8 AM  Kids' Painted Birdhouse Judging

            Wooden birdhouses painted prior to event by Pre-K class at Tender Care Learning Center; will be on display & returned to the class afterwards

9 - 10 AM  Fat Cat Contest

             Bring your cat and we'll start weighing in at 9 AM.  Heaviest cat wins $25 gift certificate & bag of treats.  Please bring cat on leash or in carrier for his/her safety.

10 AM - 1 PM   FREE Petting Zoo and Barrel Train Rides

11 AM - 1 PM   Complimentary Hot Dogs & Drinks

1:30 PM   Drawing of Mega "You Pick" Door Prizes

              Need not be present to win; See prizes here

2 PM   Drawing of Grand Prizes

              3 Winners of $1000 Gift Certificates

              Must be present to win!!!

All day Friday & Saturday

May 2 & 3

10% off ALL STIHL Serial Numbered Equipment

Discounts this big are only offered once a year!

Stihl Rep will be on hand for consultation

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BUY 1, GET 1 FREE

PMI Exclusive and Red Flannel Pet Foods

Mix & Match, Lesser Priced Bag Free, Limit 1 Free per household

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Purina Impact Horse Feed

$11.99

All Formulations: 12% Sweet, 12:6+L Pellet, 14:5 Pellet, Forage Extender;  Limit 10 bags per household

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Purina Stocker Grower 14% Cattle Creep

$10.50

Limit 20 bags

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Purina Layena

$12.99

Includes pellets, crumbles, and Omega-3

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Priefert Equipment

Save $50 off every $500 spent

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 New Styles of Muck Boots  20% Off

Xpress-Cool Shoes and Boots

As of January 1, 2013, the Texas Animal Health Commission will require that all adult cattle have an approved form of permanent identification in place at the change of ownership(sale).    While nursing calves, steers, spayed females, bulls and heifers under 18 months (unless heifer has calved) are exempt, all other cattle are required to have this identification.   

"A complete list of acceptable identification devices/methods may be found at www.tahc.state.tx.us, but the most commonly used devices include USDA metal tags, brucellosis calfhood vaccination tags, US origin 840 series
Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID), and breed registration tattoos or firebrands. Producers are encouraged to contact their veterinarian or TAHC to
determine which method of tagging will be best for their operation." - TAHC. 

The USDA metal tags are available at your local extension office. 

For more information, please contact your local extension office (for Austin County call 979-865-3602) or the state office TAHC Traceability Team  at 1-800-550-8242 ext 733. 

Texas Animal Health Comm:  http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/

Most common questions - What you need to know: http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/adt/CattleTraceabilityRule-QA.pdf

To read the full press release from the TAHC: http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/news/pr/2012/2012-10-4_ADTEarTagRule.pdf

As winter approaches, many horse owners have questions about how best to ready their horses.  While this part of Texas rarely endures harsh winter storms for long periods, we do get our fair share of freezes, cold rain/sleet, and occasional icing.  These key management practices that can help your horses make it through the winter happily and healthy.

1. Vet check.  It's a great idea to have your horse checked out by your veterinarian in the fall.  Ask your vet to give booster immunizations if necessary, check that your horse's teeth are in good shape, and give you an assesment of your horse's body condition.

1. To stable or not to stable?  For horses who are normally kept outdoors and allowed to grow a full, thick winter coat, , stalling indoors is not a neccessity. Although they would benefit greatly from a good north wind block and shelter from rain, horses under these conditions typically enjoy the freedom, exercise, and fresh air of the open pasture.  During extreme weather conditions, or for horses who do not have a winter coat, stalling in the barn is necessary.  Careful attention should be given to air quality and ventilation in the barn.  Dry, fresh, cold air is far better than damp, still, warm air for a horse's lungs.  We recommend turn out as much as possible and frequent stall cleaning to help prevent respiratory problems in stalled horses.  If you can smell the ammonia, the ammonia levels are too high.  Remember that exercise, by riding, longing, or turnout time is also vital to digestive health.

3. Blanketing.  With a good natural winter coat and shelter from driving wind and rain, many horses are fine without a blanket.  For any horse lacking a coat or during rainy conditions without shelter, blankets are a necessity (waterproof blankets outside).  For outdoor horses, remember a wet blanket is worse than no blanket, and a blanket left on when it heats up during the day is also dangerous.  Also, always check your blankets for wear and remove them daily to check for sores and for grooming.

4. You can lead a horse to water...  Ensure your horse has plenty of fresh, ice-free water at all times. Ideally, water temperature should be between 45-65 degrees F.  Adding electrolytes may help with water consumption, but always offer plain water as well in case the horse does not like it.  Also, the more hay the horse eats, the more water he will drink.

5. HAY!  Roughage is the most important part of a horse's diet, year round.  It's also the best way to keep a horse warm in the winter, because digestion of roughage produces more internal heat than digestion of feed concentrates.  Horses need at least 1-2% of their body weight daily in roughage (any combination of hay, grass, or complete feed with roughage built-in).   As a general rule, offer at least  1/4 bale (20-25 lb) of the average size coastal square bale (50-60 lb), every day, for the average 1000 lb horse in the winter.  Free-choice hay is a popular and effective way to ensure your horse gets enough roughage.  If you'd like a personalized recommendation according to your pasture grass levels, feed type, and horse's condition, ask your vet or come by the store and we'll be glad to help.

6. Feeding.  It's a common misconception that corn and sweet feeds are "hot" feeds and therefore useful in keeping horses warm in the winter.  While corn and molasses are calorie-dense, these feed ingredients are not very effective in creating internal heat.  Actually, digestion of roughage produces more internal heat than digestion of feed concentrates.  Feed is a useful way to provide extra calories, but in a cold snap hay or high-roughage feeds are actually the most helpful to the horse.  Most horses do need a slight increase in feed quantity over the winter months to keep up with higher calorie demand, but there is no nutritional reason to switch from pellets to sweet feed or other so-called "hot" feeds.  Some horse owners may appreciate the convenience of a complete feed, such as Equine Senior or Horseman's Edge Hay Stretcher, which includes the roughage in the feed and simplifies the feeding program.

7. Prevent winter colic!  The majority of colics in the winter are due to impaction of the gut caused by a combination of decreased activity (stalling), decreased water intake, and insufficient hay/roughage intake.  You can prevent impaction colic by exercising your horse, monitoring water intake, and offering plenty of good hay or high-roughage feed.


Visit our sources and find out more:

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/30803/winterizing-horses

http://horse.purinamills.com/stellent/groups/public/@purinasites/documents/web_content/ecmd2-0033393.pdf

    While Texas has had a reprieve from the drought this year, the Mid West has not.  More than 80% of the  nation's corn is produced in the Cornbelt.  This area is experiencing its worst drought and heat in 60 years, which is drastically reducing forecasted supply and subsequently increasing grain prices.  Corn prices alone have soared more than 50% in the past 6 weeks, and jumped to a record high of $8.20/bushel.  Corn is not the only crop affected: most other grain crops are experiencing similar problems, especially soybeans.  You may have already heard that the USDA expects food prices at the grocery store to rise.  Unfortunately, we  also expect to see feed prices rise sharply in the current time period and continue upward over the next several months.  

    So how do you manage your feed costs during times like this?  For  grazing animals the best way to save money is to get the most out of your  pasture and to offer feeds that fill in nutritional gaps.  The answer is not necessarily feeding cheaper feed, or less feed, but the feed that gives you the most for your money.  

    For cattle, these are the exact conditions for which Accuration Range Liquid was created.   It complements the natural forage, provides added calories, and keeps cows in optimal breeding and lactating condition.  Cattle will regulate their intake of this molasses-based liquid as needed according to forage conditions, eating less when forage value is high and more as forage value decreases into dry periods or winter months.  Additionally, we recommend Purina Wind & Rain Mineral (bags or tubs) for all herds to help fill nutritional gaps and ensure reproductive health.

    For horses, nutrient dense feeds such as Strategy, Strategy Healthy Edge, Omolene, and Nature's Essentials Enrich 12 or 32 are optimal.   Each of these feed options are designed to be fed at very low rates, and by feeding a significant amount less of an "expensive" feed you can save money compared to feeding large amounts of a "cheap" feed (all while your horse looks and performs better!)  Not convinced?  Bring in one feeding's worth of your horses' feed along with the bag or tag, and we'll do a price comparison for you.  Thankfully, for the time being our local hay producers are happily baling away and barns are filling up again.... though the hay prices may not be like they were  a few years ago, at least hay will be available.

    Feed efficiency,  quality and value become even more important as prices rise.  Please be patient with us as we all ride out these prices together.  We are happy to  visit with you in the store as well as make farm calls to make sure you are  getting the most out of your feed program.  'Til next time....

-CK