Practical guides on Australian livestock and pet care — written for the realities of farming and rural households here. Winter calving, working dog care, drench rotation, calf rearing and more.
A plain-English guide to everything small and hobby cattle producers need to know — Property Identification Codes, NLIS tagging requirements, recording movements in the NLIS database, National Vendor Declarations, LPA accreditation, and the most common compliance mistakes that catch producers out.
Beekeeping · BiosecurityVarroa destructor arrived in NSW in June 2022. Eradication was abandoned in 2023. This guide covers the current state-by-state situation, inspection methods (alcohol wash, sugar shake, sticky board), registered treatments (OA, Apivar, formic acid), brood break strategies, and what Varroa means for treatment-free beekeeping and wild bee populations.
Sheep HealthHaemonchus contortus biology, faecal worm egg count thresholds, the five drench classes and their resistance status, refugia management, and a region-specific seasonal drenching calendar for southern, subtropical and tropical producers. Built around ParaBoss best practice.
PoultryTemperature, humidity, candling schedules, lockdown and hatch-day survival guide. Covers chickens, domestic ducks, and Muscovy ducks — with specific advice on summer hatching in Australian conditions and the six failures that kill most hatches.
PoultryHow many eggs should your hens actually be laying? Real-world performance benchmarks for Isa Brown, Australorp, Rhode Island Red and more — plus seasonal variation by region, moult timing, and the production killers that don't show up in breed guides.
Pig FarmingBreed selection for AU conditions, PigPass and PIC requirements, 114-day gestation management, vaccination schedule (Erysipelas, Leptospirosis, PPV, E. coli), worming, and the records you're legally required to keep. Covers backyard pigs through to small commercial herds.
Hobby FarmPICs, PigPass, DSE calculations and carrying capacity, fencing for mixed species, water infrastructure, the records that are legally required vs just wise, and the tax question. Built for lifestyle block owners managing their first year with livestock.
ComplianceWhat WHP and ESI actually mean, how they're set by the APVMA, the four things that change them, and how to keep records that survive an LPA audit. The hard-to-find practical detail you can't get from a product label alone.
Animal HealthDrench classes, resistance management, faecal egg counts, refugia, and a region-specific rotation calendar for temperate, subtropical, tropical and Mediterranean Australian conditions. Built around ParaBoss-aligned best practice.
Cattle Health5-in-1, 7-in-1, Botulism, Vibriosis — when to give them, who gets them, and how to build a vaccination program that actually protects your herd. Covers calves, breeders, bulls, feedlot and purchased cattle.
Farm ManagementDuplicate treatments, missed withholding periods, slow diagnosis — poor records cost Australian farmers money every week. Here's how switching to digital health records pays for itself fast.
CattleLate-pregnancy nutrition on standing dry feed, the calving paddock decision, hypothermia in newborn calves, the 4-2-1 colostrum rule and the records that compound over years.
Rural PetsJoint stiffness in kelpies and border collies, kennel warmth that won't burn the place down, cracked footpads, calorie budgets through cold months, hypothermia in old or thin dogs.