FOR THE FARMER

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4605, 4 October 1934, Page 3

FOR THE FARMER

CAUTION NECESSARY. CATCHING AND HOLDING. The main consideration in lamb marking, apart from the prevention of actual mortality, is the avoidance of any decided check in the growth of the lambs. Lambs should be marked as early as possible, so longas they are healthy and active. If they are left too long, there is more chance of a set-back from loss of blood. The operation should be performed in the morning so that the lamb will have most of the day in which to find its mother. If it is left until late in the day, losses are likely to occur, especially if the night is cold. Always endeavour to select a fine day with no wind. Calm, sunny weather after a frost is best. Provided no previous mortality has occurred after lamb marking, and the yard and all instruments are scrupulously clean, the farm or station sheep yards may be used for the work, but an increasingly large number of flock owners prefer to use a temporary yard erected on a high and dry spot along the dividing fence. This effectively overcomes the possibility of the lambs being infected with germs from dirty yards, as a fresh spot can be selected for each lot marked.

The sheep should be mustered some time before operations begin, as this allows the lambs to settle down. There should be no rushing about, and dogs should be used as little as possible. Deaths from haemorrhage are very common when lambs are marked in an excited and overheated condition. Careful Handling. To faciliate getting the ewes and lambs into the catching pen, a short wing should be extended into the yard. Another wing is necessary to lead the flock into the entrance gate, a temporary wing of wire netting or hessian serving to prevent the lambs breaking away. On no account should the lambs be drafted from the ewes before being marked, or the ewes kept in a yard and the lambs dropped in among them. In the former case, both ewes and lambs get more or less knocked about, and in the other the ewes and lambs become blood-stained, so that when they are turned out the ewes are unable to find their lambs as quickly as when both are let out in the open as the marking goes on. Most of the deaths which occur at lamb marking are due to dirty surroundings or the use of unclean instruments. Cleanliness is vital — heavy losses from infection take place annually through failure to recognise this fact. Care should be

taken not only to drop the lambs on to clean ground, but also to keep the knives, ear-marker, etc., clean and well sterilised. The knife used for castrating and tailing calls for special attention.

The most suitable type has the blade and handle in one piece, but in any case it should be as plain and as shai-p as possible, since germs may be hardened in joints and corners and even in cracks in the blade or in slight irregularities in the cutting edge. Before beginning the knife should be boiled, and it should be carried to the yards in the liquid in which it was boiled. Throughout the marking the knife should be dipped as frequently as possible into a carbolic solution or other disinfectant, and whenever it is out of the operator's hand it should be allowed to remain in the disinfectant.

Right and Wrong Way. There is a right and a wrong way of catching and holding a lamb, and the holder requires to be just as expert as the operator. To catch the lamb properly the left arm should be placed around its neck and the right passed under the body so that when lifted up the rump is on the catcher's bended knees. Then grasp the left leg", and draw it up so that by bending the foreleg at the knee the catcher can hold the two legs on that side in one hand. Repeat the movement with the right hand. Another method is to put both hands under the lamb's bi-isket and lift it up to the catcher's breast. With a little practice it is suprising how easily the youngster can be brought into that position. With the lamb held breast high, the left leg is grasped first and then the right, and by opening the fingers the catcher secures the fore legs, and the lamb is set with its rump on the board. A broad top rail of the yard will serve, but it is best to erect a special and comfortable rest for the lamb's rump. Held as described, the four legs are in a line with the body, and by turning the knuckles of each hand firmly towards each other no violent straining is possible and the lamb is in position for castrating and tailing.

It is wrong to hold the hind legs wide apart as so many do. This allows the lamb to strain more easily, and often the back is severely injured. Lambs' joints are tender and easily wrenched.

Keeping a Record.

Two methods of castrating ai*e in common use. One is to cut the top off the purse; the other is to split it. The latter, although requiring more practice, is the better way, because when the organs are removed the two sides of the purse can be closed by a simple movement of the fingers and the cold air is kept out. By cutting off the top openings are left, and many lambs die from the effects of the wind and cold air getting in. Also there is more risk of blood poisoning.

In cutting off the tail be sure to cut at a joint, and do not drawl the under skin of the tail tight because when so cut it will shrink back and take longer to heal. Never cut through the bone between the joints because the bit of bone left has to dry up before the tail finally heals. Put all the tails in a heap for counting. If any sheep are not properly castrated divide a tail. In addition to the above precautionary measure it is essential to adopt some means of preventing the germs of disease from gaining entrance into the flesh-cuts made in the scrotum and tail. As the yards, although the main, are not the only source of infection, it is recommended that wounds of the scrotus and tail be either smeared with tar or dressed with carbolised oil (one part of carbolic acid to 12 parts of oil) before the lamb is released after the operation. This is most important.

Lambs dead of tetanus or other of the inocculable diseases commonly contracted during marking, if not destroyed, form fresh centres of infection by absorption of the microorganism by the earth. All carcases should, therefore, be destroyed by burning.

When marking lambs in temporary yards or in a corner of a paddock care must be taken that the ewes are not allowed to spread too far in the paddock before the lambs are released. Although it is inadvisable to keep the ewes and marked lambs in a yard for any length of time after marking, a little shepherding of the flock in the paddock will repay the owner by ensuring that the lamb obtains a drink of milk as soon as possible after the operation.

Often a number of lambs which are possibly more seriously affected by the operation hang about the gates of the yard, and if the ewes are

not kept handy for at least a little while these lambs may become isolated and lost.

BOBBY CALF GAMBLE. AN UNSATISFACTORY POSITION. Although exporters holding bobby calf meat in store are in constant touch with the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board in an effort to secure permission for shipment, the board up to the present has not acceded to the request. It is believed that stocks eventually will be released, but it is considered possible that the board is keeping a close watch on beef shipments at the instigation of the Home authorities. The peak of the bobby calf season in the Auckland province has passed and the numbers going to the freezing works have been reduced considerably. The season has not been altogether favourable for the farmer. The average price paid is about Is 9d or 2s a head, there having been a slight rise recently. Last year the average was from 5s to 6s a head. It is estimated that the total number killed at the works will show a drop of about 25 per cent., as many farmers have killed the calves on the farm. Last season farmers in the province received collectively about £75,000, but the distribution this year will be about £25,000 or less. But for the embargo, prices this season should have averaged about 3s 6d, giving a total money return of about £50,000. The position now is that exporters are holding for possible sale meat acquired practically without payment, as the price received by the farmer has been based on the value of the skins and other by-products alone. Those who are taking the gamble will get the benefit possibly of an extra £15,000 or £20,000 should delivery of the meat be obtained in Great Britain. The producer does not figure in the deal. It is claimed that this unsatisfactory position could have been avoided had the Meat Board decided definitely whether the export of the bobby calf meat would be allowed. The first advice received from the board by shippers was that killings for export as well as shipment would be prohibited. Later, they were advised that the embargo extended to export only. The result was that the exporting firms made their own arrangements, and sales of meat have already been made, in most cases the English buyer taking the risk of delivery. This element of risk has coloured all transactions, and it is only natural that the re-sale prices have been affected.