Animals

Last week, Thomas Smit named the winners in the short-distance races in the Transvaal Racing Pigeon Federation's racing programme. Here are the current top two performers in the middle-distance races.

Cornelis Rautenbach of the Nonnie Tuli Stud is the owner of the 2010 Farmer’s Weekly-ARC Best Elite Tuli Cow, CR 98 0048. This is the fourth year his cows have taken part in the competition, making his Tulis one of the top performing herds of all breeds in the country. Wayne Southwood visited him on his Free State farm in Reitz.

With the high price of diesel, many farmers are reconsidering using donkeys for small loads, or to transport workers on the farm. As the health of the working donkey is important to maintain its efficiency, it's worthwhile knowing how to see if they're sick, writes Dr Mac.

The Transvaal Racing Pigeon Federation (TRPF) is having a rather fast-paced racing season this year, with average race speeds of between 1 300m and 1 400m per minute. Training is done on a knife's edge to keep the front runners in top shape.

Winners of the Royal Show's carcass competition hold the prestigious title of producer of the best beef carcass in KwaZulu-Natal for a year. Lloyd Phillips visited Weston Agricultural College to hear how they did it in 2010.

Conditions involving your horse's eyes are potentially serious and should be treated by a vet, warns Kim Dyson.
Issue date : 10 September 2010

Training for the first year of the South African Prestige Invitational Race is in full swing. Thomas Smit takes a look at this event.

The Fodderbank Grazing Management System allows an entire farm to be grazed annually, but only one third is grazed during the active growing season. Jorrie Jordaan of the Towoomba Research Station says this system can be applied almost anywhere in the world.

Some people think those "cowboy" spurs look cool, others believe they're barbaric. Are they just for show, or can they serve a purpose, especially when it comes to Western riding? Dr Mac investigates.

South Africa’s stud game industry is making great strides in breeding genetically superior stock, but are the high prices being paid at auctions healthy – or the start of a big problem? Heather Dugmore investigates.

Jeanne Groenewald never expected her attempt to feed her family healthy food to turn into one of South Africa’s great poultry success stories. Starting out by rearing 100 chickens in her backyard, she today supplies almost 75 000 free-range chickens per month to leading South African retailers.

To properly understand fitness indicators in racing pigeons, we need to identify the actual demands of the specific race event we intend to enter. We also need to realise that there are different degrees of fitness and that the fitness curve can be manipulated.