Product Description
The science of animal production has recently become headline news.The cloning of sheep, the use of pig xenotransplants and bovine somatotrophin, as well as mad-cow disease, are all examples of how livestock production is related to food safety, human health, ethics and quality of life.The relationship between intensive developed-world animal production and third world development also raises ethical issues.These are just some of the topics addressed in this book, which has its origin in a special symposium held at the VIII World Congress on Animal Production held in June 1998 in Korea.Additional chapters have been specially commissioned for inclusion in the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating Questions; What Are Your Answers?
Thought-provoking" is probably the best way to describe this book.A series of papers, primarily those presented at a 1998 symposium as a part of a Congress on Animal Production, each of which present some of thequestions raised by many of the new and newer methods of production ofanimal protein for food.Essentially the questions raised revolve aboutthe axis of, "What is it ethical to do in order to allow ten billionpeople to eat?"Several different perspectives are used as startingpoints, though the primary basis is that of Religion (abstract orparticular).Answers are not all provided; these are left as an exercisefor the reader.Though the book and the papers contained therein havetheir origins with professional ethicists, geneticists, and AnimalScientists, the layman can read and enjoy at least parts ~ large parts, ibelieve ~ of it.I suspect this would be a fine supplemental textbook forstudies in either Ethics or Animal Production, or even other, less closelyrelated science disciplines.Nevertheless, it does not "feel"like a pure textbook; i read it for interest's sake, and enjoyed it.

At last! - clarification of those ethical issues & choices!
Increasingly novel & sophisticated applications of science & technology to animal breeding and production are raising ethical concerns in many countries in an era when public caring and spiritual values are widely rising.Ethical, political and trade issues in how we treat farmanimals have become headline news. To name but a few: quality of life infactory farming systems; cloning; genetic engineering; "Mad Cow"disease (BSE); transplantation of animal organs into humans; bovine &porcine somatotrophin.Complex cultural, emotional, philosophical andspiritual reactions have emerged to the economic, scientific and technicaldevelopments in agriculture.At last an authoritative textbook has emergedto guide us through this tangled and growing web of concern, conflict anddebate.This excellent new book "Livestock,Ethics & Quality of Life" does not seek to thrust answers upon usbut to clarify the arguments and issues for us so that we can review andunderstand the range of approaches available and make our own informedassessments.Our way is then cleared to choose a forward direction that isbased on clarity, discernment and wisdom rather than fantasy, fear andmuddled thinking.It originated in a special symposium held at the 1998World Congress on Animal Production but additional chapters have beenspecially commissioned to provide a more comprehensive and balancedaccount. ... Read more

Product Description
The International Conference on the Impact of Diseases on Livestock Production in the Tropics held in Florida, May 1983, brought together those involved in tropical veterinary science in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of the conference was to consider new research findings and to identify future research and training needs in an effort to improve the quality of disease control programs worldwide. The meeting was truly international with almost 300 delegates from 67 countries attending. This volume comprises more than 60 contributions. The majority of these present original research results; many deal with organized international activities in disease control and veterinary education, and the remainder are up-to-date review articles. ... Read more

Product Description
From lists of fundamental start-up equipment to advice on charting income and expenses, this book guides small farmers through feeding, sheltering, and breeding cows, pigs, goats, rabbits, ducks, and chickens. Breeders and farmers learn the full scope of husbandry and care, including which records should be maintained-health records, breeding journals, milk sheets, and family trees-to which ointments, sprays, and syringes should be kept in the animal first aid box. Included are farrowing charts and pregnancy diaries that detail each step of gestation. Extensive details and instructions are provided on castration, giving iron, docking tails, and caring for newborns. Farmers' accounts, photos, a glossary of terminology, and a list of resources offer support to experienced and novice farmers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Well written
Please note that when I first came across this book, I found it in the library in the youth section. But considering I was a youth in regards to raising livestock, I found the book both well-written and very helpful--so much so that I have decided to raise small livestock and have moved on to more advanced readings. In a nutshell: This book is written for beginners and I derived much joy in reading it. Thank You.

There are MUCH better books of this type
I've been avidly reading all the small-farming books I can get my hands on over the past few months. I was pleased when I ran across this one at my local library, since it was not one I had seen before. I soon found out why I hadn't seen it mentioned elsewhere, however....

The writing is definitely subpar, not least because of the grammatical and spelling errors sprinkled liberally throughout. I couldn't help but wonder if the book had been edited at all - if it has, the editor should perhaps consider another line of work. It is very poorly organized and incomplete. The personal stories were uninspiring and, truth be told, did nothing to enhance the author's credibility.

I would venture to say that it would be nearly impossible for a novice to successfully keep livestock of any kind using this book as a guide. One would be far better off reading _Barnyard in Your Backyard_ and/or _Backyard Livestock_, followed up by the various Storey's guides for specific types of livestock (e.g., _Storey's Guide to Raising [Dairy Goats, Pigs, Chickens, etc.]_) for far better organized and complete information.

Probably not worth your time
Although the author's love of animals, her family, and farm life infuse the text of "Farm Animals", in my honest opinion, it's not enough to make it worth reading.This is underscored by the existence of such good alternatives.

My first complaint is the poor editing and proof-reading.The book is poorly organized and it's a rare page that doesn't have a grammatical error or typo that really does get in the way of the reader's understanding.The author's conversational tone often stretches what would be a short concise statement into a long and hard to understand exchange between author and reader.A serious investment in editing followed by thorough proof-reading would go a long way to improving this book.

But I can forgive poor writing and editing if there is some useful information or entertaining stories in the text.After all, I believe the modern small-scale farm is a worthy subject.The problem with "Farm Animals" is that there just isn't much that is useful or entertaining here.The book is mostly stories drawn from the author's farm, but rather than being entertaining or enlightening, many of the stories are downright horrifying.

An example is an account (the bulk of the text is made up of these stories) about Rosie, the author's sow.The author watches while Rosie gets more and more agitated as her male piglets are castrated nearby and (at the same time) a visitor antagonizes her.Eventually the sow turns on the author's daughter, trapping her in the shelter, and then attacks the antagonistic visitor.This story wouldn't surprise anyone familiar with pigs... Well, it is surprising that anyone working with pigs would make such obvious mistakes and then write about them in a book about how to raise farm animals, but the fact that the saw acted as she did is far from shocking.

These stories do illustrate mistakes that the reader should try to avoid, and to the author's credit she does eventually make her point after each story's conclusion.However, it is surprising how many mistakes the author made in caring for her animals.

The book is definitely not competitive as a reference.Any of the Storey's Guides would be much more useful to the beginning livestock farmer or hobbyist.Infact, much of the books factual content will seem eerily familiar to anyone who has read the relevant Storey's Guides.There is some useful information here, it's just that the information is in no way complete.

In my opinion, this book would have been better if the author completely forgoed any intent to write an informative book.As a collection of funny stories about what *not* to do on the farm, it could have value.Even as a collection of stories about her farm raising experiences, it would be better, but by using stories to illustrate points about raising animals, it just doesn't work.

The book does paint a picture of a family trying to succeed at something they love.The author obviously holds a special affection for, and a desire to write about, both her children and her animals.A particularly important lesson that it does contain is to investing time early in an animal's life to help develope a (two-way) bond between itself and its caretaker.This is a point made in "Farm Animals" that I haven't seen given due attention elsewhere.

For the dedicated reader of literature about modern small-farms, this book has some value.But, in my opinion, most others should give it a pass.

this is really awful
This has got to be the worst book on "farming" I have ever read.Amazingly, the cover reads "Compared to All Creatures Great and Small" well yeah it compares...it compares POORLY.

If this were merely a memoir, I'd let the poor grammar and randomly-generated thoughts pass...after all, I'm not one to stifle creativity.

However, when someone passes off copious "borrowing" from Storey publications, inter-dispersed with reminiscing from their barnyard, and chock-full of misleading or mistaken "facts"...that's too much.

For instance:

Pg 37: "Make sure every animal has clean, fresh water daily.You wouldn't want to drink dirty defecated water..."
(Is she referring to drinking water fouled with feces?You'd think an author would phrase themselves better)

Pg 69: "If you stagger breeding dates, you could have milk all year long" misleading...does (except for the Pygmy breed) only come into heat in the fall - winter.I have never heard of any Dairy Goat breeding in the summer.

Pg 220:1 gallon of milk does NOT weigh 8 lbs...A gallon of milk with 2% butterfat weighs about 10.2 lbs(by the way- NO mention of pasteurizing milk apparently this author is fine with Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, and Toxoplasmosis...all transmittable to people in milk, if your animals are infected)

Pg 246 "I keep a cheap pair of scissors on hand in case I need to cut away the excess skin around a wound.The scissors I use have a flat and a sharp edge"?!?!Have you ever used a scalpel blade???Try it sometime!

Overall, it is a difficult read given the poor grammar, fragmentary sentences, and general randomness of the (albeit few) nuggets of real information.

As an aside....I do like "chatty" books, and an informal read can be fun.This is neither.

A much better buy is Backyard Livestock by Steven Thomas.Don't waste your money with this one...

Want To Raise Chickens?
A quick fun book to read for anyone who's fantasized about raising livestock in their back yard, but never quite got up the nerve to do so.Full of interesting little tips, presented in a readable format.This is not the "dry" book you would expect. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a valuable reference and enjoyable reading for young exhibitors and their parents, as well as 4-H Leaders, FFA Advisors, and County Extension Agents. A complete guide to care and management of animals for junior livestock shows. Roger Pond's more than 15 years experience as a County Extension Agent and Agriculture Teacher has given him valuable insight into the problems faced by 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Yeeee-Haaaaaawwwww
This was a gift for my boss who judges 4H junior livestock shows.He was very happy to see that I keyed in on his interest.He has been carting the book around with him for a last few weeks, so I know that he is reading it.He's happy; I'm happy. ... Read more

Product Description
Rangeland ecosystems which include unimproved grasslands, shrublands, savannas and semi-deserts, support half of the world’s livestock, while also providing habitats for some of the most charismatic of wildlife species. This book examines the pressures on rangeland ecosystems worldwide from human land use, over-hunting, and subsistence and commercial farming of livestock and crops. Leading experts have pooled their experiences from all continents to cover the ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management today.   This book provides practitioners and students of rangeland management and wildland conservation with a diversity of perspectives on a central question: can rangelands be wildlands?

• The first book to examine rangelands from a conservation perspective
• Emphasizes the balance between the needs of people and livestock, and wildlife
• Written by an international team of experts covering all geographical regions
• Examines ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management and wildland conservation, providing a diversity of perspectives not seen before in a single volume

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of American Industries, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1821 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Essays by subject experts treat concepts and doctrines, policymaking, commerce and science, human rights and arms control, with specific articles on topics ranging from anti-imperialism to environmental diplomacy, from refugee policies to terrorism and countermeasures. ... Read more

Product Description
For a given current path through the human body, the danger to persons depends mainly on the magnitude and duration of the current flow. However, the time/current zones specified in this publication are, in many cases, not directly applicable in practice for designing measures of protection against electrical shock. The necessary criterion is the admissible limit of touch voltage (i.e. the product of the current through the body called touch current and the body impedance) as a function of time. The relationship between current and voltage is not linear because the impedance of the human body varies with the touch voltage, and data on this relationship is therefore required. The different parts of the humanbody (such as the skin, blood, muscles, other tissues and joints) present to the electric current a certain impedance composed of resistive and capacitive components. The values of body impedance depend on a number of factors and, in particular, on current path, on touch voltage, duration of current flow, frequency, degree of moisture of the skin, surface area of contact, pressure exerted and temperature. The impedance values indicated in this technical specification result from a close examination of the experimental results available from measurements carried out principally on corpses and on some living persons. This technical specification has the status of a basic safety publication in accordance with IEC Guide 104. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of American Industries, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 532 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Essays by subject experts treat concepts and doctrines, policymaking, commerce and science, human rights and arms control, with specific articles on topics ranging from anti-imperialism to environmental diplomacy, from refugee policies to terrorism and countermeasures. ... Read more

Product Description
Livestock housing is a major determinant of animal health, welfare and productivity. This book presents the important principles and processes by which housing influences these outcomes, and shows how an understanding of these can be translated into specifications for housing designs. The emphasis is on the building as a means to an environmental end, focusing on the biological responses and welfare needs of animals in the context of commercial and economic considerations. The book provides a thorough literature review as well as practical guidance and is aimed at academics and professionals in animal production, veterinary science and agricultural engineering. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a complete revision of the very popular original edition of this book.Readers will find many new photographs, refined training methods and a new chapter o unusual stock.Topics include:What a livestock protection dog can do Selecting a puppy Caring for your dog Behavioral problems and solutions Preparations for a family companion Guarding unusual stock Older dogsPuppy temperament testing and trainingPlus much more!!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Solid Product!
With all the problems in our area with illegals stealing livestock and rampaging pit-bulls (Owners fault not the dogs) we needed to look for additional security for our goat herd. our llama was doing a good job against coyotes and dogs, but needed help. So we looked for a book to do research with. This book answered many of our questions. It provided a foundation to give us questions to ask. The training guidelines the breed information was fantastic. What I liked best about this book was that is was not "show" oriented. It was real world, with real dogs, doing real work.
A very pleasant read, easy to flow through, very well laid out and a solid primer!
My compliments to the authors and publisher for producing a fantastic book that helped us choose a Great Pyr for our heard!

Helpful book
I recently acquired a 2 yr old Great Pyrenees who was previously a goat guardian.I needed him to guard alpacas. This book helped me figure out a solution to all my questions.

Great Information
Excellent book. Lots of information and insights into the history, behavior, and function of livestock protection dogs - a poorly understood group of working dogs. Great photos. A useful and insightful book. My only complaint is that I would have liked a little more info on some of the specific breeds, particularly the Kuvasz.

Great Book on Livestock Protection Dogs
As a new owner of a pair of Anatolian Shepherd dogs, I was very interested in learning all I could about this interesting breed - and all the dog breeds that are used for livestock protection.This book has proved invaluable as a resource in understanding about their temperament, independence, necessary training, bonding, and other topics as well.This book not only covers the better know breeds, but also the rare and exotic breeds as well.If you are at all interested in livestock protection dogs, I highly recommend this book!Get It!

Excellent coverage of livestock guarding breeds
This is the best book I've seen on the various livestock guarding breeds. Good photos and descriptions of the subtleties between breeds. Good suggestions for managing problem behaviors. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2006. The length of the article is 796 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: YMCA eyes livestock building for soccer.(General News)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: June 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: d1

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more