HANDLING THE LAMBS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 286, 3 December 1930, Page 21

HANDLING THE LAMBS.

SPECIAL OAftS NEEDED NOW. MOST PROFITABLE SIDE. (Specially Written by "Super.") It goes without saying that careful treatment of the ewes and lambs is needed at this time of the year in every district, but there are certain factors this season which, make this care more essential than ever. In many districts the ewes have passed through difficult winter and spring conditions, and are now in less good condition than is usual at this period of the year. While it is possible that there may be some advance in the very low prices ruling for wool it is equally certain that what little gilt there is on the gingerbread will hav;e to come froin the fat lambs, for which reasonably good prices are offering. Lamb is in the fortunate position of being less affected by the serious decline in .prices than most primary products, the reason no doubt lying in the fact that it is to some extent a luxury trade and is sold to a class of people less affected by ,the depressed state of English trade, than are the buyers for our butter and cheese.

The first consideration of any farmer should be the class of lamb which the buyer wants, ancl the price schedule shows clearly enough that' it is the light lamb that meets the English demand. In certain districts in the north of England there is still some demand for the very heavy type of lambs and sheep, but generally speaking there is always a premium for the lighter sorts. Fortunately for us the majority of the lambe shipped away each, season are of the right type, ancl there is general satisfaction. It rests with the individual farmers whether or not they will qualify for the premiums offering* for the lighter sorts. Low Percentages General. Generally speaking lambing percentagee were not good thin year and in some districts, notably 'Hawke's Bay, they were distinctly the reverse, so much so that it L§ expected that this district will have to make heavy purchases elsewhere this eeaeon. Added to that was a heavy mortality of lambs in some districts, which further reduced the effective percentage. This eimply means that farmers must fatten every lamb that can possibly be got off the place, so that the maximum returns possible can be made. Since it is desirable to get the lambs away fat as quickly as possible, every effort should be made to give the ewes the very best picking possible fromjpow on. With the warm, moist weather whiih hafi been eo general this should not be difficult on most farms, .fnd if the pastures have been top-dressed the growth will be more rapid.

Ideas as to the correct top-dressing for paddocks in which lambs are to he fattened have changed considerably during recent years, and it is now recognised that a late November or early December dressing is ideal. If rain come? soon after, there will be immediate growth, ancl even if it is delayed, growth will follow it. Superphosphate gives a quick result, and there will be extra feed a few weeks after the application is made. Possibly, on pastures that have been well treated before, nitrogen may be of use, but it should be dealt with sparingly. It certainly stimulates the grass in a most remarkable way, but there is sometimes a depressing effect after its use, and in any case only those pastures which have been liberally treated with lime and phosphates will give an economic response. It is now becoming fairly common practice to feed mineral licks on hill country farms where top-dreseing is unduly high in cost, or impracticable for other reasons. Sheep need minerals juet as much ae cattle, and although the drain on paddocks is much less when used entirely for sheep than when used for the production of milk, they cannot "do" the ewes and lambs properly unless gome mineral supplement ie provided.

Handling the Wethers. The preparation of the wethers involves some consideration too, although the fattening of wethers is always very much easier than that of lambs. The writer has seen wethers on a. large station turned out in rough fern country for a couple of -months, come in rolling fat, and providing there is good picking in their paddock, no difficulty should be experienced .-iii getting them away to the butcher or buyer as the case may be. .If their paddocks have been topdressed so much the better, for the fattening process will be so much faster. As with lambs, it is desirable that wethers should not be too heavy, as the majority of consumers now object to the fatty type, with inches of fat all over. The lighter sorts fatten more quickly, and give a much greater margin of profit according to the feed consumed, than do the fatter ones, which sell at a lower price per pound. Fattening dry ewes is etill less trouble, the real difficulty in their case— especially if they are 'five-year-old ewes —being to keep them down reasonably' in condition to meet the requirements of buyers. ! Those farmers who are fortunate enough to live in close proximity to a city market, have netted very good prices for their lambs so far this season. Those who live further afield and who have to be content with the export market realise that lamb offers the most, profitable outlet for their energies this year, and that it is worth while spending extra time and energy on getting them in good trim as early as possible. Seeing that the ewes are placed in firstrlase feed, proferably in top-dressed paddocks, is one of the soundest ways of ensuring good returns from the lambs. Where special feed can be grown, 60 much the better, but there are so many hill country farms where this cannot be done, that reliance has mainly to be placed in pastures.