CARE OF STOCK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20601, 27 June 1930, Page 5

CARE OF STOCK.

BX H.B.r.

PROBLEMS IN WINTER. SCARCITY OF FEED. MAKING THE MOST OF SUPPLIES. i

In many districts at the present time i there ia a shortage of winter feed owing to the absence# of autumn rains. This j ia a serious matter, because we are at present in the evolutionary stage of the adoption of top-dressing, in lieu of cultivation. As a consequence there is less than the usual provision of artificial green feed and roots, and while these have not yet been fully replaced with hay and ensilage, supplemented by autumn topdressing with nitrogenous manures. Where hay or ensilage is being fed to sheep it i 3 important that they have an abundance of water. Even where water is available in the paddock, if it is some distance away from the locality where the fodder is usually distributed, and especially where it is in an inaccessible gullv, the sheep will not leave the food to go to it. The result will be loss of condition, the first indication of water shortage being the familiar " starey" condition of the fleece with accompanying hollow flanks. Unless the sheep are taken to water every day, it will bo found that some of them develop the " blindness " familiar to men who have driven sheep long road journeys where watering places are few. Exercise the Breeding Ewes. It ia rather difficult to give in-lamb ewes, sufficient ezercise when they are having hay and ensilage fed out to them, and for this reason it is preferable to giva the dry sheep, and especially the hoggets, this estra feeding, reserving the grazing of tha pastures for the ewes in lamb. When feeding out it is advisable to do this where possible on English grass paddocks, where the sole of grass i 3 inclined to be weak, as the concentrated treading and manure of the sheep will rejuvenate the pasture. Any seed, also, which the hay may contain and which is shaken out on the surface soil, will strike and help to thicken tha award. Never feed out on heavy clayey soil or on soggy soil over hardpan, for when the surface 13 in this condition " poaching " will result and the damage to the grass will probably be considerable. Thorough harrowing, with implements which get down a couple of inches under the surface, is nqcessary after a paddock has been used during the winter to hold stock being fed on hay and ensilage. This distributes tha manure and incorporates it with the surface soil surround ing the plant roots where it is immediately available to the plant when spring growth commences. Also the opening of the tramped surface allows the penetration of sunlight and air, to the great benefit of the plant' 3 growth and health. It is advisable when harrowing, and especially where the pasture is thin, to scatter a little grass and clover seed. On light soils the deeper-rooting grasses and clovers should bp chosen, as these, by getting their roots down to the moist subsoil, have more chance of success than shallowrooted varieties, and will also produce mora feed in dry seasons. Winter Grazing. Where the farmer is dependent on grass alone, mora feeding can bo secured oft the same area, and better health in the ewes will result, if the sheep are boxed into fairly big lots to thoroughly eat out one paddock at a time. Both the condition of the 3heep and the grass must be carefully watched, and before either suiter the flock should be moved on to another paddock. Directly the sheep are taken out of this close-grazed paddock it should be top-dressed with 1001b. each of superphosphata and nitrogen, and this dressing repeated in each paddock from | with the ewes are moved. The result will be that when the sheep i have gone through their rotation of three |or four, or more paddocks, the one which was first grazed and subsequently top-dressed and spelled, will have a nice clean growth of fresh grass which will do tha sheep really welL With rotational grazing such as this far more sheep can bo wintered than when they ara spread out over the whole property and left undisturbed. Further, the ewes have better health, and lamb with less difficulty because of tha exercise they got in frequent musterings, and the wandering about they undertake before they settle in their new quarters. The lamba from these ewes, also, will grow and fatten very quickly on the clean and nourishing young feed to which they will be introduced soon after birth.

Cheaper Than Buying Hay. Top-dressing through the dead of winter may appear to farmers with old fashioned notions to a ridiculous waste of money, but a trial will prove that, provided a fair proportion of some nitrogenous manure, such aa sulphate of ammonia or nitrate oi soda is used along with superphosphate, the grass growth, even in midwinter, will be surprising. Though expensive, such top-dressing will give cheaper and better results' than buying, carting and feeding out hay bought on a high market, and the farmer will further have the benefit of tha improved early growth in spring. With the lack of rain in most districts this autumn there ia still a fair amount of warmth in the soil, and provided a quick-acting fertiliser such as sulphate of ammonia were applied now, considerable growth would result. It is essential, however that this top-dressing should be applied to paddock 3 which have been closely grazed, if satisfactory results are to bo secured.