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Posts Tagged ‘equipment’

The selection of vigorous breeding duck stock is essential. Breeder ducks are selected from the earliest hatches of the year, with the initial selection being made when the birds are about 8 weeks old. A final selection is made before they are placed in the breeder pens. Breeders should be uniform in size and at the approximate weight range for the breed used, having a full breast, deep keel, long back with good width between the legs. In making the selection, it is a good idea to walk the birds for several hundred yards. Eliminate those that have difficulty walking at a reasonable speed.

Breeder ducks are most profitable during their first laying year. However, they can be used successfully for 4 or 5 years. In backyard flocks it would be more desirable to keep ducks for several years.

Five to eight ducks can be matted to each drake. In colder weather, limit the number of ducks per drake to five. In warmer weather increase it to eight.

Drakes may be determined by their larger size, higher-pitched voices and more erect carriage than ducks. Ducks have a distinct ‘quack’, drakes do not ‘quack’.

In handling ducks, pick them up by the next rather than by the legs, which are easily broken.

Breeder ducks require very little equipment for their care. For farm flocks, a shed or colony brooder house is satisfactory. Provide 5 sq ft of floor space per bird in the house.

Dirt floors may be used in building if the soil is light and sandy, but concrete floors are recommended as they are easily cleaned and more sanitary.

Since ducks lay most of their eggs in the morning, confine them in the breeder house until noon, so that all eggs will be laid in the house. Provide nest boxes and place them on the floor where the ducks have easy access to them. Provide one nest box for every five ducks.

Any feed or water equipment that is satisfactory for chickens can be used for ducks. Water troughs should be designed to keep birds out. Otherwise, the water will become filthy and a potential health hazard.

There is more to a new fish tank then just a tank filled with water sitting on a stand in your living room. There is a certain amount of equipment needed such as a heater and filter to keep your fish healthy and happy. With the proper equipment your tank will become a healthy water filled paradise for your tropical fish. Most tropical fish are imported in small boxes which can be quite a shock to their systems. By providing an environment much like their natural environment your fish will thrive and become an active part of your everyday life.

Getting the right type of heater is an important part of setting up your fish tank, unless of course you are just putting gold fish in it. Nearly all tropical fish require a water temperature between 70 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. They will die if they are kept in water cooler then that for any length of time.

You need to be aware that there are different sized heaters for different sized tanks, make sure you get one that will work for the fish tank you decide to go with. If you get one that’s too small or does not have a high enough voltage rating for your tank it will not be able to adequately heat the amount of water needed. On the flip side if your fish tank heater is to big for your tank you stand a good chance of boiling your fish. If you are unsure of what size heater to get ask some one who works at your local fish store.

The second major piece of equipment you will need is a filter of some sort. A filter keeps the water circulating and helps filter out the ammonia and nitrates that build up in a fish tank. This is particularly true in new tanks which haven’t had a chance to get established with the beneficial bacteria that break down these natural by-products of fish waste. If too much ammonia and nitrate builds up your fish will have trouble breathing and could die. The beneficial bacteria actually build up in the filter system and break down these poisons as the water cycles through the filter.

If you do nothing else when it comes to equipping your new fish tank you need to have at the least a heater and filter. Without these two vital pieces of equipment you will be hard pressed to keep your fish tank warm enough and clean enough to successfully keep healthy happy fish.

Okay, so you’ve decided you want to do some agility training with your dog. That’s great! You’ve seen some competitions, know you need some dog agility equipment, and decide to go to the pet store looking for some of the standard training items such as a tunnel. When you get there what you find is there are a lot of options to choose from but you really have no idea which one would suit you and Fido best. Not so great.

Well fortunately, here is some information that can help. This is the information you need to know how to select an agility tunnel.

Tunnels come in several different types. The basic selection for competition comes in 10 ft, 12 ft, 15 ft, and 20 ft lengths. They can be 4 inch pitch or 6 inch pitch. The Pitch refers to the amount of space between the metal that structures the tunnel inside. It can be heat sealed or sewed. Sewed is better for a hot climate like Az. The rip stop industrial strength fabric is very durable. The sun can actually make a heat sealed one fall apart after a while.

Various Agility venues have different requirements for the pitch. AKC, and USDAA, for instance requires 4 inch pitch. The pitch lends durability, stability, and weight to a tunnel. The heaviest weight may be required when hundreds of dogs are running through one, but for your own training needs at home to practice, a 6 inch pitch will usually work just fine. It really depends on your level of competition and the wishes of your trainer for you and your dog.

All sizes of tunnels are used on an agility course. You need longer ones to do a U or L shaped tunnel. You also may bend them underneath other pieces of contact equipment like an A frame or dog walk to teach the dog to discriminate between two obstacles. Most dogs find tunnels really tempting, so it is a distraction of sorts.

There are also collapsed tunnels or they are also referred to as Chutes. These are attached to a barrel and clamped on to form a flat or collapsed tunnel which is usually more challenging for the dog and it also takes longer to get through. You should never leave a chute unattended in your back yard as a dog can get tangled in one and there may be dire results of injury or worse. It is only to be used with handler supervision. Most dogs like these with practice.

If a person is in a puppy class or has a young dog and they want to do some back yard fun training, a practice tunnel made of light weight nylon type material is available for this type of activity. It is less expensive and easy to transport or store.

In order to stabilize your tunnel, you should ideally have tunnel weights or fasteners that look like straps on both ends and possibly the middle to keep it from moving or pitching when a fast dog runs through it. Milk jugs filled with sand and a rope or cord may have the same effect if you don’t want to immediately purchase tunnel bags, but that is what they are designed for-to keep your tunnel stable.

Tunnels can be a multitude of colors. You can mix and match and have fun making your course colorful.

Now a trip to the pet store to purchase dog agility training equipment won’t be so overwhelming since you know how to select an agility tunnel.

Proper aquarium maintenance is very crucial in goldfish care. Goldfish are relatively easy to care for and if you maintain your fish tank properly you will see that keeping goldfish health is quite an easy task.

If you feel like you can always hire an aquarium maintenance service which may come to your office or home and take care of your fish. However, it is an always great to take care of your beloved fish yourself. It will give you a lot of satisfaction and pleasure and can be a rewarding experience.

Important steps in goldfish care

Very important equipment in your fish tank is its filtration system. You can choose from a wide range of filtration system available in the. However, the most common one resembles a box which fits over one side of the aquarium. The tank water will circulates through this filtration system and it generally uses charcoal. Again, another variety of filtration system can be biological filter. This type of filter can be used in along with a charcoal filtration as well. One advantage of this filter is that it allows good bacteria to grow inside the tank.

The number of fish you have inside your aquarium is also of extreme importance. This is because it can influence the quality of water. If you have too many fish in a relatively smaller tank the water will tend to deteriorate very fast. So always maintain correct fish population inside the tank. Next you must be careful not to over-feed your goldfish. You must feed that much only which your fish can eat up within a few minutes. Because uneaten food can rot and give birth to bacteria.

Change water partially water

It is always essential to change your tank water partially in every week. In fact it is central to your goldfish’s care. Changing a portion of fish tank water every week will help you to keep the level of alga down and also to maintain a proper environment inside the tank. Moreover, you can siphon around 20 percent of the water in every few days. If your tap water has chlorine in it you must add a chlorine neutralizer before pouring it into the tank.

Observe the behavior of your fish daily

It is always handy to observe the behavior of your goldfish regularly. By doing this you can ensure that everything is fine inside the tank. Always check your filter and see if kit is running properly or not. If you have experience a power cut make sure that the air pump is running well.

Furthermore, if you see any behavioral change in your fish you must know that there should be a cause behind it. You must take a proactive step to determine the cause of this change or else it may hamper your fish in the future.

Recently, a lot of our friends and customers have asked us about dog training and how to properly use treats when training dogs. We found the following article to be very helpful:

There are many different approaches to dog training and many different ways of implementing each of those approaches. Most techniques utilized today however, are premised upon the idea that positive reinforcement is likely to create the best results. Virtually every truly functional dog training system is outgrowth of positive reinforcement thinking.

Regardless of which specific program a dog owner may choose to adopt, there are common pitfalls that can be avoided. Dog owners are particularly susceptible to making three critical errors, which if avoided will make the training process far more enjoyable and effective. Three of the most common mistakes are inconsistency, impatience and treating the dog as a subject instead of a training partner.

Inconsistency

Consistency may be hobgoblin of little minds in terms of the need for human creativity. With respect to dog training, however, inconsistency is the quickest way to reduce the experience’s effectiveness.

Dogs thrive on predictability. In fact, their ability to grasp cause and effect is at the very root of training. Operant conditioning is predicated on the fact that dogs will begin to associate events with consistent outcomes. This notion of consistency’s importance must be extended to the overall process of dog training.

A dog is likely to best respond to a system in which regular actions produce regular results. Too often, dog owners fail to be entirely consistent. In the dog’s mind, these lapses in regularity convey a sense of randomness to the process and make it difficult for the pet to associate his specific behaviors with specific results-the key to training. Dogs will excel when they are taught that things happen for specific reasons. When surprises occur it undermines the whole of the training process.

A successful trainer will retain consistency and will not deviate from an established course.

Impatience

There can be a great deal of frustration in dog training. Concepts we believe dogs should be able to grasp easily often escape them completely for quite some time.

We live in a world that is so often focused on immediate results. We learn to expect that our actions will be met by prompt, anticipated responses. Dog training runs counter to this societal trend toward speedy, immediate gratification. Training is an extended process that can require a great deal of patience from the trainer.

Impatience results in unpredictability on the part of the owner as they hastily cease a training session or abandon positive reinforcement techniques in hopes of finding a shortcut to desired results. Patience is, indeed, a virtue when one considers the role of the owner in a dog training situation.

A successful trainer will master developing a patient outlook throughout the extended process of dog training.

Treating the Dog as a Subject Instead of a Partner

Dog training requires two participants: the dog and the owner. Frequently, however, owners tend to perceive the process as being uniquely about them. They fret over their techniques, equipment and strategies without giving real consideration to their training partner, the dog.

When an owner approaches the dog as a simple subject for experimentation, they lose track of what makes the dog unique and denigrate the always-important dog/owner relationship. Training becomes a chore, rather than a joint activity. What might have been a pleasurable chance for interaction becomes an un-enjoyable task.

Dogs are sufficiently intuitive to be attuned to a trainer’s attitude and are less receptive to learning when they are treated merely as a subject instead of as a complete being. Owners who fail to see their pet’s identity during training are unable to pick up on subtle clues and possible means to improve their techniques.

The successful trainer will treat his dog as a full partner in training, not merely as a subject.

By avoiding these three common pitfalls, a dog owner is more likely to be able to implement a training strategy that produces results. Additionally, the training experience is likely to be enjoyable for both the dog and owner, giving them a tremendous opportunity to build their relationship. Regardless of the exact methodology adopted by the owner, the training process will benefit extraordinarily from avoiding the mistakes of inconsistency, impatience and treating your pet as a subject instead of as a partner.

Source: i-love-dogs.com

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