New foal born 2/28/2018. By Ima Lowkey Exec and out of Boston Etta. Tentative name is In Awe of Boston, barn name Aweston.

Happy Friday! I just wanted to take minute and let you know that the process for registration of Kunekunes is complicated and time consuming, so patience is required. Only the BREEDER can register a litter of piglets and get them registered. This is NOT like getting a horse or a puppy where the breeder hands you a paper and then you can send it in to get the animal registered. Kunekunes require the breeder to register a litter, and then pull hair to send in to a lab to verify DNA parentage, and only after that is done, do we get permission to register the piglets, and then the breeder is still responsible for filling out the paperwork and submitting it to register the individual piglets. Also, if you want to have your chosen name on their papers, please tell the breeder so they can enter it during submission. On transfers of registered pigs, again the owner is responsible for filling out the transfer and sending in the original papers to get the animal transferred. It is my suggestion to anyone wanting to buy a Kunekune, to get everything in writing from the person you are getting the pig from. You are relying on the honesty of the person, the breeder or current owner, to come through with what they promised. If they don't, then you have something in writing if you need to pursue a legal recourse. I have been incredibly lucky to deal with honest and trustworthy people, but I have heard stories about problems other people have had from those who are not so ethical. If the person you want to get a pig from is not willing to put everything in writing, then think twice. Please ask questions and make sure you understand the process. The two registries, AKKPS and AKPR, have information on registration on their websites. And they have lots of other information as well. An informed buyer and an honest seller makes the transaction a happy one.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of proper immunizations and worming for all animals.

Horses: Our horses all get a 5 way vaccine which is Eastern and Western encephalomyelitis, Influenza, and rhinopneumonitis. Plus we give them intranasal strangles vaccine. Plus they get West Nile vaccine. Our horses are wormed using ivermectin paste every 3-4 months per directions on the box. We will also use a different paste (febendazole usually) to kill anthing the ivermectin might miss. 

Cows: 7 way vaccine plus a scours vaccine for pregnant cows. Calves get scours vaccine and pneumonia vaccine. We use a Masterject immunization system, which I purchased from Wales. Since we don't yet have a squeeze chute, we can use the Masterject and inject them all just using a small pen. We give our shots in the neck or the hip, however it's best to refrain from giving shots in the hip in the animals you want to put in the freezer (steers). For worming, we use Dectomax injection. The big advantage in this over ivermectin is Dectomax can be given IM, whereas ivermectin should be given SQ. We also give the cattle a Safe Guard worming block a couple times of year to kill anything the Dectomax might not cover. 

Swine: Rhinishield X4 every 6 months. Piglets get iron shots at 3 days as well. We use a SlapShot to give the adults pigs their shots. It is easy to use, less stressful for us and for them. Imjections should be given in the neck.For worming, we use Dectomax IM per directions. Worming pigs is very important! People can actually get hookworms from pigs simply by walking thru a pen barefoot that has been contaminted. 

Goats: CDT vaccine. 

All of our animals also receive diatomaceous earth (DE) in their feed three times a week. This is a completely safe and natural wormer. People can even consume it! This product can also be used externally on all animals for ticks and fleas. It works great on dogs too. I have recommended it to people to use in their houses to treat horrible flea infestations, and it has worked very time!! 

BIOSECURITY is a crucial part of disease prevention on a farm.

We quarantine any new animal at least two weeks. If we are not sure if they have received any immunaztions, we do that during this time. And we worm them. 

Some visitors to our farm are surprised when we ask them to use hand sanitizer before touching one of the animals. This can certainly help prevent  transferring any disease causing organisms from their hands to our stock. Visitors are not allowed to go out into the pig enclosures in case they might be carrying anything on their shoes or boots. Maybe we are too protective, but I feel that there is a higher possibility of transferral of diease to the pigs than to the other animals. We bring any sale pigs into the barn into pens for visitors to see. We do not show our pigs! We do not breed anyone else's sows to our boars. 

Follow manufacturer directions on all products, or consult a veterinarian for help.

Buyuers should always ask if the animals they are buying have been vaccinated, and how to keep up on the schedule. Do not believe some of the things you may hear or read about "home" wormers like black walnut tea, etc. Again, people can get worms from animals by skin contact. The only way to confirm a herd is worm free is to have fecal samples checked by a vet. I understand how people want to raise "natural" animals for consumption. Since we do not milk our animals, I don't worry about any withdrawals with using wormers etc however those instructions are on the literature that comes with the product. I would rather raise an animal that stays happy and healthy and control what they eat than risk them using "home" remedies. Any animal that displays signs of illness or injury is attended by a licensed veterinarian. 

The last weekend started off full of excitement as we welcomed two new additions to our Appaloosa herd. Pass Me A Miracle {Mia} came from McNeil Performance Horses in North Carolina, and they are incredibly nice people. Also we welcomed Miracle Huntress (Louise) from Courtney Aaron in Florida. Unfortunately, Louise developed an impaction and ultimately had to be euthanized during surgery. The staff at Conly Koontz Equine were amazing and absolutely did their best. There is no rhyme or reason as to why we lose a special animal. We had Louise such a very short time but we know that many people were affected by her passing. Courtney, the shippers, the staff at the vet's, and our family were devastated by the loss of a young mare with lots of years ahead of her. 

Mia is settinling in well. We turned her out with a young mare and a couple of our geriatric miniature horses today and she was so good with them. She even waslked past the camel without even a twitch. We can't wait til April for her foal by Image Of Sevens AQHA. Her 2017 filly is beautiful.

Everyone survived the hideously cold weather we had for two weeks. It amazes me how well all the animals adapt. They did better than we did! 

We are very excited to announce our website and blog.  We look forward to sharing information and things happening here on our farm.

Thank you,