WAIMOKO LOSSES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22510, 13 December 1947, Page 8

WAIMOKO LOSSES

OFF-SHEAR DIPPING FEWER THAN RUMOURED QUESTIONS PUT TO VET. Reports of serious losses in a Waimoko Valley flock following off-shear dipping have been circulating in Gisborne. For the guidance, of farmers . considering off-shear dipping the answers to questions put to Mr. R. Craw- | ford, senior veterinarian to the Gisborne Veterinary Club, will be of in- j terest. \ When the trouble first became apparent Mr. Crawford was asked to investigate and his examination of the position was later conducted in conjunction with Mr. L. K. Whitten, Wallaceville animal research station. In all, 4000 sheep were dipped on the station. Half of that number, dipped off the shears, developed a nasty, infected wound where they had been cut in the shearing. “The farmer has probably not lost more than 50 sheep,” Mr. Crawford said, when asked what the actual losses had been. “The wound was infected with one particular organism which has never been reported to have acted in this manner before. One Per Cent of Sheep Lost “To points are clear from the investigation to date, first, to our knowledge this man has not yet lost more than one per cent of the affected sheep and, secondly, it appears that bacterial infection of shear cuts took place and, in view of that, my advice would be, in the present state of our knowledge, not to dip off-shear until we find out if this is an isolated case or a condition that may be general in New Zealand sheep yards. “This particular dipping accident does not in any way detract from the use of some of these new preparations which, in themselves, are not poisonous and are better parasiticides than we have hitherto known for the purpose of lice and kebs of sheep,” Mr. Crawford continued. In conclusion, he said flies were one of the main complications in the treatment of the wounds of the affected sheep and probably the cause of a number of the deaths. It is understood that the matter is still under investigation and that farmers should avoid dipping off the shears until more is known concerning the present case. Dipping a week after shearing is considered to be quite safe.