Adventure Ausrama Blog

Do you want to see natural selection at work? Oddly it isn't really natural. Humans have been selecting for the most suitable domesticated animals for thousands of years. Farm animals today are much different from the wild type we first caught. While chickens are tagged for their fearfulness, they are not scared of people at all. Sure they get out of your way, but that is about it. Six gene variants are functioning in domestic chickens. These do not operate in their wild relative the red junglefowl. Consequently, the fowl is jumpy and flighty when put in farm conditions. Cows in the slaughter yard know what is going to happen. Nonetheless, they do not scramble to get out. However, horses do not fit this pattern. They can be taken from the wild, broken in, then spend the rest of lives with people. Something done by God perhaps? I don't think so. ◆ Genetics by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News...

Kangaroos are very windy. That is they fart a lot. Australian scientists have been in the field so to speak studying this. Climate change is the driving force for this study. The search to reduce greenhouse emissions from farm animals is also a driving factor. Unlike cows which produce large amounts of methane gas, kangaroos are relatively methane free. Kangaroos graze like cows. Indeed, if fresh grass is available their diet is much the same. It was thought that the mix of micro-organisms in their stomachs stops production of methane. Western grey kangaroos and reds were kept in comfy Chambers where their ins-and-outs were studied. It was not the micro-organisms in the gut that reduced methane. Food passes through their digestion in a unique way. Unfortunately, just how this works has not been elaborated upon yet by scientists. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Sol...

Farming is becoming much more efficient. Gone are the days when growing food was at the whim of the weather. The ten day forecast and even longer weather predictions have made farming a science. Farmers are becoming more like technicians today, rather than multi-skilled laborers. Growers are using satellite technology. Pastures have optical devices in situ measuring soil and vegetation conditions. The information is collected and re-transmitted down to farmers who use hand held devices or PC to analyze data. More specifically, a pasture"s cover and biomass are measured. Its overall health is ranked. Allocating suitable farm area to grazing animals and crops is made more practical. Resources are fully utilized.  Consequently, a nation's GDP is improved. ◆ Technology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog           ...

Drink milk from grass-fed cows and have a healthier heart. This is because this milk has five times more unsaturated fat than that from grain-fed cows. You can even lose weight by drinking the milk. This is a call back to the past. Today most cows in the West are grain fed. People having high levels of unsaturated fat had a third less risk of getting a heart attack. Studies have found that a diet consisting of unsaturated fats reduced cancer cells and tumours.  Though meat from grain fed cows seems to have less fat, looks can be deceiving. There is a problem with the proposition from this research. In Australia and New Zealand milking cows are fed mainly on pasture. However, people in these countries are almost as fat as US citizens and high blood pressure is just as bad. As a person ages milk consumption decreases. Australians do eat a lot of take away food. And these food establishments foister coke on you. When you order tea or coffee you can almost hear a sigh from those se...

There are problems in the cattle yard due a non-caring board. Richard Ogilve was voted off the Herefords Australia Limited (HAL) board. This infuriated members of the society because they believe Mr Ogilvie is the only one who knows what they want. Richard Ogilvie owns a 5,000 strong cow herd in Millicent, South Australia. He says 10,000 of HAL members will leave and form their own association. This is nearly half the total membership of HAL. Present members are upset by the board arguing political differences and passing time by running cattle shows, not concentrating on improving the Hereford industry. The industry for Angus cattle is booming. Many feel the Hereford market is not being managed properly. Mr Ogilvie is seen as a strong leader who can improve matters for Hereford breeders. This is another case of those at the top fighting each other and concentrating on irrelevant issues while not doing what they are paid to do. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http:/...

Why bother to be hygienic. We can feed cattle all sorts of filthy stuff, and when we eat it we still remain fit and healthy. This is the message being sent by the president of company Bioniche. In order to promote his new product the president is making dramatic claims. Cattle can all be vaccinated against e.coli, can eat anything and wander around in rubbish, apparently. Such is Mr Rick Culbert's faith in the success rate of his product. The e.coli "bug" lives in all of us both humans and animals. Only dangerous species make us sick. This vaccine will kill all e.coli in the body. Wait a minute! Don't antibiotics kill useful flora in the gut, so we must not take them regularly? What happens to a cow with no e.coli in its system is unknown. Eating such "clean" meat could be dangerous to our health. Outbreaks of food poisoning occur in every country. The fight for cleanliness in food handling must continue. If beef is guaranteed free of e.coli wo...

Air passengers have been crying fowl because of the volcanic ash problems in Europe and South America. It is not only humans who are suffering. Sheep and cattle have no grass to eat because ash on the ground has turned to sludge. The provinces of Rio Negro, Chubut and Neuquen in Argentina are in dire straits. Farmers have to put sheep in pens and feed them. There is no clean pasture to move them to. Many farmers from the Atlantic Ocean to Chile have nothing to give their sheep and there is a shortage of pens. There are fears that sheep and cows could go blind if they eat the poisonous sludge. Cows and horses are trying to separate clean grass with their hooves but sheep cannot remove the ash so easily. The volcanic ash is a phenomenon farmers have never faced before. Local deer are blindly stumbling around. Cows have already lost a quarter of their weight. Argentina is one of the world's major beef exporters. If the volcano remains active meat prices could soon rise. htt...