CARE OF THE LAMBS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20893, 8 June 1931, Page 14

CARE OF THE LAMBS.

DOCKING AND EARMARKING.

POINTS FOR ATTENTION. BY 11.8. T. So much a part of the work of tho lambing season is that of docking and earmarking tho latnlis, that it is appropriate to follow my article on " Handling Ewes at Lambing Time" with one dealing with docking and earmarking, and the . subsequent treatment of owes and lambs. Indeed, preparations for docking should bo well in hand before lambing commences, if confusion is to bo avoided at this busy time of the year. For several reasons it is bad practice to dock in the regular drafting yards, the principal one being that at such a spot where sheep are being regularly yarded there is every probability of tlie soil of the yards and surroundings harbouring germs of tetanus, blood poisoning or other diseases. Also, the bringing of ewes and i lambs often a considerable distance, from I outlying paddocks to the homestead yards, ; tends to mismothering and knocks the j lambs about unnecessarily at an age when i a check to growth has serious consc- ! quenccs. Temporary Yards. I Time and money will bo well spent in erecting temporary yards in tho corner | of the paddock or paddocks into which 1 tho ewes which have first lambed have been drafted. One set of yards may easily servo for two or more paddocks, but if possible they should not occupy the sanio pieco of ground as that used for tho purpose last year, and they should i ne directly accessible from the paddocks ; in wlrich the ewes and lambs arc depasturing. I The docking yaids need not bo at all elaborate. A main yard capable of holding the mob to bo docked can be built of sheep netting tied with binder twine to tightly strained top and bottom wiros. Off this should lead a smaller catching pen, in which the posts should be closer together and should have a widish plank nailed all tho way round the yard from post to j)ost, with its bottom edge about nine or ten inches from tho ground. This ; prevents the lambs charging tho netting ! fence during catching, as they frequently | do when no rail or plank is there, disj locating their necks in the rebound. | Some judgment is required to select ; the best spot for erecting docking yards j so that they will best serve tho greatest number of sheep, and at the same time are at a point to which tho sheep naturally draw. They should never be erected in a hollow, but usually on some high ground, as lambs and ewes always drawbest up hill, and lambs, should they break, always break on to high ground. If the yards can bo constructed on suitably high ground in a corner of the paddock where, perhaps, they will serve three or four paddocks, so much the better, as the angle of the fences will form a wing whicn will aid in keeping the sheep together when yarding. II not, it is advisable to run a temporary wing of netting out fifty to a hundred yards from the gate, in such a position that it will guide the lambs into the main yard. Early Docking. Tho first docking, for there should bo two main dockings, should take, place when the oldest lambs have been dropped about a month. All the ewes in this lot will be wet, as they have been ! drafted out and put in this paddock as they lambed. The lambs will range in ages from about a week to a month, and it is best to dock at this age because tho lambs suffer less check and are less liable to be mismothered than when they are left until six weeks or two months of age, and have become moro independent. ■ The ewes with lambs to be docked should be mustered as early as possible in the morning, and using quiet dogs well under control only sufficiently to keep the sheep together, they should be worked toward the docking yards. When the sheep are mobbed it is a good plan to send a good heading dog to the head to check tlie ewes with tho stronger lambs. A good dog that can be made to stand well off his sheep will lead them ripht into the yards, and is us pood as a decoy. Tf such a dog is not available, it is a good plan to pen two or three ewes and lambs in a corner of the main yard, and these will help to decoy the main mob in. A break is most likely to occur when the sheep are close to the yards, hence the value of a wire-netting wing, which reduces the danger area, but -safe yarding can be greatly facilitated bv the use of lengths of scrim or old split sacks sewn together to form a " docking sheet," as it is called, about half a chain to a chain in length. This is held stretched out between two men, and lambs will seldom attempt to break through it. Should a break occur, do not send the dogs after the lambs, they will merely hunt them further afield. Instead, cut three of four old ewes out of (ho mob and drive them over toward the lambs, and when they have joined up bring the lot quietly back. The Time for Starting. Once in the yards give tho sheep an hour or two to settle and mother up. The difference 111 the volume and note of the bloating will indicate when it is safe to start the docking. This spell enables the lambs to mother up properly, arid so ewe and lamb arc liberated at approximately the same time after the operation is completed. This is important in preventing mismothering. Further, the rest for an hour or so allows tho heated and ejected lambs to cool down, and results in less bleeding from docking, etc. Before docking starts see that there are cans containing strong disinfectant, into which knives and other tools used can be plunged when not actually in use. Also see that the knives to be used are keen, and are kept so throughout the docking. First of all, a cut of the ewes and lambs is quietly worked out of the main yard into the catching pen, which, by the way, should have a gate leading out again into the paddock from which the ewes were mustered. Now catch half-a-dozen of the ewes and put them out through this gate. Thoy will hang about tho yards and help to keep tho docked lambs together until they are rejoined by their mothers. Next, (wo men are employed catching lambs for each man actually employed at docking. These men must be instructed not. to catch by the legs, but round the neck or belly. The " catchers " hold each lamb so that the hin'dlegs are drawn up inside the forelegs and held, one each side of the neck. This attitude keeps (lie lamb from struggling and presents the purse, tail and ears to the " marker " in the best manner. The operator or marker stands outside the catching pen with, in front of him, a waist-high rail or plank, fixed to the posts, and long enough to allow plenty of room for two catchers to stand at it with their lambs. If a large mob is .being dealt with, it is usual to have two rails with two dockers and four catchers. When male .lambs are presented for marking it is 'advisable to castrate first of all as thero is little bleeding from this operation. At the second docking, which will take place about a month later, it is handy, to have a small crush pen made of two! or three hurdles at the gate leading out of tho catching pen. j