WINTER CARE OF EWES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 8

WINTER CARE OF EWES

INFLUENCE ON LAMB CROP TREATMENT OF PASTURES jit n.B.r. It may, perhaps, appear a little premature to make preparations now tor the arrival of the new lamb crop, but I am inclined to think one cannot start too soon after the ewes have been put in lamb. The first thing that should bo given attention is the quantity and quality of the winter keep for the ewes. For tho development of sturdy lambs the ewes must be in improving store condition right through the winter. This involves tho careful management of pastures —top-dressing and grazing at tho right time —so that tho breeding flock will have enough good, nourishing, clean grass to supply their requirements. Too much feed is about as bad as too little, especially if the Growth is allowed to become too long. It is essential that the ewe in lamb should be active, but if she is too fat, or can fill her paunch too quickly without taking exercise in search of food, she is unlikely to produce a strong vigorous lamb. Both the pasture and the ..ewes must therefore bo carefully watched from now until lambing commences. If the feed is inclined to be rank and lush, increase the number of cattle grazing ahead of, or with the ewes and keep moving the stock regularly. Any falling away in the quality of the grazing should be immediately noticed by the observant sheepman through a loss of "bloom" in the ewes, and a change should be immediately provided for them. Minerals for Ewes Ewes in lamb require more than the ordinary fenced pasture provides in minerals for the formation of the bone and tissue of the growing foetus. Iron, phosphate, lime and salt are the elements chiefly in demand at this time, and to assure an ample supply of these a mineralised lick should be available to the m-lamb ewe throughout the whole gestation period. Some farmers think that if the ewe is apparently healthy and in good condition her unborn lamb must be getting all that it requires for its development. This vis bv no means so. The mature animal requires much less minerals to keep her healthy than does her young. For instance, the vitality of the lamb depends very largely upon the amount of oxygen in its mother's blood, and this in turn depends upon the quantity of iron in her system. The iron in the ewe's blood-stream is the vehicle which carries oxygen —by a process of oxidisation—from the lungs to the foetus. If the mother is starved for iron sho bears a weak and anaemic lamb. Further, milk contains no iron, hence, while it is dependent for food solely on its mother's milk, the lamb must draw on reserves of iron stored in its blood prior to birth. Where this becomes exhausted through abnormally rapid growth or other cause, before fresh supplies can be secured by the lamb, sudden death from so-called "pulpy kidney" frequently results. It will be observed that where ewes in lamb, and their lambs from birth onwards have been supplied with a saltlick containing available iron, there is no sign of "pulpy kidney" and very little trouble with parasitic worms. Shelter at Lambing

The effects of a shortage of sodium and chlorine, as secured from salt, can be seen in cramp and lameness —sometimes approaching paralysis—in tho lambs. They will stand about with back arched in an apparently semidazed condition and when forced to run limp in one of the forelegs, and in later stages hobble along with tho hind-legs forward under the body. This is the result of abdominal cramp and not, as has been often assumed, of "scald" in the hind feet. The effects of a severe shortage of phosphate and lime are small bone and size, slow growth and general unthriftiness. These common symptoms of mineral deficiency among lambs will have been noticed by almost all farmers, particularly in seasons where there has been a considerable winter and spring growth of lush green feed which is low in mineral content, and should be taken as a clear warning that supplementary mineral supplies should be made available to both the pregnant ewes and their lambs subsequently. It is not too early now to think about the provision of shelter in the paddocks which are to be reserved for lambing. Too often those are bleak and windswept open paddocks in which the only shelter is a wire fence. This condition can be inexpensively corrected by constructing u few light hurdles during wet winter days, and thatching these with manuka. Two or three of these lashed together and supported by stakes or light posts make an admirable shelter for lambing and will make a vast difference to tho rate at which the youngsters grow and fatten if tho spring is a cold and windy one. If these shelters are erected during tho winter the ewes will learn to patronise them and take immediate shelter there when their lambs arrive.

Where possible, paddocks that are to be used for lambing-down cross lambs should be top-dressed with superphosphate and nitrogen—in the proportions of 2 to I—and1 —and closed up from tho end of April or middle of May until the lambs commence to arrive in July-August. This will give tho grass a chance to freshen up and will go a long way toward reducing worm infection. Should a favourable spell of warm weather induce too much growth, this can bo kept in check with cattle, but this is unlikely to occur if the paddocks are heavily and closely grazed immediately before they are closed up.