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7 Tips For Mosquito Control

Tuesday, May 1st, 2018

Summer and warmer weather means mosquitoes. Take care now to eliminate the environment that mosquitoes need to live and breed. At J&N, we’ve got several options to help you win the battle against mosquitoes. Here are some tips to consider as you prepare your home and yard for summer:

Look for standing water, that is where you’ll find mosquito larva. Check your gutters, make sure they are clean and clear from standing water.
Care for your lawn. Keep grass short and don’t over-water.
Treat your bubblier and French drain lines along with rain barrels and saucers for the potted plants.
Promote an environment that combats mosquitoes! Purple martins, bats, and dragonflies. Mosquitoes are a favorite snack.
Consider these plants in the garden and around your patio, as most have a repellent effect. Here is a list of plants that may help repel mosquitoes:
- Basil: This delicious herb is not only helpful in the kitchen, but basil also is believed to keep away mosquitoes and flies.
- Lemon Thyme: This aromatic herb thrives in sunny, dry conditions, along pathways and rock gardens. For best results, bruise the leaves and rub them between your fingers to release the herb’s essential oils.
- Catnip: Yes, the cats love this pretty herb, but the mosquitoes apparently do not.
- Citronella grass: The perennial is the source of citronella oil used in pest repellent and the commonly found mosquito candles.
- Mint: Place the mint-filled pots around your home to help repel mosquitoes. Or, use the fragrant mint leaves to make an all-natural mosquito repellent.
- Lemon balm: This member of the mint family has an aroma that is said to naturally repel mosquitoes and other insects.
Consider changing your outside lighting to yellow light bulbs or lenses.
Use Skeeter Screen Mosquito Egg. They are perfect for any social place outdoors, also offered in a spray. DEET free & Pyrethrin free and contains no insecticides or herbicides.

The use of sprays and granule repellents in the environment is an option. Some all-natural sprays include citronella, garlic and orange oil sprays. Granulated cedar and garlic work as repellents. Stop by J&N Feed and Seed and let our experts find right products to eliminate mosquitoes where you live.

Posted in News & Updates, Pond, lake, fish | Comments Off on 7 Tips For Mosquito Control

Chicken Coops From SummerHawk Ranch

Tuesday, April 17th, 2018

Start living sunny side up with new chicken coops from SummerHawk Ranch, now available at J&N Feed and Seed. We’ve brought in the Seaside Cottage Chicken Coop and the Pacific Northwest Chicken Coop so your girls can live in style!

Seaside Cottage Chicken Coop – This design calls to mind those beautiful shoreline escapes. Includes raised coop, decorative cupola, 3 nesting boxes, roosting perch, access ladder, 2 access doors for cleaning, small planter box, 2 windows and a 20-square foot welded metal pen with one door on top and one door at the back. Includes a raised coop with decorative cupola, 3 nesting boxes, roosting perch, access ladder, 2 access doors for cleaning, small planter box, and 2 windows. The 20-square foot welded metal pen features one door on top and one door at the back for easy cleaning access. Product Dimensions: 56″ L x 33″ W x 36″ H; Pen- 66″L x 43″ W x 24″ H

Pacific Northwest Bungalow Chicken Coop – This design embodies a natural connection to the unique climate and landscape of the area. Includes a raised coop with 3 nesting boxes, roosting perch, access ladder, 2 access doors for cleaning, small planter box, truss feature on one side and a window. The 20-square foot welded metal pen features one door on top and one door at the back for easy cleaning access. Product Dimensions: Coop- 56″ L x 33″ W x 36″ H; Pen- 66″L x 43″ W x 24″ H.

: Seaside Cottage Chicken Coop

: Pacific Northwest Bungalow Chicken Coop

Product Specifications:

Stronger and sturdier than competitive coops: Canadian hemlock, a harder, heavier wood is used for all structural support components; thick PVC
Humanely sized for happier, healthier hens: most coops are not sized according to community standards for healthy and humane chicken keeping, visit SummerHawkRanch.com/CrueltyFree to learn more
Industry-leading full 3-year warranty: 11 times longer than a typical 90-day limited warranty
Strong, safe and easy to assemble: experience our new patent-pending GrooveLock Assembly System
Also, great for rabbits and small pets

Posted in Chicks, News & Updates | Comments Off on Chicken Coops From SummerHawk Ranch

Sprinkler System Checkup

Friday, April 13th, 2018

It’s time for a sprinkler system checkup! With the hot weather just around the corner, it’s time to fire up the sprinkler system again! For most of us, it’s been a long time since we’ve run our sprinklers and turning on your system may reveal a few surprises since the last time you watered the lawn. That may necessitate a few repairs to get things in working order.

Before your neighbor has to be the one to tell you that water is shooting up in the air, do a check on your system.

Turn on your sprinklers and take a walk around your yard.

Be sure sprinklers are aimed at watering grass, not concrete.
Adjust spray heads. On top of each spray-type nozzle is a small adjustment screw. Turn the adjustment screw to adjust each of your spray-type sprinklers so that they don’t spray onto sidewalks or walls.
Check the irrigation clock to make sure it has been reset and the timer is. Most folks tend to overwater because the clocks have not been checked since the day they were installed. Think about taking five minutes to make sure your clock operates properly. Be sure your clock is set to water before 10am and after 7pm.
Clean clogged sprinkler heads if water is not flowing evenly. These can easily become clogged with dirt over the winter months when not in use.
Replace broken or cracked sprinkler heads. This is where water is very quickly wasted! Here is a simple do-it-yourself guide.

Stop by J & N Feed and Seed. We have sprinkler heads and everything you need to get your watering system, hoses and lawn in tip top shape!

Tags: Drought, Watering Restrictions
Posted in Garden, News & Updates | Comments Off on Sprinkler System Checkup

Get Ready For Spring Gardening At J&N

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018

Get ready for spring gardening at J&N Feed and Seed. Our greenhouse is stocked full of onion sets, seed potatoes, and cold weather crops ready for your garden. Our cool-weather crops, such as lettuces, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower, can be planted now. Look for tomatoes to arrive late March or early April. It’s a little early to get your tomatoes in the ground, but with the warm winter we’ve had, you may be okay planting earlier in the season. In order to get a nice summer harvest, we recommend getting cold weather plants in the ground by mid to late March and tomatoes following in early April. The average date of the last killing freeze in North Texas is March 13th. The weeks after that will be the best planting times. Use these next couple of weeks to prepare your garden beds and get the ground ready for planting. Working in soil amendments and natural compost can help give your tired soil the much-needed nutrient boost it needs.

Stop by J&N Feed and Seed for all your gardening needs. We’ve got a greenhouse full of herbs and veggies and various packaged garden seeds! Stop by our greenhouse and let’s get this garden started!

Posted in Garden, News & Updates | Comments Off on Get Ready For Spring Gardening At J&N

Chick Deliveries At J&N Feed and Seed

Tuesday, February 27th, 2018

It’s chick season and we’ve got 2 chick deliveries coming up in March at J&N Feed and Seed. Spring chicks arrive on March 13th and March 22nd. Chicks will be available by noon on the dates listed. We recommend calling the store before you head over to confirm delivery. All baby chicks are pullets, 90% accuracy unless otherwise noted.

chick deliveries New to raising chicks? Prepare for your backyard flock with these great tips from Purina.

Raising chickens is a great experience for the whole family. One of the primary requirements is providing housing that is comfortable for your backyard flock. Young chicks can be raised in a variety of structures, but the area should be warm, dry and ventilated, but not drafty. Also, make sure it is easy to clean.

Warming:
Small numbers of chicks can be warmed adequately with heat lamps placed about 20 inches above the litter surface.

Bigger groups of birds in a large room, such as a shed or a garage, should have a supplemental heat source such as a brooder stove.

Before you bring them home:
Several days in advance, thoroughly clean and disinfect the brooder house and any equipment the chicks will use. Doing this in advance will allow everything to dry completely. Dampness is a mortal enemy to chicks, resulting in chilling and encouraging disease such as coccidiosis (parasite infection).

When the premises are dry, place 4 to 6 inches of dry litter material (wood shavings or a commercial litter) on the floor.

Feeders and Waterers
It’s important to ensure your chicks have access to fresh feed and water. Positioning the feeders and waterers along the edges of the comfort zone will:

Keep the water and feed from being overheated
Help keep water and feed cleaner (chicks milling and sleeping under the warmth source often scatter bedding and feces)
Encourage the chicks to move around and get exercise

Be sure to have plenty of fresh feed and water when the chicks arrive:

At least two 1-quart or one 1-gallon waterer for every 25 to 50 chicks
Dip the beaks of several chicks into the water to help them locate it. These chicks will teach the rest.

Feeders:

Day 1: Use clean egg flats, shallow pans or simple squares of paper with small piles of feed on them.
Day 2: Add proper feeders to the pens.
A few days later: Remove the messy papers, pans or egg flats once chicks have learned to eat from the feeders.

Waterers:

Should be emptied, scrubbed, rinsed and refilled daily
Wet litter around waterers should be removed as often as possible. Dampness encourages disease and parasite transmission. The drier the premises, the healthier and happier the chicks.
At about 4 weeks of age, ducks and geese will appreciate a swimming area, but you will need to keep the wet litter cleaned up.
In winter months, you may need to purchase a water heater to prevent water from freezing.

As chicks grow:

Feeders and waterers can be moved outward from the heat source, expanding their area of activity and helping keep the feeders and waterers clean.
As the birds grow, the feeders and waterers should be adjusted to the height of the back of a standing bird. This will help decrease contamination and minimize wastage

Feeding your chicks
It is important to select a complete feed that gives your chicks all the nutrition they need to grow into healthy hens. Once they’ve reached maturity,a high-quality complete layer feed will help to maximize egg production and quality. If they are broiler chicks, choose a feed designed to support their more rapid growth. Layer chicks will reach egg-laying age at about 18 to 20 weeks; broiler chicks will reach market weight at 8 to 10 weeks.

You may also consider occasional supplements to their diets, such as table scraps, scratch grains, oyster shell, and grit. However, supplemental feeds should make up no more than 10 percent of a hen’s diet.

Purina offers a complete line of poultry feeds appropriate for each bird in your flock. A list of Purina products can be found here.

Lighting and heating for your chicks
A thermometer should be placed at the chicks’ level to accurately gauge temperature.

Adjust the brooder stove and/or heat lamps 24 hours in advance so that upon the chicks’ arrival, you’ve created a comfort zone that is 90º F at “chick level.”
For turkey chicks, the comfort zone should be 100º F.
Use a brooder guard (a plastic, cardboard or wire barrier) for a few days to encircle the brooding area so that the chicks don’t wander too far from the warmth.
Once chicks have learned where the heat is, remove or expand the guard. This will allow the chicks to escape the heat if necessary. Getting overheated can be as dangerous as getting chilled.
Chicks that huddle under the lamp are too cold. Chicks that sprawl along the brooder guard is too hot. Chicks happily milling around all portions of the brooder area are comfortable.
The temperature can be gradually reduced by 5º F per week to a minimum of 55º F.

Even after your chicks have grown into hens, keep a standard old-fashioned 40-watt incandescent light bulb handy; or, if you’re using the new energy-efficient bulbs, a 28-watt halogen, 10-watt compact fluorescent, or 8-watt LED bulb, to maintain the artificial light necessary for egg laying to continue through the winter months.

Source: Purina Poultry

Get all your baby chick and chicken supplies at J&N Feed and Seed! We have chicken feed, feeders, fencing, waterers, heat lamps and more!

Posted in Chicks, Events, News & Updates | Comments Off on Chick Deliveries At J&N Feed and Seed

Winning The Battle With Horn Flies

Monday, January 29th, 2018

The coming of warm weather means the advent of troublesome horn flies for beef producers. Get a jump-start on fly control with Purina Wind and Rain Storm Fly Control Mineral. This feed-through mineral is available in tub or granulated form, right here at J&N Feed and Seed.

Horn flies are annoying, to be sure. But they are more than just pests, they are “obligate parasites” that must stay with—and live off of—their hosts in order to survive. They feed on cattle by cutting through the skin and sucking blood. This is not only painful and distressing for the animal, but also has a direct impact on body condition and, consequently, on the producer’s bottom line.

“Making blood is an expensive process,” according to Scott Boutilier, vice president of sales and marketing for Central Life Sciences (CLS) professional businesses. “All that blood is lost body mass, weight, meat and muscle that could have been going on someone’s plate.” As a result, Boutilier says, an estimated $800 million is lost each year to horn flies.

The gold standard in controlling these pests is S-Methoprene, the generic name for Altosid® IGR, which is registered to a subsidiary of CLS. The product, originally developed in the late 1960s for mosquito control, was registered by the EPA in 1975 as a cattle feed-through product. Incorporated into cattle feed, Altosid passes through the animals without affecting them, remaining in manure to control horn flies. It does this by mimicking a juvenile fly hormone that inhibits fly larvae from maturing.

“Methoprene by nature is very similar to juvenile insect hormones,” said Boutilier, who studied entomology, chemistry, and insect physiology in undergraduate and graduate school. “It’s very complex chemically, but environmentally benign. It breaks out into very simple compounds, so it doesn’t have negative effects on the environment.”

In fact, the EPA has determined that the use of methoprene is exempt from tolerance. And, insects have not developed a resistance to Altosid, unlike many other insect control products that kill the adult. “At the same time,” Boutilier explained, “the product is sensitive to sunlight, so delivery and formulation is critical to its performance. And, you have to make sure you deliver the correct amount to achieve the right effect.”

As a result, CLS has created a variety of formulations, all very specific to their intended uses. In the cattle market, for instance, they created a formula that will pass through and remain in manure. The dosage is low enough that it affects horn flies, but doesn’t inhibit dung beetles’ ability to break down manure. The dosage is typically about 1.1 mg per hundredweight of animal, per day.

Boutilier described the work Purina has done on consumption and intake management as “elegant.” It’s a method the company uses in its Wind and Rain® Fly Control Mineral tubs, which incorporate Altosid. Through taste and physical properties, the method actually controls how much the animal consumes, keeping the nutrients at appropriate levels for the desired effect.

“They’ve made the product attractive, so that cattle will eat it, but only eat so much,” Boutilier explained. “Then after a while, they will come back for more. It’s an amazing level of sophistication that has evolved with Purina’s IM Tech (Intake Modifying Technology®) program.” Boutilier says incorporating Altosid with pre-existing feeding programs is a very cost-efficient method of controlling horn flies.

“If you are going to feed an animal anyway, you have no additional labor cost to deliver the horn fly control with feed,” he pointed out. “Plus, this method is so much easier than an ear tag or back rubber. And every dollar you spend, yields 6 to 10 dollars in increased weight gain and faster weight gain, so it is a high value solution for cattle producers.”

Boutilier said producers should start administering the product about a month before horn flies start maturing until about 30 days after the first hard frost. That way they can virtually eliminate the horn fly season. He stressed that ranchers need to administer Altosid 30 days after the first frost to make sure the insects don’t go into pupae.

“Most cattle producers who start on the program stay on it, because it is effective and delivers a good return,” Boutilier concluded. “Customer satisfaction is very high.”

For more information about options for controlling horn flies through mineral supplements, contact us.

Article: Purina Mills Cattle

Tags: cattle
Posted in Cattle, News & Updates | Comments Off on Winning The Battle With Horn Flies

Animal Feed Price Increase

Thursday, January 25th, 2018

animal feed price increase There have been significant changes in the global vitamin market which will impact the availability and price of vitamins and premixes used to manufacture animal feed starting in January 2018. Rest assured that we are committed to working with you to navigate this challenge while providing optimal nutrition from our suppliers. We’d like to share some details with you as to what is going on in the market.

Global supplies of vitamin A and vitamin E will be in short supply over the next few months, due to a manufacturing issue with one of the leading suppliers, BASF. Earlier this month, BASF declared force majeure for all its vitamin A and vitamin E and for several carotenoid products. This declaration is a legal clause that exempts them from fulfilling their contractual supply obligations for all their vitamin A and vitamin E products and several carotenoid products. It was made following a fire that reportedly damaged BASF’s citral facility in Germany. Citral is key to the manufacturing process of those vitamins.

This global supply issue and very limited availability of the impacted vitamins have resulted in significant price increases in the animal nutrition market. You will begin to see those prices reflected in the pricing of animal feeds starting in January 2018. These price increases from manufacturers will impact the prices of feed in businesses across the country. We are doing what we can to mitigate the impact and will stay in close contact with you as we manage through this until supplies are restored.

Our number one priority is to continue to provide you with the quality products you and your customers expect from us. Thank you for working through this global industry challenge with us.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.

J&N Feed and Seed

Posted in Cattle, News & Updates | Comments Off on Animal Feed Price Increase

JT Eaton Answer Catch & Release Skunk Trap

Wednesday, October 4th, 2017

Looking for a catch and release skunk trap to relocate these and other medium size critters? We can help! Skunk Trap | J&N Feed & Seed JT Eaton Answer Catch & Release Skunk Trap is designed to catch skunks and other medium-sized animal pests. Made with solid walls of rugged polyethylene, this durable and humane trap is designed to capture skunks and other pest animals without harming them. This trap has a spring loaded door that is easy to set and a release door that allows for quick and easy baiting. The skunk is kept from spraying by its compact, low-profile design; so you can approach the trap without apprehension and peek in the viewing window to see what you’ve caught. Includes a 1-year limited warranty.

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Posted in Hardware, News & Updates | Comments Off on JT Eaton Answer Catch & Release Skunk Trap

Quickdraw Deer Block Attractant & Supplement

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

Attract and hold big bucks with Purina Mills Quickdraw Deer Block attractant and supplement available at J&N Feed and Seed.

Designed to attract deer with its irresistible scent & flavorings. Designed in a 20 lb block, it attracts big bucks and helps keep deer coming back. It can also be used to supplement poor quality forage or habitat. Studies on the Primos® Quick Draw® Deer Block attractant show strong consumption, driven by a proprietary flavoring agent not found in any other deer block.

Pick up all your hunting supplies, blinds, feeders, and wildlife feed at J&N Feed and Seed. We’re all hunters here, so if you have any questions, please give us a call or stop by. We’re happy to help!

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Posted in News & Updates, Wildlife, Deer | Comments Off on Quickdraw Deer Block Attractant & Supplement

Browning Trail Cameras

Monday, August 21st, 2017

J&N Feed and Seed is proud to offer the full line of Browning Trail Cameras to help you capture great images of the game on your property. Browning Trail Cameras have been designed with you in mind, to deliver excellent quality results in the field. Whether you are trying to capture that buck of a lifetime running down a trail, or just interested in what’s congregating around your feed blocks, Brownings line of game cameras has the features you are looking for.

All Browning Game Cameras feature incredible trigger speeds of less than one second and are capable of capturing your game in stunning HD video with sound. Imagine being able to take a 2 minute HD video clip of deer and turkey walking around on the edge of your favorite greenfield…and being able to hear what’s going on as well. That’s the Browning Trail Camera advantage!

Browning Trail Cameras offers 3 different series of trail cameras to suit the specific needs of different hunter’s requirements and function they need to perform in the field. J&N Feed and Seed in Graham, Texas, stocks the full line of Browning Trail Cameras. Stop in and pick one up today!