MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS

Waikato Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5206, 16 January 1913, Page 4

MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS

The elfect of castration on lambs is a point that has remained long in dispute, and the opertunily has been taken on some of the New South Wales State farms to make it a subject for a practical test. It is often argued, especially among the breeders of early lambs, that owing to the severity of, the operation, and the consequent check which the young lamb receive?, those intended for early sale should nut be castrated or treated with the knife. The following particular are noted from the managers’ report; “At Wagga the wether lambs showed at the first weighing on an average air advantage of 41b as compared with the ewe lambs. Thfe advantage was not only maintained, but inctaesed, as is shown at the final weighing, in which case the average hud been increased to 91b. At Oowra the averages taken at the nifl weighing disclose no material dillerence between the weights of (he sexes. The final weighings, however, show the wether lambs to average 41b more than the ewe lambs. Results from Bathurst favour neither sox throughout the whole period of observation; while at Glen Inncs the wethers hardly retained the flight lead whHi they had at. first. From these results it might safely be deduced that the extra pain and lots of blood involved in castration has little or no effect on tho subsequent development of the wether as compared with the owe lambs; provided, of course, that (lie rum lambs are operated on at about ibo age of one month, as in this case