DIPPING

Shannon News, 24 December 1925, Page 3

DIPPING

AN IMPORTANT OPERATION. CARE AND CONSISTENCY' REQUIRED. Dipping - is one or the most important duties of the year from a sncopowner’s point of view, and the care ,and attention devoted to it are, a big factor in decidiixg the amount ol profit or otherwise from your flock. Tire well-being’ of your rams, ewes, lambs, and eventually your banking account is contingent on the man. ner in which it is carried out. That this is fully realised by sheep

men of experience is shown by the methodical manner in which they go about in and the close attention .given to every detail. To such men anything > that could be written here would be superfluous. It is their experience and knowledge that we offer to those either just starting- in the sheep business and who will no doubt welcome the advice, and those who, for want of giving the matter sufficient thought, have not realised its importance. ■ If through careless dipping- your sheep become lousy and badly infected with ticks, it means loss of wool, and what is left is of poor quality. It means sheep,, especially ewes, out of condition anu. unfit to raise a decent lamb; in fact, it means a loss instead of a substantial profit right through.

The most practical advice that can be given is to advise you to strictly follow the directions supplied with each drum or packet of dip. These directions have been arrived at after the most extensive trials and experiments, carried out over a period ol years by the manufacturer. He is in keen competition with men as keen as himself, and cannot afford to make a mistake, and even if you consider that you have some particular local conditions in your district you will invariably find that these ftre fully provided for. “Near enough” is not “good enough.” The dip race itself should first of all be thorough, ly cleansed out, and when refilled the mixing of your dipping material must be carried out, giving tire great, est care to this process, especially in reference to measuring the water in proportion to the dip required. Do not attempt to guess at this, as you will probably be a long - way out, and afterwards when the dipping proves a failure, you will probably unjustiy blame the quality of the dip instead of your own careless, hap. hazard method of going about it. Lou will probably be using benzine or kerosene tins or oil drums in the mixing process. Take care that these are perfectly clean to start with a 3 any foreign matter such as oil, paint, etc., will materially affect the results of the dipping.

If a powder dip is used, take a packet at a time, carefully breaking all the small lumps. Then gradually add sufficient water to reduce to a thick paste, and finally add sufficient to bring it to the consistency ot a thin cream. Then leave standing all night covered, out; of reach of all stock. In the morning pour into the dipping race and thoroughly mix. It is not advisable to dip immediately after .mustering, when the sheen aie in an over-lieated condition. Leave them to stand for a while first.