WATER FOR SHEEP.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 590, 2 August 1913, Page 7

WATER FOR SHEEP.

The circumstances under which sheep require water, or can do without it, are worth examining, eays that Well-known agricultural writer, Mr John Wrightson. An impression prevails in the North of England that sheep never drink, and in this faith I was brought up. Water was always considered to be an important accessory in cattle pastures, but its absence was never looked upon as an important objection to sheep runs. There is a breed known as "eras" sheep in Lancashire, which range over the extensive uplands of the mountain limestone, that are said to require no Water; but this does not strike a Northumbrian as very remarkable, as it fits in with his preconceived notions. Mr Primrose McConnell supports thf3 view when he writes that "in his boyhood he had herded sneep and cows together in hot summer weather,and had been struck by the cows constantly repairing to the water, while the sheep never went near it, and were never seen to drink atlhough they had access to a running stream close at hand." He adds that a "nor them shepherd would ridicule the idea of a sheep ever drinking unless it waa in bad health." This opinion 1 can endorse, With slight modifications, as my idea while in the North of England was that sheep were practically independent of water. That this is aho true to a limited extent in the south i? shown by the practice of many good shepherds who do not allow their ewes water during the period of gestation. There are circumstances in which this rule is not adhered to, but they constitute exceptions which may be said to prove the rule. I shall therefore enter a little further into the general question as to whether sheep require water, as will be found that in some cases they do, and in others they do not. To speak generally, it is a bad sign when a ewe drinks frequently, and indicates unsoundness in some form. One of the best shepherds I ever had placed hurdles rounds the ponds on the down to fence off his flocks from the water, and told me he did not "hold" with water for ewes and yet this was in a southern county. It brought to my mind earlier impressions when 1 had heard similar opinions expressed, as also a correspondence headed "Do Sheep Drink? in the Agricultural Gazette many years ago. The truth seems to be that as long as herbage is succulent, or is moistened with dew, or by rain from time to time,sheep do not require water. They thrive on hills without it, and possess a remarkable power of abstinence. In a sense it is true that sheep do not drink, but there are circumstances in which they must De supplied with water. The difference between natural pasturage and artificial feeding accounts for the fact that under some circumstances water must be carted to sheep. When ewes are on hay they should have water: and when they receive cake and hay together, and are not allowed roots, it is evident that the moisture of the body must be kept up. On the other hand, if they have access to roots they do not require water, and this is one of the best reasons for growing roots on high and dry situations Again, the needs of ewes which have to support lambs at foot are different to either dry sheep or pregnant ewes. They are called upon to supply a large quantity of water in their milk, and this must be supplied either directly or through succulent food. Their independence towards water in many cases is due to their being supported with roots which themselves contain some 90 per cent, of water. The more concentrated dry food a sheep is allowed, the more water must it drink, and conversely, a dietary may be used in which Water is quite unnecessary. It has been argued that the fleece of sheep is an excellent absorbent of moisture, and that it promotes cutaneous ab°orption to such a degree as to alleviate thirst. This argument supports the general eon tention that sheep need not have water, but it is wanting in lorce. In the first place sheep are not often wet to the skin, and the wetness is generally confined to the external part of the woolly covering. Another objection to the argument is that cattle, if liberally supplied with roots, need no water. The reasonable conclusion seems to b9 that sheep are naturally adapted for dry situations, and are to a great degree independent of water. A perfectly healthy sheep on natural food has no craving for water, even in hot weather. It is well that this is the case, because their worst enemy is the liver-fluke, whose embryo lurks at the base of water grasses, or floats in the still waters wh»re the unsuspecting shepherd waters his flock. As already stated, experienced shepherds shun this source of danger, and prefer to supply moisture to their sheep through natural herbage or cultivated root and forage crops.