Monday, January 9, 2017

Katmint for the good-life of cats.

A high School graduate Tyler Thompson wanted to give his cats a taste of the good life, so he developed Koop Brand. Though several other products will debut in 2017, the current products concentrate on natural, organic catnip — called Katmint — and goods and apparel for the cat owners. It's designed more for the relationship between cat and owner, and that's something unique in the market," he said. "They're all-natural products to give cats and humans a better life."The Koop Brand website features hoodies, T-shirts and posters with phrases like "cat vibes," "cats are dope," and "cats and also coffee." Comfortable clothes, coffee mugs and travel thermoses make up the bulk of the human products, because Thompson said he figures "with people who own cats, I'd say at least half are avid coffee or tea drinkers." "I'd stress the cohesiveness between the animal and the pet parent," he said. "We want to blur the line." continue

Cats influencing architecture in Taiwan.

Cats are gaining popularity in Taiwan and other parts of Asia, with Taiwanese cat owners spending $598.4 million on pet products and services yearly since 2011, a portion of which has gone toward cat-friendly apartment design. Companies provide design and architecture services that make homes a haven for cats, including special doors, shelves, walkways and passages just for cats. The cat business is booming. I don't remember it being like this three years ago," says Szuti Tsai, founder of Taipei-based ST Studio Design and the interior designer behind Mei Mei's flat. Since 2011 pet cat popularity has increased by 91% in Taiwan, with owners shelling out $598.4 million on pet-related products and services a year, according to the Council of Agriculture. "People who love their cats really do go a bit crazy for them," admits Tsai. Tsai, who had just adopted a cat, met her client in an online pet forum, where owners post questions and share advice. One user left an unusual message: he was looking for someone to design a minimalist apartment tailored to the needs of his two cats. Tsai made contact to offer her services."(The client) said his cats hated it when he closed the DOORS. They went crazy," says Tsai. "Cats actually need a lot more attention than people think. They want to know what you're doing at every moment." In order to solve that issue, Tsai knocked down the internal walls, and turned the apartment into an open-plan space, bar the bathroom. Furthermore, she opened up the WINDOWS to let in more natural light, offering the cats several spots for sunbathing,and on various walls Tsai built an elaborate system of ledges to serve as a cat playground, the layout of which can be adjusted to keep the pets interested. continue

Crickets as dog treat.

Cricket flour from Entomo Farms in Norwood now being used by Montreal company to make premium dog treats. Montreal startup Hexa Foods is banking on the belief that their pooches have no such qualms. The company makes premium dog treats with cricket flour from Peterborough County as their primary ingredient.An agronomist who specializes in animal nutrition helped the company develop the recipe for the treats. The crickets hail from Entomo Farms near Norwood, which raises crickets for human and animal consumption. Production is outsourced to St-Hyacinthe-based dog biscuit manufacturer Bio Biscuit.Available in banana-peanut and apple-cranberry flavours, the oven-baked treats have a suggested retail price of $9.99 for 80 grams and $16.99 for 160 grams.Cricket protein is also highly digestible, and the dogs -- that's the true test -- mostly love them. Crickets and mealworms are also being raised for human consumption as a healthy, nutritious alternative to chicken, pork, beef and fish.They emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and need significantly less land and water than cattle rearing. The bugs are roasted and can be consumed whole or ground into a very fine powder for energy bars, chips, cookies, pasta, bread and protein shakes. continue

Dogg app connecting dog owners.

When SLOBBR co-founders Michelle Fournier and Jonathan Lagasse tell dog owners about their 5-month-old app, the response is usually "What took you guys so long?!" Only recently available nationwide (it originally launched in Boston and New York), the free app is part Foursquare, part Facebook, part Instagram and 100 percent pup-friendly. SLOBBR allows dog owners to connect with one another by posting cute photos of their four-legged pals and discover recommended dog parks, restaurants, products and stores based on their geolocation. There’s a feel-good component as well. For every check-in, SLOBBR donates half a cup of Halo kibble to a local animal shelter or rescue group. Shake Shack announced its SLOBBR support with a tweet promising a free Pooch-ini—a dessert consisting of dog biscuits, peanut butter and vanilla custard—to Bostonians who show their SLOBBR app to the cashier. Dog owners checking into Boston area Kimpton Hotels receive a welcome bag filled with a SLOBBR-branded travel mug, locally sourced dog treats and recommendations of where to take their canine while in town. Tito’s Vodka, which also runs the program. continue

Fowl pox .

Fowl pox is a diseases of economic importance in poultry because it causes drop in egg production and high mortality rate in layer flock.The disease is a slow-spreading one, characterized by the development of skin lesions on the unfeathered skin of the head, neck, legs and feet (dry pox). All ages are susceptible to fowl pox infection except recently hatched chicks, but the incidence is variable among flocks, dependent on management systems. In high-density, multiple-age farms, the disease may persist for long periods of time despite preventive vaccinations. The virus-containing crusts /scabs from skin lesions contaminate the environment and facilitate mechanical transmission of the virus between birds.The virus persists in the environment and may later infect susceptible birds by entering the skin through minor abrasions. In a contaminated house, the aerosol generated by feathers and dry scabs containing pox virus particles provide suitable conditions for both skin and respiratory infection. Inhalation or ingestion of virus, or virus-infected cells shed from skin lesions, can lead to the wet form of the disease. The wet pox lesions are associated with the upper digestive and respiratory tracts, especially the larynx and trachea and the Wet pox is the more serious form of the disease, with higher mortality in flocks. Wet pox alone cause high mortality of up to 50–60% in unvaccinated flocks. In layers, the disease causes a drop in egg production and reduces growth and development in young chicks and pullets. The infection spreads easily from bird to bird, cage to cage, and through ingestion of standing water in drinkers. Insects can serve as mechanical vectors of pox viruses, spreading infection by depositing virus in the eyes of birds or by biting birds. Fowl pox vaccine spilled inside the house during vaccination can produce pox lesions on exposed birds.The mucous membranes of the trachea and mouth are highly susceptible to the virus, and infection may occur in the absence of apparent injury or trauma. Clinical signs and lesions depend on the type of infection, in the dry pox there are Proliferative nodules on unfeathered skin areas of head, neck, legs and feet. Skin lesions vary in appearance, depending on the stage observed starting with papule, then vesicle, pustule and crust /scab at late stage. There is Cutaneous eye and mouth lesions which interfere with the bird’s ability to eat and drink. Birds are weak with reduced egg production with low mortality in uncomplicated cases. In the Wet Pox: Cankers yellowish lesions occur on mucous membranes of mouth, esophagus or trachea.Lesions in the nasal cavity or conjunctiva of eye lead to nasal or ocular discharge Reddened (hemorrhagic) tracheas. Lesions can interfere with eating, drinking and breathing; wet pox involving the trachea can result in high mortality due to impairment of breathing.Birds are unthrifty with reduced egg production. Mortality due to suffocation, starvation and dehydration. No treatment only prevention by vaccination,however management protocols such as these are important;1)Dust control. 2)Effective insect control programme. 3) Biosecurity programme to prevent movement of outside contaminated personnel and equipment from entering chicken houses. 4) Iodine disinfectant added to the water in the face of a fowl pox outbreak can reduce mortality and slowing the spread of the virus. The common practice on the farm is to isolate the birds with scabs,then cut pustule open and clean with iodine and apply gentian violet to cover it and birds are placed on a mixture of pox cure.

Hot weather has no link to salmonella in poultry farms.

The high rise in environmental temperature attributed to global warming has been linked to the spike in salmonella infection in poultry farms. The term that heat was the culprit for rise in cases took the responsibility off biosecurity breeches until a new research proved otherwise. Eggs and egg products have been associated with an increased risk of Salmonella contamination,mainly because of the preference of free range eggs by consumers has increased.Birds raised in the free range production system are exposed to weather extremes, because the free range environment is not as easily controlled as in cage .It was then assumed that hot weather had a role to play in the potential contamination of eggs at the site of free range egg production. The research conducted by the University of Adelaide shows there is no greater risk of Salmonella contamination in the production of free range eggs in Australia due to hot summer weather, compared with other seasons. Researchers at the University's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences say that the hygiene around egg handling in the supply chain and in household and restaurant kitchens is critical to reducing food poisoning from eggs. Researchers conducted a study of four Australian commercial free range egg farms, with the results showing that the types and levels of Salmonella found in and around free range egg farms, and on the eggs themselves, is highly variable, often dependent on the specific husbandry and management practices employed by each farm.

Monkey consumption ‘a threat’ to mankind

Monkey consumption ‘a threat’ to mankind: The consumption of monkey meat could be threatening our existence, primatologist Cleve Hicks has warned.

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