CARE OF LIVESTOCK DURING JUNE

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 78, Issue 5, 16 May 1949, Page 503

CARE OF LIVESTOCK DURING JUNE

WINTER FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS

Contributed by the Animal Research Division.

EXPERIMENTS have shown that cows fed well ‘ during winter will produce from 26 to 631 b. more butterfat in the following lactation than

those poorly fed during winter. These results were obtained when both groups

were well fed after calving. It is, therefore, very important to. feed cows well from now until calving. If plenty of autumn-saved pasture is available, there is no better winter feed, but the primary purpose of this feed is the good nutrition of early cal vers in July, August, and September. It should, therefore, not be used now if that will mean a shortage in those months. If autumn-saved pasture is used, cows should graze it for about an hour a day and in addition should receive 201 b. of silage and 4 to 61b. of hay. If autumn-saved pasture is not available, cows should be fed as much hay as they will eat, certainly not less than 101 b. in addition to 201 b. of silage. If the winter is a mild one and good grazing is available, silage may be omitted, but ample hay should still be provided.

RICKETS IN LAMBS

Lambs in Canterbury and some other South Island districts frequently suffer from rickets when wintered on green oats or barley and occasionally this trouble is experienced on other types of greenfeed. It can be prevented by giving one dose of vitamin D at the beginning of the winter. The best preparation is calciferol and the dose is 25 mg. dissolved in the smallest , amount of olive oil which can be given conveniently with the drenching apparatus available. Even when rickets does not occur this treatment induces much better growth in lambs during winter. Further details and valuable advice on winter feeding of hoggets in Canterbury will be found in the December, 1946, issue of the “Journal.”

LIVER FLUKE IN SHEEP

JJx In areas where sheep become infested with liver fluke they should be drenched now. The only effective drug is carbon tetrachloride, which should

be mixed with 4 times its volume of liquid paraffin. The dose of the mixture is 5 c.c. for sheep of

all ages and. 1 gallon is enough for about 900 sheep. If only one treatment is . to be given, the middle of June is the best time, but if sheep are already showing symptoms, a drench should be given immediately and repeated at the end of July. Further information about liver fluke in sheep and cattle will be found in Bulletin No. 248, which is available free from all offices of the Department of Agriculture.

CARE OF SOWS

Sows and any wintered pigs should be fed on roots plus jib. to 11b. of meat meal per day. Pigs should be kept out of the paddocks when the

winter is wet, as pugging of pasture at this time of the year will ruin, it for spring and summer feeding. Sows

due to farrow should be stied and fed what milk is available. After farrowing they should receive up to 51b. of meal per day plus milk and roots. Undue economy with meal at this stage will mean light litters at weaning.

LICE ON POULTRY

Poultry lice can cause considerable loss of condition and reduced egg laying. To control these

parasites a fine trickle of 40. per cent, nicotine sulphate should be run along the perches on a calm night before

the birds go to roost. Two or three treatments should be given at weekly intervals.

RINGWORM IN CALVES

Ringworm is sometimes troublesome, especially in poorly-nourished calves. Before applying any remedy the scales should be removed by rubbing in

a mixture of equal parts of soft soap and lard and scraping off the softened scabs the next dav. The

dUilCllCll dLCIUd LIIC HtAL VLCt y . X ll\z bare patches should then be dressed with an ointment consisting of 1 part of salicylic acid and 8 parts of lard or any registered stock remedy for ringworm which is available. As the infection can be transmitted to man, it is wise to wear rubber gloves when treating ringworm. ' In any case the hands and. arms should be thoroughly washed immediately after the dressings are applied.