The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-08-20
Pests of the Lamb.

| When the sheep are sheared the
annoyance which they have been
suffering for months back from the
ticks may be realized. Few owners
of flocks take the trouble to examine
their sheep to know IN what condi-
ton of misery they may be in, or to
discover the reason why they pine
slowly away until they perish in the
fence corners where they have Sc
cluded themselves. No other do
mestic animals suffer so much
from parasite pests as sheep, and OF
these pests ticks are most annoying.
We have heard of lamb which had
been sheared in the fall, having
more than 1900 of these blood-suck-
ing pests upon it, and it only weigh
ed twenty-six pounds. This num-
Der is sufficient almost TO cover the
whole surface of the wretched ami
NAL, and It's sufferings through the
winter can scarcely be realized. thus
made prey by the careless neglect
of its owner to these tormentors.
No wonder that sheep should be sub
Iject to so many ailments when this.
the most conspicuous one of the
many pests is permitted to prey
upon it in this injurious man.
ner.
This season is very fit and prop
er one for considering this subject,
because the young lambs are now
about to become subject to a varie-
ty of pests, and if they are to be saw
ed from them immediate steps must
be taken to this end. AS regards
the ticks, remedy is quite easy,
because when the sheep are shorn
these creature gathers upon the
lambs for their needed shelter in
the wool. Then if the lambs are
properly treated, the ticks may be
completely destroyed. This treat
ment consists in dipping the lambs
in a preparation of tobacco and
sulphur made as follows -Four oun-
ces of coarse tobacco or the stems
are stepped in one gallon OF boiling
water; one ounce of flowers of sui
phur to this quantity of tobacco is
added, and the liquid covered up
until the heat is reduced to 120 deg.
A sufficient quantity is made to dip
the lamb entirely, ali but the head,
and the lamb is kept in the liquid
about ten seconds, the wool being
rubbed with the hand so as to bring
the liquid in complete contact with |
the skin. This kill the ticks in
stantly, and as the lamb is turned |
loose the dead insects will be seen |
dropping from the fleece. The liq- |
uor should be kept up to the above
temperature to maintain its efficacy. |
For a small number the liquor may |
be poured into the wool along the
back, and guided through it on the |
sides and fiahks, but dipping is the
most effective method of applying |
the remedy.
Another destructive enemy of
young lambs is the throat thread
worm. a small white worm, known
as the thread strongle. (SrOngylus
flaria, and a related creature to the
cape worm of the young chickens.
This worm inhabits the bronchial
tubes and air passages of the lungs
and produces the disease known as
paper skin" or ''pining," and pro-
fessionally known as anamia, or
bloodlessness. The animal becomes
emaciated and its skin white and
transparent; the blood has not its
healthful red color, being deficient
in the red corpuscles for want of the
oxidation in the lungs
and the lambs gradually pine away
until they are found dead. The
pest inhabit the older sheep, but is
not so frequently fatal to them, al
though it interferes considerably
with their thrift. As the worms
mature and die in the intestines of
the old sheep they, with large num-
Der of eggs, are discharged in the
When this is dropped
upon the grass and the dung is
and dissolved the eggs
are released and are hatched into
minute worms, which become
attached to the grass and are thus
taken into the stomachs of the sheep
and lambs that are pastured on {
fields where sheep have run the year
before, or which have been top dres-
sed with manure from the sheep
pens. To avoid the trouble it is on
ly necessary that the lambs should {;
be kept from such fields and pro-
vided with clean pasture. As re-
lief frorl the disease when it has in
vadeo the flock, small doses of tur-
pentine are given daily for several
days in succession, and at least one
hour before the lamb5Slre fed. The
dose for a three or four months old
lamb is one teaspoonful, given in as
much molasses to soften its irrita-
tive effects. But, as with all other
disorders of sheep and lambs, pre-
vention is the most effective cure.