FATTENING LAMBS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18267, 7 December 1922, Page 14

FATTENING LAMBS.

SUCCESSION OF CROPS. TOO MUCH, NOT TOO LITTLE. Whan there are a large number bf lambs and other stock to fatten the farmer should continue to put, in a succession of breaks of the various forage crops best suited to his district, and the class of stock ho intends to fatten. It .-.hould be borne in mind that it. is better to have a little more feed than is actually needed to fatten the stock in hand than to be short. If one has an abundance of feed in late summer and autumn there is often a chance to buy in to advantage, instead of having to sell to a disadvantage. There are huge numbers of lambs and wethers practically every season put into tho fat pens that are not properly finished, or failing this sold as stores for the simple reason that the farmer holding tl'.cia has not sufficient ' t, of a fattening nature to properly finish them off. These have to be sacrificed and tho other man who has looked well ahead and has grown plenty of feed for late, feeding reaps the benefit. With this in view plots of forage crops should be sown at proper intervals, so as to have :i plentiful supply right on into late autumn, and. it necessary, early winterA Dual Purpose. A popular practice in many parts of New Zealand is to sow grass and clovers with the rape and kale. This practice serves a dual purpose, viz., in providing fattening feed for stock in summer and autumn and a good pasture the following and subsequent seasons. This practice has much to recommend if. The necessary working of the sod to reduce it to a fine enough tilth for rape or kale renders it. ready, 'or practically so, for the grass and clovers. Sowing grass with rape has many advantages apart from the easy procuring of a suitable seed bed. V irst, rapo is a rapid growing plant and therefore affords ear!v shelter for the young clover and grasses Secondly, the. grass and clovers give vanity of feed, which j is beneficial 'as if keep sheen or lambs healthy and helps to minimise loss. This is especially ?o at certain seasons when rape is taker, or partially taken, by j Wight as is off en the case when there is j r, vigontis growth followed by a hot, dry spell. 'When rape is affected with, blight,! as most farmers are aware, it is danger- j mis feeding, ami unless there is some- j Jhing of a different nature to counteract j this the los,s may be excessive. Minimising the Risk. Tt has come under the writers notice, when lambs have been continually kept on blighted rape, they commence to die j off in 'numbers, and instead of becoming accustomed to this blighted feed, as the j farmers hoped they would, they got worse, j which eventually* proved disastrous. In one mob. for instance, of 700 lambs, the death-rate reached as high as 35 lambs | daily until the former became convinced, and* deemed it necessary to give them a complete change, the only remedy under the circumstances. As prevention is better than cure, however, it is better to either sow some other forage plant with the rape for the purpose of minimising this risk, or to sow the field down to grass when sowing the rape. This, as above stated, serves a dual purpose, viz.. by increasing the bulk and quality of feed and by acting as a corrective. Rape With. Other Crops. When rape is not sown with a grass mixture, then some other quick-growing forage crop should be sown, such as mustard and oats or Carte barley. Another popular practice with many of our successful farmers is to mix a little turnip feed with the rape or kale, especially the latter. Turnips, of course, will not have the same effect as the above-named forage crops in preventing ailimentary troubles, because sheep or lambs will not touch the turnip tops so long as tho rapo is plentiful. It is for late feeding after the rape or kale is getting low that tho turnips come in. The turnips continue to grow while tho rape or kale is being fed, and thus provides valuable fped later on. when the other forago plants are eaten down. This often helps the fanner over a difficult time, and provides fattening feed for his stock, when otherwise it would be impossible to keep them thriving. When grass is sown with rape, the crop should not be fed too hard in the autumn, as it may affect the-future pasture; whereas if fed judiciously the rape or kale, as the case may be, •will come away again and give valuable feed iu early spring, and be ready to feed hefore the grass on other pastures comes away. The Value of Kale. Kale, with a little turnip seed intermixed, has been found extremely valuable for spring feed when sown in autumn and allowed to go unfed until the following spring. This feed is especially valuable for ewes and, lambs, and where it has been successfully grown the lambs have prown fat much earlier than where the ewes and lambs have been fed on the ordinary pasture. In commencing to feed rape to lambs the greatest caution should be taken to guard Against undue loss. The lambs should be put on to the feed only for a very short, time each day until they be- j come thoroughly accustomed to the feed. This precaution should be more strictly observed if the young animals have been previously fed on dry pasture. : In some instances where the rape is of a rank growth, half an hour or an hour at most will be sufficient at the start. It is better to take this precaution than to have trouble afterwards. To feed rape economically the breaks should not be made i t<x> lavge, as this allows the lambs to I Lava a fresh break more often, while j there will be lass waste .and the lambs' will thrive better. This rule applies to i all classes of stock, and frequent change is essential to best results in the fattening of animals. W.S. i