TOO MANY TWINS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19130, 26 September 1936, Page 4

TOO MANY TWINS

EARLY LAMB FATTENING MANY DRAFTS BACKWARD OTHERS WELL FORWARD Many Gisborne sheepfarmers this season should secure the best lambing percentages they have had for a very long time, but in this they have a complaint. There are too many twins. Those farmers who strive to send away early fat lambs to London find that a large percentage of twins will mean a small percentage of milk lambs. Twins fatten more slowly than do single lambs. One farmer with some of the earliest lambs in the district told a reporter today that he had 500 sets of twins, and while he usually expected to send away a large percentage with the first shipment of the season, he anticipated that the 1000 twin lambs would not be ready until January or February. A number of other farmers have had the same experience. Yet several have had very small percentages, one on the flats reporting as low as 60 per cent of ■lambs*. •' —■■ - ..:...;.. The experience of early lamb fatteners also varies in regard to the progress of their lambs. Some report gratifying progress, and believe that large percentages will go fat off their mothers for an early shipment, if one can be arranged. LOSSES LOW THIS I'EAR Others, however, have had the opposite experience lately. The season commenced with ideal conditions, and losses among both ewes and lambs were unusually low, but lately internal parasitic trouble has developed on a number of properties with some mortality from this cause. However, the deaths' over the whole season have been small compared with other years, the few cases of antepartum and bearing! down assisting. Taking the position generally, the ! rouble which has developed lately has not been sufficient to upset expectations r an early supply of lambs, and attempts are being made to secure an early shipment to reach London in time to participate in the pre-Christmas trade. Ilawke's Bay has secured an allocation of 50,000 carcases on the Wairangi, which will load at Napier early in November,, being due at London on December 14, while it is expected that further shipments also will reach London in time for the Christmas market.

No announcement has been made yet regarding Gisborne's first shipment. It is understood that the Kaiti freezing works should be able to commence lamb killings about Show time and have suffirient for an early consignment, for which application has been made.