Animal Science

Backyard Poultry Certificate Course

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It is chick season and backyard poultry keepers are looking to start their flocks for eggs, meat, or 4-H youth livestock projects. Tim McDermott created a Backyard Poultry Online Certificate Course to train the new to intermediate poultry keeper.  You can find it HERE or at go.osu.edu/chicken

Backyard Poultry Certificate Course $25

For a variety of reasons, there is an increase in interest in keeping backyard poultry. Backyard flocks provide the opportunity for people in rural and urban areas alike to produce tasty eggs and meat for personal and family food security. You might want egg layers. You might want to raise meat birds for a harvest in your freezer. You might even have a youth interested in raising chickens for their 4-H or FFA project, as these lower maintenance livestock can be kept in a fraction of the space for a fraction of the cost when compared to other species.

Whatever your reason for raising poultry, this course is designed to provide you with the knowledge and resources you will need to get your backyard flock off to a great start.

This self-paced course is expected to take 2-3 hours to complete and includes the following 6 modules:

  • Getting Started
  • Brooding, Basic Husbandry & Nutrition
  • Housing
  • Egg Production
  • Maximizing Health
  • Biosecurity

Backyard Poultry Marketing Flyer

State Fair Registration

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Are you planning on taking livestock to the state fair?

 

The deadline to enter livestock  for State Fair exhibitions is 1 p.m. on June 21, 2024, with the exception of the Junior Horse Show, which closes at 1 p.m. on July 1, 2024.

Please see the Ohio State Fair website for all information needed!

https://www.ohiostatefair.com/p/get-involved/livestock/livestock-competitions

Skillathon Study Guides

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Skillathon study guides are out for 2024!!

They have been fully updated and are ready to go so take a look!

 

They were posted last week, but some changes were made today so make sure you have the fully updated versions posted today! (There were changes to she sheep study guide).

 

Find the study guides and more here: https://morgan.osu.edu/program-areas/4-h-youth-development/morgan-county-fair

Goat Webinar Series

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The Ohio State University Extension Small Ruminants Team is hosting a 6-part All About Goats! spring webinar series. This webinar series is going to answer producers burning questions concerning their own herd and help new producers start their herds. Whether you are thinking about raising Dairy or Meat goats- this webinar is for you! All youth livestock exhibitors are encouraged to attend. Registration is required and can be completed by visiting go.osu.edu/allaboutgoats

Click the flyer below for more information!

Goat Webinar Flyer

 

State Poultry Clinic

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Here is some information regarding the 2024 poultry clinic!

Topics covered: poultry nutrition, slaughter, quality assurance, biosecurity and more! See graphic for more details!

HPAI Update

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The recent HPAI outbreak in multiple counties in Ohio has resulted in over 4 million birds being affected and prompted a lot of questions.

Timothy McDermott DVM Assistant Professor, Extension Educator Agriculture and Natural Resources, Franklin County

will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday December 19th @ 6pm in collaboration with the USDA Incident Response Team to try to get as much information  as well as provide an opportunity to learn more about the outbreak and how it is affecting both the Ohio poultry industry and the backyard/4-H poultry communities.  This is a great opportunity to ask questions and see what educational support is available.

Here is the list of topics to be discussed:
  • Biosecurity basics
  • Symptoms and signs of HPAI in poultry
  • Control Area – what is it and what does it mean for backyard farms?
  • Surveillance Zone – what is it and what does it mean for backyard farms?
  • How long does a quarantine last?
  • What is the status of the incident?
  • What can you do if you have questions?
  • Q&A
     
 
Here are the webinar details:  
 
Hi there,
 
You are invited to a CarmenZoom webinar.
When: Dec 19, 2023 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Ohio Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Update
 
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://osu.zoom.us/j/97306640698?pwd=VlF5ZnFzMS8wRWU4VVByQ3RDZ0JBZz09 

HPAI Concern

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HPAI Detected in Commercial Flock in Union County, Ohio

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been detected in a commercial layer flock in Union County, Ohio. The non-negative result was confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). The samples were first tested at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

HPAI is a highly contagious virus that spreads quickly and can be fatal to flocks and devastating to poultry owners, both commercial and non-commercial. HPAI can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese, and shorebirds.

New detections continue to be confirmed this fall in both backyard and commercial cases around the country. This is the first detection in Ohio for 2023. Visit USDA’s Confirmed Detections website to stay up to date on all HPAI confirmed cases.

State officials quarantined the affected premise, and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Federal and State partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks. Surveillance activities will be conducted in a 20-kilometer zone around the infected premises.

The recent HPAI detection does not present an immediate public health concern, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No human cases have been detected in the United States. According to USDA, HPAI cannot be transmitted through properly cooked meats or eggs. Products from any HPAI-affected flocks are prohibited from entering the food system. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

 

Keep you and your flock safe, please see the trifold for more information!

Avian Influenza Trifold Avian-Influenza-Trifold (1)

DUNF 2023

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It is about that time!

At this point you should have received this in an email as well!

Drug Use Notification Forms (DUNF) Must be Completed Online, there will be no paper copies available this year per The Ohio Department of Agriculture request.

 

The Drug Use Notification Form must be completed by all market and lactating livestock that are exhibited at the Morgan County Fair. See list below.

 

*All Poultry exhibitors wait to fill out this form until weigh in so you have your tag numbers*

 

  • Ohio Revised Code 901-19-06
    • DUNFs are required of the following species:
      • Market: Steer, Hog, Lamb, Dairy Steer, Goat, Poultry (by pen), Rabbit (by pen)
      • Lactating: Dairy Cattle, Dairy Goats
    • Form must be completed by 5:00 pm on Tuesday, September 5, 2023

 Here is the link to our DUNF forms:

https://go.osu.edu/mocodunf2023

If you have any questions you can call the office at 740-962-4854