THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 583, 11 August 1909, Page 10

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

HINTS ON LAMBING. (By "Kent," a practical pastoralist of soma forty years' standing.) No. I. The approach of tho lambing season leads 1110 to think there are many' uninitiated owners of flocks who might gladly accept a few hints 011 the better managemont of ev.'es during this critical'period, and tho iii'ost approved mothods of rearing their lambs, either for the Homo market or for increasing their flocks.

First, then, let mo presumo that- the careful flock-master has long-since .seen..that his owes have been properly' "crutphed," \o., all' superfluous wool removed witli the shears from around the udder)-where it is. likely to obstruct the .weakly lamb at birth" from finding its food-supply so soon'as it is ablo.to get on'its legs, "If 'such : has been, neglected/ no time should-be lost in; quietly, yarding, the: ewes, and carefully.laying-each : ono on, her side (avoiding an upright; position),'.and quickly completing. the, operation.'. Oiybetter still, get a pt-rong yputli'. to' hold, each.-.one against tho yard fence; by putting his left hand under the jaw, holding tho top rail firmly with his right, and keeping the ewe parallel with tho fonce by gently pressing his right knee against her, while the operator removes the wool without the risk of throwing the sheep. Care, must be taken not to injure the teats with the shears. ■ Only such wool as would actually hinder the sucking of the lamb,, more' especially from the front of the legs,: need be removed. Do not mako .the sheep unsightly, or expose tho delicate parts of tho udder, to the bleak weather which we • often experience during the first month of lambing. Such exposure is frequently the cause of swollen udders from inflammation, and results-in tlie loss of, both ewe and lamb. 1 well remember when a boy, an old grazier at liome.sayingj during a war scare, that "lie was more afraid of an .east, wind'in lambing than of the French landing on the east coast!"

Lambs Dsacl Every Morning. Tho neglect of crutching is a most serious omission which. many, even practical graziers, do not recognise. "I remember some twenty years ago a well-known pastoralist, ivho formerly managed a largo estate for an "absentee," telling mo that "he was -much' perplexed in mind to find a reason for- so many of his healthy new-born lambs being found dead ovcry morning, in tho lambing paddock, which was an ideal spot for e!wcs to lamb in, especially as they were in grand condition and feed was plentiful!-" In reply to'my query--as-to whether they were crutched" ho' said no; but being quite clqari (i.e., free frniii scour)'ho did;not; think it necessary.. And- lhoii<hc:told nie that they had',wintered/oii rich swainp land; " So'. .I advised .him to inrli up a fcw> and'.he-would, pijobalily find the wool round the udder matted with .docks. lie ; afterwards ' told me how astonished he had been to find'that, in nearly every case, thero was such a network as to effectually preclude the lamb from getting hold of-the teat. After carefully crutching the full . ewes . he ■ had • since had no losses in lambs at all." . • - Thistles are equally bad. Also straggling locks of wool, about theso'parts 1 will' often induce a lamb, after he 'is. satisfied with milk, to suck and chew it '. until, death eventually results'from'a-'ball of wool concentrating in the. intestines, sometimes when a lamb is eight or ten weeks'old. This'is to be sustiected when a lamb is fonnd staggering about with distended sides and foaming at the mouth. From observations taken while crutching ono can fairly well tell wliich ewes are likely to lamb first, and, where convenient, ;it is of great advantage, to tako theso off from tho flock, and put into a. paddock .-handy to the homestead.. - This greatly,'facilitates the lambing work,"-and 'obsiire's to a .great extent the .safety, of 'the'flock, as they can then .be easily and thoroughly shepherded twice a day, and anything'amiss at oiico noticed. A fow hours' neglect will often cause the death of a ewe or lier lamb.

' A Few Points on Footling. i If the owner lias been fortunate enough • to grow a few roots lie can then crowd Ins I 'early-lambing ewes oil pretty "thickly with impunity (say, 10 or 12 to "the acre), and cart tho roots : out, throwing thcm":uOwn ; with their tops' on in the paddock.' Jlan-' J golds for preference: By this means, tlio ■ grass land, on winch'the later lambing ewes ■ aro graaiug is much relieved,, and consequently an abundance of crass is ensured-for . the lambs later 011. It is, beneficial to keep ewes just prior .toVlanibing;-(unlcss'poor 'and weakly) : on bare; commons, so as not to flush the udder, in which 'cosov tso newly-born-lamb is unable,to .tafob all'the rhilk'. : When.this has happened the- flow becomes reduced later on, when'tho lamb requires as much, as it can get. Again, a superabundance -of milk at this pefiod will often inflate the teats of old ewes to'- svfcli proportions that tho small mouth of tho. lamb'is unable them. On tho other hand, if the" udder is 1 ' sucked dry fronr.tlie start-, tlio milk increases as the lamb grows, and the grass'improves;' In fact, tho maxim to "let the grass grow with tlio lambj^'should.'always .be remembered, and tlie ■ ..reverse ■ . guarded against, to ensuro early maturity ajid wellgrown hoggets.;. Hence, wo generally notice that a particularly early lamb', although born when the grass is shortest, invariably thrives and.' . turns, out a grand lioggei. This would lead one to imagine that wo lamb' too .late. ■ But' were all the lambs to arrive at this early period, before /the spring grass began to come away, the lambs would, overcrowd the land, and the flock suffer'for want.of ; food. Virtues of Mangolds. One reason for preferring marigoldfor artificial feed during lambing is that, they aro ■ easily eaten by owes, no matter how bad their teeth may bo; and, being'so fed, their : lambs are born a; dark, yellow from the liquor which mangolds: ■ produce.- '■■'• Again, "' when crowded in a small area like tins, ttie ewes will readily -tako to "hay fed out m racks, or ■ between hurdles, or looped in wire-net-ting. which teaches them to feed from hay. or 'chaff racks at any subsequent time; when i grass is scarce. If the lambing paddock is void of shelter - the work of a- Bhopherd may be relieved, and ■ the risk of lambing lessened, by placing a few hurdles, thatched with straw, ; rushes, or manuka in convenient positions, forming ' squares of four hurdles, in 'which .'a sickly owe or lamb with its mother can be yarded over night during rough weather.- They are also for foster-mothering twin' lambs, on .< owes which have lost their offspring, as' 110 ] ewe should be allowed to. leave 1 tbe lamber's , bauds without a lamb, if possible, adopted J or otherwise. ,

Lambs "Adopted" by Ewes. The safest and surest method for. adopting is to skin the dead lamb'as one does a-rab-bit, then put tho twin lamb (taken in pieference from a ewe with a small .udder) into it by drawing the head, and, feet through the aportures left for that purpose. .Portions.of the lamb are then completely covered, and tho substitution cannot. readily bo detected by the ewo. Keep tho ewe shut, or tied tip with a sheep baiter for, a'few hours, and then, when the lamb.is hungry, and the ewe full of milk, quietly put the lamb down in front of her, when she will immediately smell the skin of -her own .lamb,' and accept; tho little stranger as, her'own. Having onco suckled, the lamb's-head smells of the ewe's udder, which completes., the deception. After | 24 hours .the skin. can. safely bd removed. ■ This is not practicable .for want'of time and convenience ill open country, where cno ewo should bo first tied fairly, close up to a fence. If her lamb is skinned, 1 rub its liver over the head of the adapted lamb, but*, if this cannot he done, use a sharp knife to make a small slit' iii the ewe's jiose, when, by smelling tho lamb whenever sho gets a chancc; a littlo of the blood will bo smearbd on the lamb, which will,. in most cases, induce her to accept it, and stand quietly to the lamb. This, after 24 hours, tfssures success,' and she can : bo let go. It should Iks remembered, however, that during the\24 hours, the original mother of tho lainb should not bo within hearing of tho lamb's bleat, or hlie ffill quickly attract it away,, (To be Continued.), \