SUNBURN IN SHEEP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18974, 26 March 1936, Page 4

SUNBURN IN SHEEP

HAY AS PREVENTIVE DR. HOPKIRK'S OPINION VISIT TO GISBORNE A supply of hay ready for use when conditions seem favourable for an out break of facial eczema, or sunburn, in sheep is recommended by Dr. C. S. M. Hopkirk, officer in charge of the veterinary laboratory at Wallaceville. He spent yesterday and the previous day in the Gisborne district investigating a mild outbreak among lambs in isolated areas, and also visited the Kaiti freezing works, where he was shown a number of affected livers. The outbreak at present is confined almost entirely to lambs, and the percentage of affected livers is not great. Dr. Hopkirk left today for Wellington. "The more I see of conditions bringing about facial eczema," Dr. Hopkirk said before leaving, "the more I am convinced of the necessity of farmers to conserve a certain amount of dry feed in the form of hay for use in emergencies.

"Once the Poverty Bay farmer realises the benefit of such conservation, lie will continue ' annually, to try and stack or bare a little of his better pasture. There seems little doubt in my mind that the sunburning of sheep is bound up with the green colouring matter of luscious pasture, and the good farmer with his past experience no doubt will watch for weather conditions conducive to the type of pasture causative, and will then do two things, the one to crush sheep on to smaller paddocks and at the same time feed the hay saved for just such an emergency.

"It is useless to look for some short cut to prevent facial eczema, and the responsibility for its prevention must finally rest on the farmer himself, who now has the knowledge to combat the condition. Certainly work will continue on scientific details concerning the disease, but a full knowledge of all the steps in its progiess will not alter the fact that the farmers of districts prone to become affected must farm intelligently to prevent it."