HANDLING SHEEP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20722, 15 November 1930, Page 20

HANDLING SHEEP.

I WORK OF MUSTERING. METHODS OF CONTROL. THE USE OF DOGS. i J ZT K. 2.5. i 3przz% is tie bsei»s part of ifce ifceep- | fzrsusz't jtaz. He hat lasnssss, dcdidffig,, ' csltsg, dipping, fat-yidca? anA I rvrs/ZM mkxv kxz&z%* if hi* sheep, esds ' of iraSdb oea«scta.t<a & separate srsster, | rrccahsy cf the *hoie cf the fork. • There ve aiso risris *sd wrc-sz -*rays ; cf gwtbezisg the cheep c£E their f occstry, asd srles* tie fcnser it «s----zlaj*A szsch ti=ce and fflE2ec*»tary labccr say be excesjCeri and crjcsiderabiie feti? dose to the stock. 1 Is the £m piace, erery Ixzzaxs unih hdH cssstry abosald make a carefei *t»3y ■; cf each paddock oe the fains, aad decide, ■ | froes Ha jsrerwas expenesce, is vhica a> j ; reetiec the iacM be fficstered. : : Sheep *3l iFialiy skater weS either op j -r 'icm spun. Thy sheep t&zs&jb better j zp tbao drsx-5, and tie rerene jritfa breed- j :sg «ret, exceptisz Thee *l<7 bare !axh-s i ai foot, ri»s they ihocid a", wars, if pos- 5 cite, be mastered toward a hfsa past J !3 tie paddock or b&ede. 127 «fceep > pinch, whether ap bill er down, shaaM be j irctded If poaa&fo, tad zates thcoid be j » arrassped in the v£AvrjssjrA that the f • » * i' jreep bare net to ce drtTea asy di.rtan.ee I to the gx-te once they are Bantered to- \ jetfeer Into a race. jj

Laportaaae oi Early Start. The jrreat secret of dean and easy mcs- j teri&g, hen <rrer, iim in getting a day- { if gas start, scud loosed the while saoosaa | in weridng theep is jsaddock cr yard. j the dxj, decendi chiefly en ! starting the master fcefcre the ibws iate J left their nijrht camp*. If a. lata start j is nsade, the jfeoep- fcrre aintiy dispersed ■» from their camps eti the tops of the hills ! and spnr* into the valleys in search c: | food and mixr, and the labesr of zettinz them together again :t to that extent. j increased. Farther sheep al-wayi ar# j mere satire and trarel hotter vkea then j are empty after the night's rent than when j they hare bees ailn-ared an hctsr or two i to feed and nature urges them to rest and j che» the cad- j

Sheep start to fe?d a ■way from the ramps almost before daylight breaks, hence She necessity for netting onK on to the starting point of the master by daylight at latest. Dcjrs also work mt&ds better in the coci of the early mors:r.z than later sa the day, bat in order to get the sheep together 7r;th the leaat expesoitnre of laboar the dogs shonld be kept •weil at heel and qaiet until mastering actually commence!. Jodidora Handling cl Dog*.

The dogs should be used jadiciossly. N'erer let them get 100 da*« to their sheep before making them stand and " speak up." If the sheep are doezed at the commencement c{ the day, especially -when they hare lambs at foot. th«older and weaker ewes will fall back to the tail of the sob and gi7e no end of iroubte in defying the dogs and breaking down into every gaily and patch of scrn b which offers a refsye. If, on the other hand, the dogs are kept well off the sheep and used solely to control then:, the latter string along contentedly, and a clean and easy master is the result. Particular care fhonld he taken when the sheep have beesr< got together and ars abont to be pnt throngh a gateway, and especially is this necessary with ewes with lambs, With the latter, the tendency is always to break tsp hill, hence a gate on the top of a hill or spur will present fewer diffionltses in negotiation than one with a down-hill approach. Someone, without dogs, should be placed at the open gate to regnlate the sheep passing through and prevent any jambing, while those who are holding the mob together ibonid keep we!i off, and use their degs only when it is necessary to keep the mob together. Spell B«fcre Working.

With a daylight start, the sheep can usnallv be comfortably delivered at the yards'before the heat of the day commence*. Here they can be spelled for an hour or two to the lambs time to mother-up again. A small paddock adjoining the yard is preferable to the yards themselves. Once the lambs are mothered-up, and the sheep spelled, they can be worked through the yard's dip, or other operation, and quietly got back on to their country again in the same day and snffer no chec£ ss a result of the disturbance. At dipping time it is particularly necessary that sheep should be mustered in the yery early morning so that the dipping can be completed by midday and the sheep given an opportunity to dry ont be.ore nignfc. It is perhaps as well to remind sheepfarmers that sheep should never be dipped when they are hot: i.e., directly they come off a drive or muster, but should always he given an hour or two in which to cool down. Farther, wet sheep just out of the dip should on no account be driven, or scald or pnenmonn are likely -to' result. They should be given a cotiple of hoars speil after dipping before being moved back to their country. On a hot day, sheep shomd not be dipped. Better to postpone the operation until the weather is mild and rloudv, with, preferably, a breeze blowing which will aid in drying out the wool.