REARING HOGGETS.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18804, 28 November 1932, Page 2

REARING HOGGETS.

WATCH PERSONALLY.

“DON’T TRUST OTHER’S REPORTS.”

FOOD AND ATTENTION. “The annual loss of hoggets in this country is appalling and to a great extent it could he avoided, said Mr E. Averill, of Hastings, in an address at Massey.. College. A large number, in a wet summer are lost after weaning hut putting them on to short grass that has grown as quickly as mushrooms. They start a had scour, rapidly lose condition, becoming a lit host for worms. This infestation either ends in death or a serious undermining of the constitution. It is far better, in this sort of season to put them on to rough feed. “As regards wintering, where possible supplementary feed should be. grown. Where not possible, a good plan is to topdrcss the paddocks they are going to run on. By using other paddocks the following year, the chances of worm infection will be lessened. Top-dressing, however, cannot take the place of supplementary feed. The latter sweetens the land and to a large extent frees it from parasites. Top-dressed paddocks on the other hand, owing to increased carrying capacity, would more than likely become more Infected. For wintering on turnips, swedes are better than the soft varieties. The hoggets, to start with, should' not be more than about five days on the first break and they they should have say two more quick shifts. These breaks should consequently be small ones. Finish the breaks off with older sheep—thousands of hoggets have been seriously put back by being too long on the first break. By this quick shifting at the start your hoggets will be well broken in to eating the bulbs and should be improving. You can now enlarge the breaks, but until the hoggets are getting into pretty good buckle don’t ask them to eat below' the ground. “The practice of putting the weak hoggets ahead of the others is not a good one, without there are so few of them as to make no appreciable difference in the bulk of the tops. It deprives the main lot of a very valuable change of feed. If you intend to give a run off on to grass, don’t do so until you have got your hoggets broken in; if you do some of them will never take to the bulbs. Do not put weak hoggets rfn to turnips; if they have the strength to eat them, they probably will not To able to digest them. Salt, when taken to, will bo consumed in fairly large quantities. I mix bone flour with it. Hay and Roots. “Watch tho sheep closely, and if some appear not to he doing, draft them out. Towards the end of July if you happen to see old hoggets going back and tucked up, look at their mouths—you will probably And loose or lost teeth. “For a number of years I had the ■wintering of 25,000 hoggets annually in the Waikato. They were split into two mobs. It was ,of course, not feasible to give them a run off. Wet and fine they were'on the turnips from start to finish. The mobs on the flats were given hay, hut the other lot on the hills Had none. They did equally as well. Towards the middle of July, they-got Into such condition that the only anxiety was the fear of a smother," “Of late years-, owing to dry seasons, with the ravages of the diamond backed moth I have gone in for Chou Moellier in place of turnips. It is an excellent feed for hoggets. By not leaving them on too long several feedings can he obtained, or It can be fed •off In breaks, the same as turnips, letting them eat the stalks down to the ground. They do wonderfully well on them. An advantage over turnips is that not so 'much solid food is consumed. By feeding off the stalks, one gets as much out of it as an , ordinary' crop of turnips. It also leaves the ground clear for ploughing. You | can grow several crops on the same ground If not infested with club root. At present I am feeding off the third crop in succession and it is the best of the lot. “Barley, green oats, and western wolths or, any young grass are great assets for' weak sheep. On well drained land with soil of a free nature it is a good plan when sowing autumn grass to mix with it some soft turnip seed. Sow broadcast with manure and chain harrow. When grass is well established hoggets will not only do well but will vastly improve the pasture. We practised this in the Waikato, hoggets going off the swedes on to it. If getting too late In the autumn for soft xurnips, mustard was substituted. “I think I can claim to have reared as many hoggets with a minimum loss as most people. On a rough estimate they would amount to over 300,000. My heaviest loss has never exceeded 3 per cent under the most adverse conditions and I have shorn up to 993 to the 1000 lambs weaned.

Drenches Ineffective for Worms. W I never drench as I have long- ago come to the conclusion that no drench will destroy parasites in the fourth stomach. The only way to combat ihc worm is by keeping the animal's strength up with nourishing food. Top-dressing, for rearing hoggets can never take the place of the plough. There is a vast difference between pulling them through and what might he termed having them jumping out of their skins. The very serious loss of hogget life can he greatly diminished by making the fullest use of one’s power of observation' —use all your endeavours to bring along the tail end. Your slogan should he “draft," don’t trust to the eye. Get them into the alley-way and use your hand. It is quickly done by feeling the shoulder—if It is devoid of llesh the animal is pretty bad. "Keep a close personal watch on your hoggets—don’t trust to reports from other people.” Mr Avcrill also answered the following questions:—• Do drenches of milk and turpentine have any effect as far as lung worms arc concerned? Yes. hut it is not effective enough in advanced stages. 'Pile ether, however seems to get to the worms in the lungs. On hill country do you prefer to shear lambs? Do you prefer In run older sheep with them? Do you prefer to run all your lambs in one 1110J1 anil shift lliom. or would you rather divide them inlo several mobs and not shift? Shearing depends on Ihc country. The season lias a In! to do wild I lie offer I s of shearing. rmiouldodiy ill .some seasons lambs do heller with (he wool on lliom. As far as moving Is eoneerm’il I prefer la be able to move Ihe lambs regularly. In some .sea-ons yon can put some ewes and wethers with them and limn divide -them up. 4, prefer moving, but. *l-

though it acts in some seasons it does not in all. Feeding With Cattle. Do you think that a paddock should be kept specially for hoggets or do you think that they can be grazed on a paddock used for ewes? It depends on the country. Some types require feeding off with sheep before putting in the lambs. On most hilt country you are compelled to because all paddocks are not suitable. A paddock that has a considerable portion of it away from the sun is not the best for lambs. Hoggets must have a reasonable amount of water, especially just after weaning. Is it preferable to feed off with cattle Instead of sheep before grazing the lambs? Yes. Obviously, ground that js grazed by cattle is not so likely to infest the lambs with parasites. What was the dose of chloroform and ether for lungworms? About a teaspoon lid to each lamb. Equal proportions of chloroform, or ether and turpentine, mix well and when using shake well. Spray dowu caoh nostril for a fair depth.