Mortality in Lambs.

Manawatu Herald, 5 December 1893, Page 3

Mortality in Lambs.

Flockownevs have witnessed a disastrous mortality at times in Inrabs without discovering any apparent reason. Laßt year and some pre vious years, Mr John Davie3, of Messrs Stuart aud Davies, sh< 3epfarmers of Wirokino, found that his losses after clocking to be of a very serious nature, so much so that he felt it imperative to try and discover the reason why. The yards at his ' homestead have, naturally, been used for a number of years and he wonilered if the bacteria of which wo ! have heard so much, might not be at the bottom ot the evil and attacking the lambs just at the stage their evil influence would be most powerful, had not something to do with it. To give the idea a trial he determined to do no more docking in the old yards, and this year docked his lambs in new yards far removed from the old ones. The result was most-as-tonishing and justified his suspicions that among the debris there lurked some microbe which poisoned the blood of the docked lambs, as he has hardly lost, a lamb, which fact he has further tested by a muster quite lately and the number of lambi&Uy ttell. This is a matter well wbvthy the attention of every sheeprowner and Mr Davies, who desired its to make public his action, deserves thanks for the step he has taken. As some further indication that there is a great deal in this theory wijca.h mention a small floe'< which wtftftnow well, the lambs of which were clocked in an old yard, and the losoes among them have been exceedingly heavy, besides the lambs surviving buing remarkably poor. "Yet amongst these lambs, IVd in the same pasture, bred from the same ewes, a certain number were not docked, being retained for early lambs for the butcher, and these grew strong, healthy and fat. Since observing these matters and taking the action he did, Mr Davies came across the following paragraph in the AvMralatian of the 11th Nov. 1898, which endorses every conclusion lie arrived at, which is as follows : — The strange mortality that proved so disastrous among the flocks in some ot the southern districts of New Zealand (writes ' Agricola ' in the Ot&gO Witness) has again made it 3 appeaVance. Last shearing time whenever' a sheep happened to be cut by the shears, that sheep as certainly died ; while those that escape/! the ordeal of shearing with a whole jjkib escaped .with their lives. The Bymptoms were those of. blood poisoiiiog of some kind, and the sheep.died within a few days of shearing. Now it appears the same thing- Jiappens -to the lamb.3 after tailing a^d catting.; There is some insidaous cause for this, the origin of which,' has tiqt been discovered ; buthwhen:it is definitely known it will" be i found to arise from some one of the many microorganisms that live and move and have >their being in the refuse of the .shearing shed and sheep pens. The safeguard in that' case it cleahiness. 'T-iieshearing sheds will have. to be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected by the free use of carbolic, which is probably one of the best disinfectants 4er the purpose. The pens should 'feave'all tha refuse thoroughly cleared iip from tiiem as soon as sheafing is over, and quicklime should be freely spread over the ground in and about the pens, these precautions are systematically taken, thy mysterious &he£p disease would be pretty certain J4>- disappear. The remedy suggested is not a costly one, and at least jforfchyvof a trial.