MORTALITY IN LAMBS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 9 June 1913, Page 7

MORTALITY IN LAMBS.

OPINION OF MR REAKES. The mortality which now occurs in lambs through congestion of the kidneys is, according to Mr C. J Reakes, Chief of the Live Stock Division of the Departmegnt of Agriculture, much less than formerly. At on > time says, Mr Reakes, the mortality was largely ascrib?d bv owners to the reputed evil effect of woolballs in the stomach, many having examine;! dead lambs, and, finding these accumulation? of wool, blamed tliem for being the cause of death. This was entirely fallacious, and though it is not absolutely impossible that a "wool-ball" might under special circumstances work mischief in the digestive system. Mr Reakes i-ays he has never yet seen a case or heard- of one where it was proved to have caused death. As a matter of fact, a considerable proportion of fat, healthy lambs are found, when slaughtered, to have these wool-balls present in the stomach. Last s?ason arrangements were made by the Live Stock Division to collect some records on this point, and at six different freezing works the stomachs if a number of good, healthy lambs were examined, after slaughter, in order to determine whether wool-balls were present or not. In all 4043 were examined, and of these 20 per cent, were found to contain wool-balls of varying sizes. Mr Reakes says that the sheep-farmer has no need to trouble himself about wool-balls.