ON THE LAND

Temuka Leader, Issue 10228, 29 December 1932, Page 8

ON THE LAND

BY “AGRICOLA”

REARING CALVES VICTORIAN BREEDER ADOPTS SAFE METHODS Methods of rearing dairy calves differ considerably, and may be best appreciated when the young animals are about 12f months old. A group of pedigree Jersey yearling lieifers seen at the Clarendon Eyre stud farm (Heidelberg, V.) recently indicates that the owner, Mr J. V. M. Wood, possesses a thorough knowledge of the art of raising healthy, vigorous, well-grown calves. His system is to take the calf from its mother 4S hours after birth, and for the first week to feed if on the dam’s milk, diluted with one-thiid (Water, twice daily. After that the calves are supplied with milk from the herd, the proportion, of added "water being gradually increased until they are four months of age, rwhen they are weaned on to pasture. The young animals are tied tip for half an hour after they are fed, and receive a small' ration of grass hay, which they begin to eat rwhen a few weeks old. Bull calves and heifer calves are kept in separate enclosures from the time of hirth. When turned on to pastures the calves are given a limited quantity of crushed oats and oaten dhaff, a handful of bran, and half an ounce of salt once a day. The heifers are mated at the age of one year and two months, Mr Wood does not make the common mistake of overfeeding his calves, which is responsible for attacks of indigestion, scours, and other ills that calves are heir to. He adopts the isafe rule of always keeping the calf a little hungry. Growing heifers are encouraged to eat a goodly amount of hay in order to develop the roomy digestive tract desired in the dairy cow.- Mr ; f aim is not to fatten the cglf. but to keep it in a vigorous growing condition. Like all prudent dairymen, he first sees that the calves are well-bred, and then so feeds and cares for them that they are not stunted, but reach full development. The yearling heifer calves at Clarendon Eyre are conspicuous for remarkable udder furnishing and dairy appeatance. This is due to breeding in the first instance, but the system of rearing has been a contributing factor, — Live Stock Bulletin.

SHEEP KED A parasite of very great importance to the sheep-farmer is the Sheep . Red (Melophagus v .oyinus). .as has,. been mentioned, is usually- referred to in New Zealand as the sheep, “tick.” The ked is a ,fly which has lost its wings. It resembles a louse in general naked eye appearance, but is much larger than any of the lice. This parasite measures about a quarter to three-eighths of an inch long and is about one-eighth of an inch across its abdomen. The ked has an interesting life history. The adult keds mate. In about eight days the female gives birth to a living larva; in this respect it differs from the lice and the majority of insects which lay eggs from •which the larvae hatch. Almost immediately after birth the larva pupates, forming itself into a hard, dark brown, or hrownish-red object, which resembles a vegetable seed. The pupa may remain in the wool or it may fall to the ground. The young ked emerges from the pupa in from 19 to 24 days, and the young female deposits her larva in from 12 to 23' days after emergence. A new larva is born from each adult female every nine days with great regularity. The whole life-cycle takes about on© month under suitable conditions. The empty and full pupa cases that are seen scattered throughout the fleece when a sheep is examined for the presence of parasites are often wrongly called eggs. Although the damage caused by keds is perhaps not so serious as that caused by lice, it must be admitted that gross infestation is detrimental to the health of sheep. It has been proved that adult keds may live away from the sheep for as long as 12 days without seriously suffering, when kept in wool' and not exposed to extremes of temperature. Pupa, .-however, which drop from the sheep

on to the ground can exist at least six weeks and still be capable of infecting clean sheep. Treatment. — Field tests have proved that the most effective toxic agents against keds are arsenic and carbolic and cresylic preparations. Sheep are not dipped “off the shears” to any extent in this country, but when this is practised, it has the advantage that the lambs escape infestation from tbe ewes as the parasites leave the older sheep as soon as they have been shorn. ■ If at all practicable, the most effective means of destroying keds is to dip the sheep in a suitable preparation and re-dip in 2 4 to 28 days so that the newly emerged keds (from the pupa, cases) which escaped the previous immersion are destroyed, before they in their turn can bring forth any further larvae. Many farmers claim to be able to rid their sheep of keds with one dipping, but this will depend on several factors, including the lasting effect of the dip. Although it is possible to maintain a flock free from keds from dipping to shearing with one dipping properly and carefully carried out, provided outside sources of infestation can be guarded against, the difficulties of bringing about such immunity from outside infestation are considerable.

THE DEHORNING OF CATTLE Dehorning shears should always be’made its clean and sharp as sible" before use. To dehorn cattlof with biunt shears is cruel, in that' the crushing adds to the agony which is momentary when sharp shears are employed. Dehorning with dirty shears is unpardonable, as it is liable to cause infection, formation of pus in the matrix and frontal sinus of the head, and that also means prolonged discomfort., and even intense suffering for the unlucky animal. If a dehorning saw is used it, too, must be clean and sharp. There can, we think, be. little question that dehorning by means of the isaw Is more painful than dehorning with shears. Bleeding, following the operation, is about the same whichever instrument is used. Were it human to employ blunt dehorning shears, bleeding would be Considerably less than from ifse of keeiily sharp shears.' Everyqne Jiii hdw ' profusely a wound bleeds when made by the sharp edge of a piece of broken glass or by a razor,, and. how trench /less* is the bleeding when the cut has been torn through the skin and tissues by a blunter object. When a very sharp knife wounds the skin and flesh the blood vessel? are cleanly -severed and blood pours out in an unobstructed stream. When the tissues are cut with a blunt knife, the blood vessels are slowly severed, comparatively speaking, and the muscular tissue ot the vessel wall retracts instantly and helps to hold back the blood. Coagulation of blood and an outpouring of ‘ wounji cement” thencomplete the process of haemorrhage stopping and healing proceeds. Arterial blood is bright scarlet in colour and spurts from a wound. Venous, or impure blood, is darker in colour and flows in a steady •stream or drips or oozes from a wound. Bleeding after dehorning is most likely to prove troublesome or alarming when the operation is performed iii very hot weather, or when the cattle have been driven fast, or struggle much when being restrained. It is best, therefore, to dehorn early in the morning, in cool weather, the cattle having been rested all night, and to handle them as quietly as possible at the time of operating. Slight bleeding is readily stopped by elevating the head of the animal and tying it in that position, and persistent bathing with very hot or very cold water containing an antiseptic. It is better, however, in all cases of bleeding to bind sterilised cotton upon the poll of the head. The cotton should first be saturated with a

3 to 5 per-cent, solution of coal tar disinfectant, or other standard disinfectant, and then be secured in place by means of a bandage. The head should the be kept high by means of a rope tied to the stanchion uprights and the cotton left in place for 12 to IS hours, according to the severity of the bleeding. Then the bandage may be severed and the cbtton allowed to come off without forcible removal. If it is not convenient to apply cotton and a bandage, the irrigating with the antiseptic may be done by means of an overhead bucket or tank, rubber tube and nozzle, or by use of an ordinary fountain syringe raised well above the animal’s head. A cherry red-hot iron sometimes is used to stop the bleeding, being lightly applied to the centres from which the blood flows. Healing is slow, when the treatment is given; it proceeds quickly when clean bandaging is done. Some operators apply cotton smeared with pine tar and secure it in place by bandaging. Pus will be likely to form when much tar is applied, and also forms when iron solutions or powder have been applied. The simpler treatments are preferable.

LIVE STOCK REMEDIES RECOMMENDATION OF DR. f. REAKES . Live stock remedies are discussed; by the Director-General of Agricul- i ture, Dr. J. C. Reakes, in his report j presented to Parliament. He advo-. cates legislative action to protect farmers from being unduly exploited. Dr. Reakes states: —“Of late years a number of proprietary remedies for various live-stock ailments, particularly those affecting dairy cows, have, been on the market, and their sale,' has been energetically pushed through the medium of advertising and direct canvassing. Some of these are in the form of licks, the remainder being preparations for either internal administration or outward application. Taking The dairying community alone, the annual, outlay of farmers in the. purchase of these preparations must amount to a very large sum, and while some are good and others useful in varying degrees, it cannot be jfeaid that farmers ,get anything; Tike good value for the money expended lupon many of them. In certain cases which have been specially noted, the price charged is out of all proportion to the intrinsic value of the ingredients present, even when it is rerognised that the price Is loaded with the costs of advertising, canvassing, etc. “Then as regards licks, these are frequently composed’ of comparatively inexpensive material and often sold at a high price. Moreover they are usually sold indiscriminately without regard to particular conditions of soil deficiencies, or the need for medicinal materials for the maintenance of health and production in different districts, and in many cases the money spent on them may not be recouped, by any beneficial results. If farm animals are- healthy and getting good nourishing food in sufficient quantity they do not need licks or anything else of a medicinal nature. It is evident that legislative action is necessary in order to prevent farmers being unduly and unreasonably exploited. Undue interference with the sale of all proprietary remedies is not suggested, but it is submitted that some effective form of regulation is badly needed. This could be brought about by the enactment of legislation requiring (1) all stock remedies to be officially registered, (2) a true description of the ingredients of each remedy and the price at which it is to be sold to be supplied with the application for registration, (3) evidence as to the efficacy of the remedy to be supplied with the application for registration, (4) the

appointment of a competent authority to approve or disapprove registration, (5) the receptacle containing the remedy to have imprinted on a label affixed to it the weight or volume of the contained product and a description of its ingredients, this to constitute a warranty. “It is recommended that steps be taken to introduce legislation on these lines. The Department has done a good deal in discouraging the use of certain <of the -more blatantly objectionable remedies (one of these, for external application for mammitis, contained a good proportion of cowdung) but without statutory authority the required reform cannot be brought about.” —'“The N.Z. Dairyman.” • • • CHECKING CHICK VICES (By H. Howes, in “The Farmer and Stockbreeder.”) Although intensive methods of rearing have eliminated some troubles brought about through using foul land, it is impossible to hatch and rear large numbers of chickens without encountering some of the more common ailments. Cannibalism, for example, has become general among large and small units of tchickens, especially where the birds are kept in restricted quarters! during the early weeks. The trouble is more or less spasmodic certain broods dd remarkably' well, others prove very trouble- 1 ; • f , , , , , , ? r , I some, although the management is : the same. It has been said that excessive use of maize meal in the rations is largely responsible, but this is not always the case, and I have known cannibalism to breed out among broods fed on a normal ration. When an outbreak occurs, odd specimens are attacked by others in various places on the 'body. The favourite place is arount the vent, and in severe cases this part may be completely torn away. Sometimes the intestines are pulled from the chickens. Other parts subject to attack are the shoulders, back, and the “parson’s nose.” Certain breeds seem more susceptible to this habit than others, and I find Leghorns and Wyandotes give more troiible jthari Sussex or Rhode Island Redsl ! ■ Often an attack will start by (picking at tail' feathers just beginning to show through the skin At this stage the 'blood at the base of the feathers is visible, and it appears to attract the inquisitive chick. As soon as blood begins to flow through the removal of some iof these ijuicy quills, cannibalism starts in earnest and the unfortunate chicks get little peace. Overcrowding to be avoided There is no doubt that this evil is greatest when birds / are under restricted conditions. Over-crowd-ing is one of the chief causes, although not always responsible, but there is always risk when large numbers are housed together. It has been stated that lack of mineral matter in the food tends to increase the risk, and a shortage of protein also aggravates the trouble. Whatever the cause, quick action is important. Directly the first signs are noticed, a lotion made up of 4oz. vaseline, ioz. bitter aloes, and Joz. carmine should be applied with the end of a feather to the affected part. If a jar of this mixture is kept on hand many valuable chicks will be saved. Another excellent remedy is 2oz. Stockholm tar, loz. bitter aloes, and sufficient iodine to form a stiffish paste; this to be applied in a similar manner. Of the two preparations, firstnamed' has proved the more effective. Toe-picking, another trouble met with at this season, is a modified form of cannibalism. It has been known to occur among chicks a day or two old, but as a rule it appears after the first week. Here again, I have experienced most trouble among yellow-legged breeds. Leg-

horns in particular. The exact cause is not known, but where the habit is practised after a week or two following hatching, it can be assumed that either the diet or the management is at fault. Changing: Colour of Litter In the event of an outbreak, one cannot do better than paint the feet with one of the mixtures already mentioned. This may cause floor litter to adhere to the feet for a while, but this is all to the good in that there is less likelihood of such birds being attacked again. Often a change in the colour of the floor litter has the desired effect. In one serious outbreak, I found that, by removing peat moss and substituting chaff, the habit was completely checked. The dark peat seems to show up the feet more than chaff, the latter being about the colour of the chick’s legs. No pains should be spared to break the habit, and if one- measure fails after a fair trial something else must be tried. Feather-Plucking Feather-plucking is, I should say. closely allied to the other two habits, and can be just as stubborn and difficult to check: It begins when the chicks are from a month to six weeks old, and continues for a long period unless checked. Heavy breeds are more susceptible than light, due in some measure to their slower feathering, especially the cockerels which, to my mind, are the chief offenders, their juicy quills attracting attention. Overcrowding and penning too closely at the critical period of feathering are largely responsible for some of the outbreaks. Tod little hopper space also encourages it, s'birie bf the chickens being uiiahle 'tb satisfy ‘ themselves at the hoppers. Or it may be traced to a 'shortage 'ot food or minerals. At' the same time, one meets with the trouble even when all these matters are in order. Whenever possible, the habit should be checked by . removing the cause. It may means dividing the group into two units, while the attacked parts should he painted with the ‘red pick” mixture already described. The attention of ‘ the birds should he diverted by hanging up a cabbage just high enough so that they have to stretch for it. Perches about a foot from the floor will give some of the birds a chance to get away from the more vicious chicks. SPEEDING UP FEATHERING When the trouble is due to slow feathering, 1: an * improvement follows itHe' ifitfodiictibn 'of not more than five per cent, of linseed meal in the mash. Common salt added to the drinking ‘ water has also proved effective; a half-teaspoorifui to a gallon being sufficient to create a briny flavour. The best cure of all is the provision of extensive or free range, and as soon as the chickens are old enough to leave the brooders they should be allowed more liberty. Chickens reared by the natural method seldom develop troubles of this kind,' probably due to the fact that almost from the first day the chicks scatter themselves over a wider area, and, having more to occupy them, they do not develop such vices. If intensively reared, double space is a necessity after the first month; in fact, this should be provided earlier if there are any signs of trouble. In breeds where the male chicks can be recognised at an early stage, it will belp if the brood can be divided into two sections so that the cockerels can be kept apart from the pullets. 1 .