austin Pueschel, Hunter Clark, Ty Cool, Alexis Pueschel, Wyatt Cool, Ben Littlefield, Brady Littlefield and Andrew Littlefield.

4-H'er Marie Bennett at the Winter Classic

First Shooting Sports Meeting for 2009!

The first Shooting Sports meeting will be held on February 28 at 10:00am at the St. Joseph County Sportsman’s Club’s facilities at 236440 Featherstone Rd in Sturgis.  Members and leaders should attend.  New schedules, 4-H rules, and the 2009 Hunter Education Class schedule will be available.

Leaders from archery, BB gun, rifle, and shotgun disciplines will be in attendance to answer your questions.  Do not bring any guns or bows to this meeting.

If you have a friend who might be interesting in enrolling in the 4-H Shooting Sports program, bring them aong!  All registration forms and information will be available.

 

Sauwaseebee 4-H Saddle Club Helps Horses in Need

 

 

 

Members of the Sauwauseebee Saddle 4-H Club brightened up a few hard-luck horses’ day by donating several items to a local horse rescue, including grain, horse treats, horse supplements, halters, lead ropes.  One club member, Jared Diekman, from Diekman’s Ferrier Service, donated two trimmings and Sauwauseebee Club leader, Chelsea Morrill, from River’s Edge Stables in Three Rivers donated two free lessons or training to the Rescue.  The horse rescue, Holiday Acres , is located in Sturgis, Michigan, and takes in horses that their owners can no longer afford to feed or take care of. 

This community service project is just one of the projects that the club participates in throughout the year.  The club recently received second place in the annual Farm Bureau canned food drive for the Southwest Michigan Food bank donating over 200 pounds of food  More information on The Sauwauseebee Saddle Club can be found at their new webpage.