RURAL TALKS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14982, 30 April 1909, Page 10

RURAL TALKS.

(By RUSTICUS.) “Cockatoo,” Waikakahi, writes-' “ Being an interested reader of your weekly “ Talks,” it has occurred to me to write and ask if you will favour ufl with the benefit of your experience in feeding breeding ewes on turnips during the winter months, and up to lambing time. Also will you say if you consider it advisable and profitable to feed oat sheaf ohaff, at present prices, to owes while on the turnips and in tho spring until the grass grows?” Turnips are a necessity for ewes in the winter, because neither , grass nor forage crops are available all through the winter, and the ewea must be kept as well as possible. My experience is that the grass usually lasts till the end of Juno or thereabouts, that is, if there has been a fair autumn growth. From July onwards turnips must be provided on most places. Where sheep are being fattened it is often found a payable practice to grub the turnip shells for the ewes. When I was a boy we used to hook tho shells out with a turnip hoe, and the ewes did very well on them. Nowadays grubbers are used, which turn up more dirt, but still ewes do all right on thehi, and the ground benefits by the grubbing. I have found that lambs do not fatten too well if made to eat those shells. They must bo kept going on the best there is. It is thought by some that .turnips are not good for ewee, - but. under proper management breeding ewes do well on them,, and lamb well afterwards. Turnips contain a large percentage of water, and they are usually fed at a time of the year when one would suppose that cold water is not a desirable article of diet. There is a danger to the health of the ewe in getting a. stomach full of such watery material in frosty weather, especially when .lambing time is approaching. It is, therefore, a good plan to let the owes on the turnips during tho day time only, turning them off in the evening, and letting them on again after the frost has gone off tho roots. A stomach full of iced turnip cannot bo good for breeding ewes. This method of driving the owes off and on tho.turnips serves several purposes. It prevents the ewe from eating the roots when they are frosted; it makes tho turnips last longer than they wo;ild if the sheep, were on them all the time, and it keeps the ewe healthy by making her take exercise. This last is a most important point. Ewes on turnips aro liable to eat a big feed and then they lie down, and doze it off. This is conducive to tlie laying on of fat, and too much fat is not good in breeding ewes. They should always be in good condition at lambing time, but should not be excessively fat. A too high state of condition often leads to such troubles as ante-partum paralysis and ante-partum extrusion of ‘ the vagina. A certain amount of exercise every day is almost a necessity. Ido not think it a good thing to let any kind of sheep eat turnip shells right out without assistance in the shape of grubbing. They are liable to get too much dirt, and this leads to scouring. Still, I have let ewes have the run of turnips all the time, there being a good run off for' them on to tussock and grass. In turning ewes off and on the break care must be taken not to crush them. in the gateways. This is a fruitful source of damage where'careless shopherds and unruly dogs are in tho ascendancy. Ewes may be fed on turnips right up to lambing time j in fact, I have had them lamb on turnips all right, even after the seed stalks had run up. But it is better that ewo3 should be on the grass for lambing, and care should bo taken to have tho lambing occur about the time that a good spring growth may be expected. Old eives that - have no teoth to bite turnips may be fed with chopped-up turnip,, and I have seen old gummies helped through the lambing with chop-ped-up turnips. They gave a good' percentage of strong, healthy lambs. Oatsheaf chaff is a good thing for ewes, fed in moderation, and at present- prices it will pay to give them a few bags of it. At first they may not take to it, but if they are kept hard round the feeder for a few days they will gladly eat it. An occasional and temporary shortage, by the way, does not seem to hurt any animal. It is a good idea to have the feeders on the run-off paddock so that the chaff may be eaten when the sheep are off tho turnips. A sufficiency of feeders must be provided, else the strong sheep will get .all the chaff and the weaker ones will be pushed out altogether. / I have heard it argued that chaff is not good for ewes, but fed in. moderation it is beneficial, counteracting as ■it does the watery state of the turnips, and giving the ewes something comforting to eat in cold weather. Hay is also an excellent help, and both may be fed till the grass comes. Not many people feed sheep nowadays on chaff, but fifteen years ago ■it was quite a common practice. We used to feed thorn on straw chaff with a largesized milk-bowl of oats to each hag of chaff. If oats were dear or scarce we used to mix some pulped turnips with the chaff. The feeders should not be filled too full of chaff, and some rocksalt should bo provided. . Now that oats are selling at a low price they will be found a very good food for iambs on turnips. When oats are dear one does not like to feed more of them than one can help, but when they are the case is rather different. Lambs will fatten quicker and weigh more if given some oats. Bare oats are better than hay or oaten sheaf chaff for lambs. The oats do not need to be crushed, and they should be fed at the rate of about a pint a day to each lamb. A bushel of oats will last m, lamb something like a couple of months at that rate of feeding, so that the cost is not great. Shallow troughs should be provided, made from three boards. Bag feeders may also be fixed to wire fences. Dipping must be finished this week in order to comply with the law, which provides that the work must he done by the end of tho month. The weather has been very fino for dipping, as* well as for threshing and chaff cutting. It is a wise, provision that sheep must be dipped. If there were no compulsion in the matter I am afraid that many flocks would never be dipped. As it is, the work is often done in a perfunctory manner. Lambs for fattening should have been dipped long ago. They thrive much better after dipping, and should be run through as soon as they are weaned. Tho chief topic of conversation among farmers is the price of wheat. The only “fly in the ointment” is the uncertainty when to sell. No one likes to sell before the top of tho market is reached, and tho papers are being anxiously scanned each day by the fortunate holders of wheat to find how the markets aro doing. Five shillings a bushel is now being talked about, and it may very possibly get to that figuro, but the price will have to rise in London another sixpence a bushel. It would not pay to buy wheat for shipment at that price. We want to get our surplus away, and farmers who are holding out _ for very big prices are hindering shipment. On tho other hand, farmers will do well to recognise that this is not a speculator’s pso. Wheat is in short supply, and there were no stocks carried, over. Canterbury will do well over the rise, if it last's. It is not nice to think, however, that we are benefiting at the expense of many poor people in the importing countries, to whom dear bread spoil* bun**"-