Hello my name is "RED"
Pet of the Month!
My name is Red and I'm a stumpy tail cattle dog. I love to chase and retrieve toys as well as go with my humans on all recreational activities. I love big stretches and cuddles too.
January 2020 Pet Holidays
January has a mixture of the serious and the fun for holidays. This is when we’re reminded to uncha
- Walk Your Pet Month
- Unchain a Dog Month
- National Train Your Dog Month
- Adopt a Rescued Bird Month
- Jan. 2: National Pet Travel Safety Day; Happy Mew Year for Cats Day
- Jan. 5: National Bird Day
- Jan. 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day
- Jan. 21: Squirrel Appreciation Day
- Jan. 22: National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day
- Jan. 24: Change a Pet’s Life Day
- Jan. 29: Seeing-Eye Guide Dog Birthday
Holiday Care Tips for Horses
It's that time of year and everyone is busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but don’t let that disrupt your regular horse care routine. Horses are very much creatures of habit, but they are also reasonably adaptable. Here are a few equine holiday care tips to follow:
FEEDING & WATER
Feeding one hour earlier or later than usual is fine but do not feed 3-4 hours outside of the usual time as this will increase how long your horse’s stomach is empty and can upset their digestion.
Also, using hay nets or slow feeders can extend the time hay is available during the day.
Always check the water source each day. Do not ignore your horse’s most vital resource. Ideal water temperature is 50° – 65° F because horses drink less when the water is too cold.
EXERCISE
If you’re cutting short daily turn-out or exercise routines due to time constraints, make sure you do not increase workload intensity to make up for a shortened schedule. Always be consistent.
STALL CLEANUP
Are you mucking stalls quickly to just pick up the “big stuff” and plan to do the rest later? Skipping one daily clean-up may cause your stall to need a total and thorough stripping later on which will take much more time than you gained by a quick cleaning. Keep their stalls clean and do not allow manure to pile up.
Last but not least, always check on your horse DAILY. There are no short-cuts here either! Look for changes with food or water consumption and regularity in manure to ensure your horse is happy and healthy for the holidays.
Prepping Chickens for Colder Weather
Winter is finally here and that means pumpkin spice lattes, bonfires, and prepping your backyard coop for colder weather! It’s time to create a winter wonderland to keep your flock snug and warm as the cold weather rushes in. Take a look at our short list of essential care tips for raising chickens in the winter months.
THE COOP & RUN
Nobody likes a drafty coop so be sure to patch any holes, gaps, or cracks you find. This will minimize drafts and fortify the enclosure against rain and snowfall. It’s important to maintain adequate air flow, even during the cooler months. A good way to manage temperate while reducing humidity is to place vents near the roof so that the chickens are kept out of direct air flow (brrr!).
Try a mesh vent with a hatch for easy venting during the day and convenient closure for the chilly night hours.
BEDDING
If you’ve never heard of the deep litter method, you’re in for a game changer. This technique provides a sustainable way of managing litter, while insulating your flock. Layer pine or aspen shavings an all-natural, quality chicken bedding over the floor of the coop. Stir the litter daily with a rake to create natural movement and aeration. Lastly, top the litter off weekly until a healthy compost layer forms. This allows good microbes to flourish in a self-cleaning environment while bad bacteria is readily consumed, keeping the coop insulated all year round.
FEEDING TIPS
Chickens, like humans and other animals, expend more energy in the cold. This means more calories are necessary in the winter to maintain health and wellness. As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to feed 1.5x more than you would over the spring and summer. In cooler months, chickens are recovering from egg laying and require extra carbohydrates and protein that is found in a gamebird feed. Supplement your chickens’ normal feed with tasty snacks like oatmeal, mealworms, scratch or nutrient dense leafy greens. Healthy treats are a great way to show your chickens some extra love while looking after their seasonal needs. 'Tis the season after all!
Newcastle Disease Notice
California Regional Quarantine Notice #1: Los Angeles County and Sections of Riverside County and San Bernardino County
Virulent Newcastle Disease (vND)
December 23, 2019
Virulent Newcastle Disease Update from State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones
Over the past month, Virulent Newcastle disease cases have increased because people have violated the CDFA VND Regional Quarantine by moving infected birds or contaminated equipment and secondary spread to neighboring flocks. We now have 20 new cases under investigation, all linked to the recent Bloomington area outbreak. Most of the cases are in San Bernardino County, with two in Riverside County and one in Los Angeles County. Backyard flocks as well as retail pet/feed stores are involved.
Based on phylogenetic analysis and epidemiologic studies, we understand how the disease spreads in Southern California. This highly contagious virus has been spread when people move exposed birds or equipment, or when people carry the virus to their own unfortunate flock on their hands and feet. It moves long distances as people illegally move birds or equipment. When introduced to a new area, it is amplified as the previously uninfected poultry succumb until the environmental virus load is so great, the outbreak spreads from yard to yard. Exposed poultry around a newly infected flock are the “virus amplifiers,” particularly just before they show signs of disease.
Put simply, your birds can spread the disease before they show symptoms, so the only way to stop it is to not move birds – period – if you are in the CDFA Regional Quarantine Area.
As a reminder, last year the disease was spread from San Bernardino to LA and Riverside counties and beyond, leading to widespread highly infected areas, infected poultry farms, the death of over 1.2 million birds, and significant financial and emotional strain on poultry owners and disease control agencies.
We need your help to stop the spread of this virus and end this outbreak. Specific actions you can take to protect the poultry in your community are on the CDFA VND website in our biosecurity videos, guidance documents and links, but general keys to success include:
- DO NOT move poultry or poultry equipment within the VND Regional Quarantine without a CDFA permit.
- DO NOT let anyone with birds near your poultry.
- DO NOT accidentally bring this virus home to your flock on your clothes, hands, feet or equipment.
Please work together to ensure we do not see this outbreak grow as it did in 2018. Stopping the spread will take the combined effort of all bird owners. Talk to your neighbors and friends. Keep Southern California safe for poultry!
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December 9, 2019
Virulent Newcastle Disease Update from State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones
In November and December of 2019, CDFA and USDA have detected a total of 6 new confirmed cases of virulent Newcastle disease in backyard poultry and at a retail feed store in western San Bernardino County. Information gathered so far indicates that these cases are linked, but we are still working to find additional connections and potentially more cases.
As a result of these findings, we have euthanized poultry on confirmed infected and exposed properties in the Bloomington-area and have intensified testing in the neighborhoods surrounding the infected flocks.
In an effort to minimize the impact of this new pocket of disease on the entire area, our epidemiologists continue to explore multiple disease response strategies with an eye towards preventing a major outbreak from reoccurring.
All strategies currently under consideration will involve more testing in areas we have already tested at least once, including in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. While these recent cases are in San Bernardino County and our last positive cases in Los Angeles and Riverside counties were in May 2019 and September 2019, significant historical evidence shows that infected birds are moved frequently between these counties, so as long as we have remaining pockets of disease, a substantial risk of spread exists.
We are hoping that we can keep moving toward eradication and freedom from disease. Success depends on community efforts. Stay vigilant, report sick birds, and take actions to protect your birds and your community’s birds from disease. Do not move birds and do not allow new poultry on your property.
While the vast majority of people in affected communities have made the commitment and sacrifice needed to stop this outbreak, some have ignored our quarantine and even encouraged others to ignore the quarantine. We all need to work together so we can eliminate this virus entirely from California and return to an environment that supports healthy backyard birds and poultry farms.
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November 19, 2019
Virulent Newcastle Disease Update from State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones
A new detection of virulent Newcastle Disease was identified on November 18, 2019 at a retail feed and pet store in western San Bernardino County. The store is linked to the two recently confirmed positive premises in western San Bernardino County. This new premises is approximately 1 km outside the boundary of the current control area and control area expansion is being reviewed.
VND response team members from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are working to establish control measures including mandatory euthanasia of infected and exposed birds and surveillance testing near the retail feed and pet store where infection was detected. We are moving quickly to investigate the origin of disease.
Detections of VND have decreased greatly over the last few months. Our priority remains to stop the spread of the virus and eradicate the disease. We have made significant progress toward this goal by identifying and clearing remaining pockets of disease, but this case reminds all bird owners in Southern California to remain aware of VND signs, practice good biosecurity, stop illegal movement of birds from property to property, and report any sick birds immediately to the Sick Bird Hotline, 866-922-2473. More information about VND, including biosecurity guidelines to keep birds healthy, is available on the CDFA virulent Newcastle disease web page.
December 26, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 26, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 26, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 21, 2019
Riverside
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 21, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 21, 2019
Los Angeles
Retail feed store
December 19, 2019
Riverside
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 19, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 19, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 18, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 16, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 16, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 11, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
December 11, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
November 29, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard/non-commercial chickens
November 22, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard/non-commercial turkeys
November 20, 2019
San Bernardino
Retail feed store
November 20, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
November 16, 2019
San Bernardino
Backyard exhibition chickens
September 9, 2019
Riverside
Backyard Poultry
August 31, 2019
San Diego
Research facility with chickens
August 14, 2019
San Bernardino
Retail feed store
It is important to note that any bird movement within a quarantined area is prohibited by law and violators are subject to fines ranging from $100 to $1,000, or up to $25,000 if a violator is proven to have moved the virus.
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Attention: The United States Postal Service (USPS) is not allowing shipments of live birds (all) or hatching/embryonated eggs into or out of zip codes 90000-93599 in California. For more information: https://postalpro.usps.com/node/6643
The modified quarantine extends from the Northern and Southern borders of western Riverside County to the Salton Sea—including the Coachella Valley—and as far east as Yucca Valley in San Bernardino County, with a Northern boundary of State Route 58 at the Kern County line.
Unfortunately, even birds and flocks that previously tested negative, but now fall within a designated mandatory euthanasia area, must be euthanized. USDA/CDFA staff will contact affected bird owners with orders specific to their property.
The disease put California on a quarantine, keeping businesses from buying new chickens, leaving cages empty. The incident, according to CDFA, started May of 2018.
Symptoms owners should look out for:
- Sudden death and increased death loss in flock;
- Sneezing, gasping for air, nasal discharge, coughing;
- Greenish, watery diarrhea;
- Decreased activity, tremors, drooping wings, twisting of head and neck, circling, complete stiffness; and
- Swelling around the eyes and neck.
The disease does not affect meat humans consume. People can catch the disease through touching a chicken's bodily fluids, and a person could come down with mild flu symptoms
To report any sick birds, San Diegans are asked to immediately call the Sick Bird Hotline, 866-922-2473."