EFFECT OF DIET ON SHEEP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 9

EFFECT OF DIET ON SHEEP.

Everyone who has kept a large flock of shesp must have experienced what are calledstrokes of. bad luck. These misfortunes may occur at any time, but mostly -happen at transitional -periods of the year or in connection with some crisis in the annual history, of which lambing is the best example. The mysterious nature of these attacks -has always been a puzzle to flock-masters, for sheep are hardy creatures when well, and the appearance of ihe flock may well warrant confidence in their well-being. Suddenly* a death is reported, which causes no particular surprise or alarm. If, however, 6tich a casualty is succeeded by others of a similar nature a different feeling is aroused, and the owner and the shepherd are found in close consultation in order to find a cause. Meanwhile the mischief continues, and each morning, or seldomer, fresh deaths or ca^es are reported, aud it soon appears tha, for some reason or other, the flodk has been upset. Inquiries are instituted, j^erhaps in these columns, intestines are sent up to expei-ts, veterinary assistance 16 called in— all often to little purpose. The mischief contimres, until it appears to exhaust itself, confidence is gradually lestored, and tbe matter is attributed to those misfortunes whioh appear to be inseparably connected with the maintenance of a large herd of live stock. I write entirely from personal experience, -with some knowledge of sheep and of science ; but in such oases neit&er the one nor the other appears sufficient to 6top the mortality, which, be it remarked, is -not due to any - specific outbreak such as rot, lungtrouble, or gid, but seems to be due to a general upset of the digestive system. It is accompanied by diarrhoea, constipation, impaotion; and death is followed with frothing of the mouth asd enormous distension of the c/bdoHien. irinay attack lambs, tap, or ewes, and appears to be attributable to errors of diet. In «ome cases death is sndden," a ewe failing dow» dead at the haycrib. More often a shepherd leaves his animals apparently in good health at night, and finds one or two ©fciffl and blown up in the morning. The master becomes almost afraid to visit his flock or to ask after them, and is daily worried by bed .news. Now, the best -thing that he can «o under such difficult circumstances is "to shift hi« sheep on to entirely new ground and new food, and this measure is often eminently successful, fo that She plague is stayed almost immediately. The pi«obtem is, however, by no mean* solved, for in the first instance it was not suspected that anything was wrong m ■the general -management. Bay, roots, cake, and a daily outrun are all in accordance with good feeding; but for some reason, more or less occult, the particular food and situation appear to have upset the flock. The difficulty lies in foretelling the mischief, for neither ehepherd nor master anticipated it. and it is scarcely likely that anything will be done till something has happened. When, however, the tocsin sounds it is time to &Oti promptly, and *H& treatment mvyst bo in the direction of change of food and situation. I will next give a few cases in which I have 'been, caugint napping, and had to bear the brunt of loss. Tbe first instance occurred in my idftys of pupilage, when I was a. spectator raCher than a sufferer. There was a sad loss of ewes and lambs under very able management, the cause oeing eventually traced to food. It happened in ea.rly spring, in mild weather, which caused the turnip grcene to ehoot and flower, and the cause was no doubt too succulent food, containing crude nitrogenous matter (amides), which acted injuriously upon the sheep, upsetting their digestion and poisoning the blood. The second case occurred to myself, and it is noteworthy itfiat at happened during my first year of farming. The previous, tenant had allowed' his hay to -stand till ' it was ' too old, probably with the wish to secure -as big a bulk of hay for valuation as possible.. In the succeeding spring the turnips ran, and the consequences were innufritious hay and imperfectly developed green food. The result was a .rapid 'ailing off in OMWbtion of the flock, which, unfortunately, was hidden from me by an accident . which kept me on, my back. The result was the death of about 60 ewes and all their lambs, and it was long before the survivors recovered their -normal stigngth. This serious misfortune was entirely due to errors in feeding, and I will pass on to another. Some years ago my ewe? were affected with sore teats, which communicated itself to the lips of the lambs, and the consequence was that the lambs could only 6ucli wi-th pain. &md the ewes crouched and stamped when the lambs attempted to approach, them. This proved fatal to many ewes and lambs, and was difficult to account for. It, however, gradually became apparent that it was caused by a heated state of the blood, brought about by a diet of clover hay, with an allowance of cotton cake — too albuminous in its character. There were m> roots that year, and clover hay, cotton cake, and water were too heating. All went on well for some weeks, but the heated condition of the 'blood seemed to fly to £he teate and spread to the udders, affecting the lambs as well. Both ewes and lambs being above ordinary value mtde this a serious matter, and was a great trial to the ehepherd, who was in excellent spirits during the lambing time, "and had a capital "breed" of lambs. On another occasion, when roots were scarce and hay and water was iihe alternative, the ewes became constipated, and when lambing time came, many ewes were affected with hemorrhage, and several died. This also was attributed to a heated condition of blood, owing to eating much clover hay {i.e., mixed clover and beets) without roots. If they had received meadow hay and a few white turnips the mischief would not; have happened. In this connection it n-jay be remarked that the same oourse of feeding might easily have proved narmless, for these strokes of bad luck appear to "be due

to a combination of circumstances. If, however, a sheep-farmer has once experienced a loss, and tra-oed it to such causes as have been mentioned, nothing will persuade him to repeat it. He will hear of others doin<j tbe 6ama thing without evil consequences, but his mind is niada up. I have known a flceik-inaster eaj that he would not allow his flock to waif over a field of swedes before lambing, and doubtless he had good rea<son for this vow. Still, others do co and thing nothing of it, because they have not yet bean bitten— but once bitten, twice shy. Food, no doubt, is a yery principal item in sheep management, and is so important in sheep management — J. W., in Ldvo Stock Journal.