"WOOL BALLS.”

Waipa Post, Volume V, Issue 211, 9 May 1913, Page 4

"WOOL BALLS.”

THEIR REPUTED EVIL EFFECT

The mortality which now occurs in lambs through congestion of the kidneys is, according to Mr C. J. Reakes, Chief of the Live Stock Division of the Department of Agriculture, much less than formerly. At one time, says Mr Reakes, the mortality was largely ascribed by owners to the reputed evil effect of wool-balls in the stomach, many having examined dead lambs, and, finding these accumulations of wool, blamed them for being the cause of death. This was entirely fallacious, and though it is not absolutely impossible that a “ wool-ball ” might under special circumstances work mischief in the digestive system, Mr Reakes say he has never yet seen a case or heard of one where it was proved to have caused death. As a matter of fact, a considerable proportion of fat, healthy lambs are found, when slaughtered, to have these wool-balls present in the stomach. Last season arrangements were made by the Live Stock Division to collect some records on this point, and at six different freezing works the stomachs of a number or good, healthy lambs were examined, after slaughter, in order to determine whether woolballs were present or not. In all 4043 were examined, and of these 20 per cent were found to contain wool-balls of varying sizes. Mr Reakes says that the sheepfarmer has no need to trouble himself about wool-balls.