THE DIPPING OF SHEEP.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 98, 6 February 1936, Page 8

THE DIPPING OF SHEEP.

TASK SHOULD BE WELL DONE. THE OPERATIONS I DESCRIBED. The attitude of a great many sheepfarmers toward dipping their flock is quite a wrong one. They look upon anything that will comply with the dipping act as sufficient, and shun a job which requires to ho done well if it is not to do the sheep and wool more harm than good. Fine-woolled sheep, where the fleece is dense, as with Merino, Southdown, half-bred, and Ryeland breeds, are much less subject to skin parasites than are the open-fleeced long-wools, presumably because the lice and ticks cannot reach the skin surface and move about readily in the fleece. When the ewe flock is affected with ticks or lice at shearing time, it is advisable also to shear the lambs, otherwise the parasites, deprived of the shelter on the ewes, transfer to the woolly lambs, with disastrous results to the latter. The only effective precaution is to dip the woolly lambs a week after their mothers have been shorn, using a fluid, “lion-poisonous” dip. This, however, frequently gives the lambs a check, and may cause mis-mothering at, a, critical period. If the lambs can be shorn this will’be found to be the best practice, states a. writer in the “New Zealand Herald.”

Dipping Shorn Sheep. Shorn sheep become re-infected from ticks, keels, and lice eggs, which survive on the sheep camps. To cope with these the whole flock should- be dipped when a month off shears. There is then a sufficient growth of wool to retain the dip in contact with the skin. This will generally he found to he the most effective time to dip, using an arsenical sulphur dip, which is not very readily soluble in cold water, and hence does not easily wash out of the short fleece.

As this type of powder or paste dip acts bv poisoning the insects when they bite the skin of their host, it will he obvious that the dip constituents must he precipitated directly on the skin and not only through the fleece. I*or this reason, again, dipping when the wool is comparatively short, as it is a month off shears, adds to the effectiveness of arsenical dips.

Tt pays also to dip later in the sea-son-in March or April—when the fleece is longer, if there is anv sifrn of either ticks or lice, for these will increase ram’dlv as the sheen loses condition during the winter and mav do untold harm to both sheen and wool. For the later dinning a carbolic or creosote din. which kills by coming in contact with the nai'asites. is generally mosteffective. and is all that is necessary if the flock had been previously dinped with an arsenical mixture a slioars. Where only one dipping." in March, is the practice, an arsenical. din should he used and the sheen given plenty of time in the dip lor tlie materials 'to reach the skin. This single dipping is, however, not recommended as it is seldom effective.

Stirring the Bath. The clip or bath should be thoroughly cleaned out and filled with a mixture of known strength before the sheep aie put through. Powder dips should be mixed in sufficient water to dissolve the materials for at least 12 hocus before they are added to the bath, but fluid dips may be added immediately after mixing. As dipping progresses the bath should be kept thoroughly stirred with a, plunger made from a pole with a flat hoard attached at right angles. _ If this is not done the heavier and undissolved constituents of the powder will sink to the bottom with resultant poor eilect. It must ho remembered, also, that as the sheep leave the hath they take away in their wool more dipping material than they do moisture, most of the latter being drained back from the concrete draining yards. lh is means that the fluid in the bath rapidly becomes weakened, and when filling with water to maintain the level of the dip dissolved arsenical powder or fluid dip’ should he added in slightly stronger proportion to maintain the original solution strength. Where only hard water is available, it is necessary to add sufficient washing

soda, previously dissolved in hot wabsi', to make the dip water lather freely with soap. Sulphur and arsenic—the chief ingredients in powder dips will precipitate in hand water, but the soda will keep the arsenic soluble and encourage its penetration through the fleece to the skin.

Completing Mustering. If sheep arc to he mustered and dipped on the same day, the mustering should be completed as early as possible, and the sheep allowed to stand for a couple of hours to, cool before they are put through, otherwise pneumonia may result. Pneumonia is also frequently caused by driving the sheep far on- fast hack to the paddocks after dipping. If possible, allow the sheep to dry out thoroughly in a big yard, or small paddock on a hill-top, if such is available. Fat sheep and lambs are most likely to suffer ill-effects from dipping, hence particular care should ho taken with them. With valuable rams, it is generally safer not to put them through the swim dip. If they are held in a crush pen one man can hold the fleece open along the hack and another pour about half a gallon of dipping mixture along the hack from head to tail. This soon works round every part of the. body next the skin and effectively kills all parasites. It is inadvisable to dip breeding ewes or rams within a, fortnight of their being mated, or during the season when the rams are running with the ewes. The excitement and immersion appear to retard the ewes coming on season, and newly-dipped rams will take little interest in their duties.

Losses From Pneumonia. Most of the losses following dipping result from pneumonia, to which the sheep is particularly susceptible.. The chief cause is inhalation of dipping solution. Generally the crutch is used far too much. Other causes of pneumonia are dipping too late in the day not allowing the slieep time to dry out before nightfall—and driving too fast or too far while the sheep are wet. If these mistakes are avoided there should ho no losses and, relieved of the parasites which continuously irritate them and sap their vitality, the sheep will thrive remarkably. . . It is a fact that sheep carrying a fair amount of condition are not nearly ,so susceptible to tick and lice infestation as are poor-conditioned stock. Whether this is because the parasites cannot live on fat sheep, or because only para-site-free sheep get fat, is a problem which has never been . satisfactorily answered. However, it is unquestionable that parasite-free stock make most economic use of foodstuffs, and as dipnincr i s the most effective known method of freeing them from ticks and lice it is undoubtedly good and profitable business to dip them thoroughly, and as often as may he necessary.