MASSEY COLLEGE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 226, 24 August 1932, Page 4

MASSEY COLLEGE

LECTURES TO SHEEP BREEDERS

VALUE OF YOLK IN WOOL

At the meetings of slieep breeders at Massey College, recently, the following paper was delivered by Mr \\ . Perry, of Masterton. on “The \ alue of the Yolk in 'Wool”: — Notwithstanding the great amount of research work which has !>een carried out from time to time on the structure and growth of the wool fibre, there seems to he a great deal of uncertainty about the causes of certain faults reappearing where least expected. The report of the work carried out on the Romney wool sent to Torridon has given a good idea of the type thev found to be most satisfactory ; this in itself is very valuable because it confirms the opinions held by the leading breeders in New Zealand. Wool showing the medulla seems to }>c one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend with, and it is tint confined bv any means to the Romney breed, but owing to the great preponderance of the Romnevs in New Zealand. of course there is more medulla tel Romney wool than any other. The benzol test i.s an easy one of finding out the proportion of medullated fibres in a fleece, and if breeders will follow it up it should help them considerably. Another method although not so thorough is to hold the hunch of fibres up to the light; the flat ones can he detected in this way.

I a good indication of whether the fibre is elastic or not. I have never found ! that a fibre with a short right angled

, curl had much elasticity ; on the oilier | hand, a gradual curl running up the ■ staple or fibre is usually elastic.

At Torridon they have investigated the shape of the fibre and seem to favour one not quite round hut very nearly so. Now the question is how is the breeder to distinguish the difference!' My theory i.s that the better shaped fibres pack together in the lock neater and cleaner than the fiat ones. This also indicates that the fibres are uniform in size, and, given a level tipped fleece, is apparently what the manufacturer requires. It has been given out from Torridon that wool is damaged if in scouring there is less than 1 per cent, of grease left in the wool, and that it should have about 2 per cent, left in the fibre to keep it pliable. From the above research work it is evident that the question of yolk in the fleece is a very important factor to he considered in the breeders’ operations. One could compare yolk to the sap in a tree; when the tree is dominant in the winter, the sap comes down ; so with the yolk in woo!—when the sheep is not thriving the flow of yolk is retarded, bu: when it is doing well the yolk flows out to the tip of the locks.

The question the breeder wants solved is whether this defect can he got over by selection, or whether the fault is caused by some deficiency in the feed of the animal, thereby not giving the right nourishment to the wcol. My experience lends mo to believe that selection will succeed, providing the breeder is content to confine his operations to a medium count of wool of the right quality. To follow this method to its logical conclusion. however, would possibly result in a lighter fleece and probably a less robust animal. There are two substances which no doubt affect the growth of the wool—sulphur in the form of cystine which affects the growth of wool, and potash which 1 believe lias an effect on tbe supply of yolk.

THE RAISING OF HOGGETS.

ENORMOUS ANNUAL LOSS.

.Mr Alex. Hunter, of Hnwera. delivered the following paper on ‘‘The Raising of Hoggets’’ : The rearing of hoggets is a subject of very great importance, not only to the sheep farmer, but to the Dominion as a whole. Tbe annual loss through deaths is enormous. The lambs docked in the years 1920-30 and 1930-31 averaged about 143 millions, and assuming that 63 millions were slaughtered for export, the local market, and on the farms, there would he eight millions to rear, ff the average 10-,s for the Dominion is 3 per cent a conservative basis, for ill tin’s island it is much higher, though it may he somewhat lower in the South—the total loss would lie 340.0011 lambs per annum. There are no statistics to show definite figures, so we can only estimate the numlier. This loss is clearly one of the most serious problems the sheep farmer has to face—and has been ever since ‘‘Mary had a little lamb.”

Medullated fibres are usually of a dull white colour, and have a fiat appearance; and to tbe eye are devoid of yolk, flood fibres on the other hand are bright and usually show a fair amount of yolk in a liquid form.

To try out the effect of using strong wool rams with a certain amount of medullation. I bred from two sheep, one of which had a dull lustrous wool, showing very little yolk, and the other a strong, bright wool with a good yolk, hut a proportion of medullated fibres. The former was a sad failure, but the latter has proved a success. They found at Torridon that a fairly volkv fleece gave the best results, hut on the other hand a fleece showing a heavy thick yolk was not a desirable one. The angle of the curl in the wool is

Dealing with this subject one i< apt to drift into “Failure to Rear," instead of the “Roaring of Hoggets.” For the purpose of these remarks. 1 will exclude as outside their scope the fattening lamb, the stud lamb, and that run by the dairy fanner among cows. If ip n st be remembered, ton. that locality is of considerable moment, as are distance from the sea coast, height

above soa level, possibility of cultivation. nature of soil and pasture, rainfall. exposure to wind-.. and the variations of the weather over different years. It is. theicfore. not possible to lay down any rule that wilt suit all localities, nor even the same locality in different seasons. Some of us have learnt the latter fact through expensive education. The sheep is an animal whose natural habitat is dry, hilly or mountainous country. Jn New Zealand, only those | pastured on country such as runs up into the Southern Alps can truly he said to ho under natural conditions, i and those grazed on rich, flat lands are I fanned in a highly artificial manner, j To begin with, breeding is of primary importance, as is also the care of the i pregnant ewe. If a hill country farmer i is buying hoggets to rear, he would i bo well advised to choose those whose | breeding has not mostly “gone down ] the mouth.” We will assume that the j lambs are of a suitable breed—as you j all have—for the locality, and that the 1 ewes were mated and wintered in good 1 healthy condition. In passing it is well j to bear in mind that fat sheep are I not necessarily good constitutioned, ; nor good constitutioned necessarily fat. | We will further assume that the lambs j were reasonably well managed up to I weaning time. | Weaning is perhaps the most critical ! period, for mistakes made then are often far-reaching, and on account of the summer weather to a failure to “do” as they should is not readily noticeable. except to the practised eye, and it is well for the owner to keep both open. Generally speaking, it is advisable 1 not to leave weaning too late. My | experience has been that late weaning j is good for neither lamb nor ewe. From t New Year to the middle of January suits our district, lint that is a matter that depends on local conditions. The management varies with locality. 1 On iiat lands there will as a rule he 1 green crops or roots, perhaps both, and perhaps stubble, which is excellent for starting them off. for there should be; no source of infection from parasites, i except in the case of a run off on grass. I The hill country man. who has to; rely solely on grass, has a different: problem. After lie is done with new] burns, his task is no easy one. If forj any reason the grass is too dry. too | washy, or too abundant, he may havetrouble. In dry. hot weather hoggets j seem to do better on shady sides, hut; if it is a wet season a sunny face suits i better, and is indispensable through the winter. A supply of good. clear running wilier is nf great value in dry. hot weather. Unfortunately this is not always available, and if lambs—or older; slieep for that matter—have to travel I too far. they hang round the water, : the pasture becomes foul, and if the; flow i.s scanty or the ground marshy it; becomes a serious source of infection 1

discovered tlie secret of managing hoggets — at any rate purely on grass. If one can run them thinly among cat- ! tie. they usually thrive, hut even then early frosts may prevent the growth of .sufficient young grass ; they are forced to eat too much of the older grass and indigestion follows. When grass is too washy, chaff is a valuable help, hut on most hack country this is impossible. even if the owner could afford to pay "for it in ordinary times. RANK OF PARASITES. Parasites are the great bane of the hogget. 1 leave the external ones out, except to remark that there is no reasonable excuse for them. Neighbours are not all good Samaritans though, and one hears of some farmers who are economising in these hard times by avoiding the expense of dip. The internal parasites are more difficult to detect, especially in the earlv stages of infection, and also to deal with, and are responsible for tho greater part of the losses. When once a hogget suffers a check through insufficient or indigestable food, it soon falls a prey to these pests. Their name is legion, but usually much longer. They are found in the bronchial tubes, the different stomachs, the intestines. some bore into the muscles, others enter the blood stream and settle in various parts of the system. They propagate with great rapidity. I Law states that a single tapeworm may | produce 25 million eggs —that lias the | White Leghorn done to a frazzle. Some 'of the more insignificant in size, if j longer in name, are more deadly. Pro- | bably the lung-worm—it lives and j breeds in the lower part of the wind- ; pipe and tho bronchial tubes—causes ; the heaviest losses. There was a ser- ! ions epidemic about 1889. when lambs I died like flies, and I remember 3000 , dying out of a flock of 4000. Tn 1929 j there was also a visitation as some ; of us remember to our co-t. These epidemics seem to come in cycles. Probably we fight them for some years j and get towards extermination, 'then j we slacken off. and new farmers know | them not, and hack comes the enemy. ! I have seen a big strong lamb begin to hang round a water trough, and in throe or four days it was dead. It appears to me that in many cases the hogget is really smothered —the worms fill the tubes and with mucous prevent the passage of air. The chloroform-ether-turps mixture, injected through the nostrils, is very efleetive and rapid in action, and is easily administered by means of a . nasal spray. I have seen a hogget 1 cough up a. mass of worms and nine- j nils within a minute of treatment, and ! so far as I could judge all the worms i were dead. j Stomach worms are perhaps the most easily dealt with—if the term j easy can h» applied at all—and bluestone solution appears to he a.s good

j as anything, its main fault being that ; it i.s cheap and simple to use. It is i necessary to starve hoggets for a night to give the drench a chance to get at the parasites. Some claim that if one starts with weaning, or before fo’’ preference. and continues to drench at intervals with Milestone, there will he : no difficulty with even lung worms, and to a certain extent this seems to he correct, the tonic effect being a great help. j The worms that exist in the eoreuiu and intestines are the most difficult

from parasites. j In the cooler weather there is usually; sufficient moisture from dew, and access to water is not necessary at all. and they a= a rule do better without it. Hoggets generally do well if they can he shifted frequently, and given short clean pasture, hut one has known disastrous results under this treatment. : and on the other hand the very host results by turning a mob of lambs into a paddock—fairly steep—and leaving them there till shearing. One. however, j can never safely assume that lie has

to deal with, for a drench heroines so diluted before it reaches them. Chlorethvlenc in an oily base app.-ars to be the' most effective in dealing with them, it is claimed that in the oily base it floes not become diluted before it reaches these organs, and acts on the walls more particularly. thus catching the sucking species such as sclerostoma. It is said not he necessary to starve before treatment with this drug, au advantage with very weak hoggets, but obviously it is better to have them empty. It was. I believe, the success of this drug in dealing with hookworm in humans that lead to its trial with shoe]). Parasites weaken hoggets which in favourable seasons do not show much effect until the spring grass comes, when perhaps they .suddenly start to die. Drenching as a preventive is a better proposition than as a cure. Attention has been drawn considerably of late to the feeding of hay and ensilage, and on country where it is possible and the quality is good it is of great value. The best result 1 ever had in that line was with quickly cured, very green hay, heavily salted at stacking. Shelter is of g r eat importance on the flat lands, for hoggets, if suffering from parasites, have little power of resistance to exposure. Actual cold, as in frosty weather, is not hard on them ; the ground is dry to lie on except just after the thaw, and they thrive so far a.s the weather is concerned. We farmers can observe effects of methods of management and feeding, and of the ravages of parasites, hut it is not possible to make the accurate experiments and comparisons necessary to determine many questions. It is here that institutions .such as Massey College can and do help us. Research and the tabulation of results are of the utmost value, for there are many sources of loss in connection with live stock —and other things—that are not yet fully understood and others for which satisfactory remedies or preventives have not yet been discovered. !

This paper is necessarily somewhat scrappy, for the field is so wide, ami it has therefore been only possible to deal with the subject in a general manner. However. if it provokes thought good may come to it.