FARM AND DIARY

Northern Advocate, 7 November 1931, Page 13

FARM AND DIARY

LAMBS ON WHEAT. A USEFUL LESSON. | la the August issue of the “Wheatgrower" appears the following article ■by Mr. .las. Harr. Mothven, on the fattening of iambs on wheat: — Since harvest time, when North and Mid Canterbury found themselves with a large quantity of under-grade fowl wheat on their hands —wheat weighing as low as -IClb to the bushel, and one threshing mill having a difficulty to get IflOlb of this wheat into a 4Sin sack — wheatgrowors have had considerable trouble in finding an outlet for wheat of this quality. During the season thousands of lightweight and seeond-gra.de lambs have been finding their Avay into our freezing works, many of them when the boards were full, and stock had sometimes to wait two or three days before ■they could bo killed, with consequent loss of weight. It would have been au immense financial benefit to our farmers if these light-weight lambs could have been fattened on the under-grade wheat. In the month of March I found myself in the position of having 400 lambs on my hands, with my rape a failure, and only 17 acres of new grass to finish them off with.

I got a number of troughs, left about a dozen ewes with the lambs, and begari feeding out a little wheat to them'. The ewes took to it very readily; but it was some days before the lambs were keen on the wheat. If the wheat was not oaten one hour after it was given out, it was removed; but this was not necessary after the third day. Before a fortnight had pased, as soon as the lambs saw me with a sack on my back they flocked around me waiting flic wheat. '

I tried out several small experiments at this time. (Due was to put oats in one feeder, crushed peas in another, and whole-wheat in the third. I found that the lambs took the wheat first, when that was finished the crushed peas and the oats were eaten last of all. I had also two half sacks of seed wheat; pickled with formalin, left over from sowing time, so I tried them out with a small portion of this. Finding that it did them no harm, I gave them all of it without doing any damage, so far as T could see. ' ,

At the end of April I was able to get away a draft of 178 lambs. As I was rather anxious to know how they had done compared with lambs fattened in the usual manner, I asked the foreman butcher, Mr. W. S. Nixon, to let me have a report, which is as follows: Report on 178 lambs killed on the account of .1. Carr, on April 2Dth. The above line -was graded as follows: 12 2s; 182 8s; 82 4s; arid two rejects, with no seconds. Average weight 40.8811). One reject was affected with, arthritis, the other' being ’ deformed, Taken all round, they were a good ex-' port Line with a nice bloom, in firstclass condition with good square quar-' .tors and short shanks. The fat was nicely distributed throughout tiio carcase; but for lambs in such good condition they-were inclined to bo a trifle bare of kidney fat. They were nice and. firm for their size, weighed very well, and were easy to dress by the: slaughtermen. A small percentage were inclined .to-throw back to the Leicester,

ami were not of such good shape and ipiality as the others.

The other draft did not kill out so well —155 went 3*5.171b, and the remainder 39.mii. All went away by {he last week in May. The amount of wheat fed never exceeded jib per lamb per day.

The lambs wore two months on the 17 acres of grass, and had no additional food except Seconds of wheat, and 1 would strongly recommend any farmer who finds himself short of food for lambs to try his seconds out, and he will obtain an outlet for his inferior wheat at a payable price. Mr. A. L. San dry, of Methvon, informs me that he tried under-grade wheat this season on a line of wethers ho was fattening for the Addington market. These wethers were being fed on rape followed by turnips, and ho got the wethers to take the wheat by first mixing it with oaten sheaf chaff. These wethers topped the Addington market when sent down.

It' is rather significant that the report oil 1 Mr. .). D. Hall’s lambs was in one particular the same as mine. The butcher says both lots were rather light in kidnev fat.

A REMARKABLE CLIP. Like the lambing figures, the production of wool per sheep in South Australia is showing record returns (says the, Australian). Mr. L. W. Gebhardt, Mokota, Mount Bryan, has advised that on his Arooua property the sheep shorn eompris 1(559 ewes of all ages, 590 ewe lambs, 40(5 ram lambs, 70 wether lambs, 35 cull rams, and 29 ranis, a total of 2798. The 1723 grown the sheep shorn comprise 1*559 ewes of of nearly 151 b.. 7dz. a sheep, and 10*5(5 lambs cut 77261 b., averaging nearly 71b. 6oz. The grown sheep carried'Hi months’ wool, and the lambs nine months’ wool. These figures are in striking contrast to the New Zealand mean, which stands at the present time at about 81b. to 811 b. per sheep. Such returns were never more urgently needed than at the present time) and the fact that they are obtainable in South Australia should convince New Zealand pastoralists of the need for an earnest attempt to increase produe- , tion in this direction. Nothing will so effectively’affect low prices as increased returns per animal, whether it is sheep, beef cattle, dairy cattle or pigs that are being farmed. EXPORT OF STUD SHEEP: It is very gratifying to read of a recent shipment of Lincolns, (Romneys and Corriedales, consisting of 33 outstanding sheep from some of; our <■ leading New Zealand breeders..,to South America. It is particularly. pleasing that) these repeat orders are coming to hand in spite of the economic stringency, and it would seem to indicate that much; greater business -will eventuate when better times come.