SHEEP MANAGEMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 April 1940, Page 9

SHEEP MANAGEMENT

AUTUMN A BUSY TIME. SOME POINTS TO REMEMBERR. The autumn is a busy time for the sheep farmer. After the weaning of the lambs and the dipping of the whole flock, preparations have to be made for flushing the ewes, fattening the remainder of the lambs and wethers, culling the ewes and disposing of surplus stock, turning out the rams, treating foot-rot and crutching.

After weaning and dipping the lambs to be kept should be put on to suitable feed—warm clean native grassland is often as good as any available. Drenching of lambs may be necessary about weaning time, with subsequent dosing as required. The crutching of lambs at weaning time is a usual practice. The lambs to be sold require to go,on to rape or other fattening feed. The feeding out of good hay or oatsheaf chaff may also be necessary. Cull sheep should be got rid of according to the feed position. In the South Island the use of crops, or other measures, for flushing is more generally adopted than in the North, but figures of lambing percentages in the various counties show that it is only under heavy rainfall conditions or under irrigation conditions, that really high lambing percentages occur, whereas very low percentages are experienced in dry areas. Nevertheless, in spite of generally lower rainfall the South Island has a slightly better and more constant average lambing percentage than the North Island. This shows the success in the South Island of the special measures for flushing the ewes. Use may be made of the second growth of rape, or of chou moellier, or of green feed oats or barley, or temporary pasture, or of spring sown permanent pastures or even grain concentrates for the toning up of the ewes previous to tupping. What is wanted is change of diet, but such a change must not be too | sudden, nor after tupping commences | should there be any deterioration in the quality of the feed supplied. Turnips, swedes or chou moellier are usually available by the'end of tupping.

It is usual to crutch the ewes when the rams are taken out. This is best done by machine even if shearing is done by hand. Only the long wool wethers are crutched as a rule. The Merinos and Corriedales require cleaning up round the tail and belly. “Eyeclipping” may also be necessary with the finer woolled breeds. Sheep on supplementary feed require constant attention and dagging. Before being put on to winter country, all sheep requiring it should receive treatment for foot rot. On the heavier country this attention may have to be more frequent.