What to watch for in the early days of a foal’s life

Young foals are both precocious and precarious creatures. They are precocious in being able to arrive in the early hours of the morning and nurse and shadow their dams within hours of arrival. Yet they are precarious should they succumb to any illness which leaves them struggling for survival. Recognizing healthy behaviour and development of


Flooded markets push prices lower

The Winnipeg Livestock Auction received 350 sheep and goats for the sale. The eastern and western markets have become filled with the constant supply of sheep and lambs — with the assistance of regionally supplied animals. Following other meat trends, store prices have not followed producer prices down. The buyers put extreme pressure on the



Suffering from a sheep-shearing shortfall

The Manitoba Sheep Association wants to increase the number
of shearers, but shearers say they need more sheep

The Manitoba Sheep Association wants government help to train new sheep shearers — but shearers already in the business say they can’t get enough work. There are only about 3,000 breeding ewes and rams per shearer, said Heinz Krauskopf, one of nine shearers listed on the association’s website. “That’s maybe 30 days’ work,” said Krauskopf,

Danish inspectors find pork in beef kebabs

Reuters / Danish authorities said March 26 they discovered traces of pork in some meat sold as beef for kebabs during an inspection triggered by the recent horsemeat scandal, prompting demands by the country’s Muslim community for stricter inspection. A spokesman for the Danish veterinary and food administration said pork traces were found in beef



Research project pinpoints cause of bison deaths

The preliminary results are in from a bison research project examining the post-mortem findings and pathogenic agents causing bison deaths in Alberta herds. Four veterinarians have examined the causes of 100 bison deaths in herds across the province. The research group is composed of four veterinarians — Drs. Burrage, Clark, Lewis, and Tremblay. Although only


Slight decrease in lamb prices at April 3 sale

Producers delivered 200 sheep and goats to the Winnipeg Livestock Auction April 3 sale. Buyers showed limited interest in ewes. The price ranged from $0.42 to $0.54 per pound, compared to the price range from last sale of $0.51 to $0.90 per pound. The ewes placed in the lower class ranged from $0.20 to $0.35

What’s a pet to some is dinner for others

What’s food and what’s taboo depends on a lot of things, including how human societies
developed, what made sense in different regions, and how humans ordered their world

What’s food and what’s taboo depends on a lot of things, including how human societies developed, what made sense in different regions, and how humans ordered their world Don McMahon gets a mixed reaction when he tells people what was served at his wedding reception in Uzbekistan last year. “Some people are kind of disgusted