Meade County news., 1917-04-05
CARE OF SHEEP
IN THE SPRING
Shearing, Dipping, Dock
ing, Castrating.
The RIGHT WAY
AZ Explained by A. M. Paterson, Kan.
cas- Agricultural College, Man.
haitian, Kansas.

There is no animal that will get
along with such little care and atten-
tion as will sheep. yet there is no
class of animals that will respond to
proper care and feeding as will these
animals. There is no time of the year
that care and attention will tend to de-
termine the profits or losses from the
flock as will the spring season.
shsaring-Sheep should be shorn
In the spring as soon as the weather
is settled and there is no more dang
or of severe cold and storms which
may cause the sheep to take cold.
Should the weather turn cold after
shearing. the sheep will need protec-
tion for few days. This is especial
ly true II the ewes are sucking lambs.
II the eve takes cold at this time
there is great danger Of the flow Of
milk being stopped; thus giving the
lamb serious backset.
With a machine which costs less
than $1,000, an inexperienced person
can shear sheep easier, get more wool
and do much smoother job than
could be obtained in the old way Of
shearing by hand. After the fleece has
been taken off all tags and dust should
be removed and the wool tied in
neat bundle with wool tWine. Never
use binding twine because it sticks to
the wool thus causing the wool to be
worth less money. The wool should
be packed in wool sacks and either
ahipped to q reliable commission firm
or sold to the buyers. In localities
whore there are enough sheep. . wool
association might prove profitable,
and the wool gotten together and sold
or shipped in lump. Such an assO-
citation would be beneficial in dispOs-
ing Of the surplus sheep. A carload
or more Of shep may be gotten togeth-
or from members Of the association
and shipped to the stock yards, Kan
Sas City preferred. By forming such
an association the trouble Of small
)sheepmen disposing Of their surplus
stock would be eliminated.
Dippine-A dipping vat is neces-
sary in the sheep business. The flock
should be dipped at least once year
and in case of ticks and scab, sheep
should be dipped as often as neces-
sary. This dipping should be done in
the warm weather. Sheep should al
ways be dipped after shearing. II
ticks are present they will leave the
old wool and go to the lambs. A
lamb which Is covered with ticks will
never do we'll and should be dipped.
The flock should be examined in the
fall and il ticks are present the whole
flock should be dipped again. Dipping
not only kills parasites but also puts
the sheep in a more healthy condition
and makes q more luxuriant growth Of
wool. A tank should be used in dip
ping so that each sheep may be i'm
mersed in the dip. Amy Of the coal
tar dips make a good solution: the
sulphur dip has also proved very sat
isfaetofy. = -, -
Trimming the Feet-The feet
should be trimmed at least once q
year. or as often as Is necessary. The
hoof grows very rapidly and II they
are not travelling over rough ground
the feet will grow faster than they
wear The trimming may be done at
shearing time. and should always be
done from the under side with the use
of a hoof knife or d sharp pocket
knife.
castratino Lambs-Lambs sh
be castrated when about ten days to
two weeks old. One man holds the
lamb by gathering it's four legs togeth-
er and holding the lamb tightly against
his body; take hold of the scrotum and
pull skin away from the testicle, cut
off scrotum about one inch from the
animals body, slit the testicle which
at once comes free of the covering,
then pull out the testicle taking out as
much of the cord as can be removed.
The lambs should be put in dry clean
place for two or three days.
Docl<inu-In docking lambs they
should be held in the same manner as
when casterating There are two
methods of docking: One by cutting
off with sharp knife, the other by
burning with docking iron. The lat
ter is preferred. especially If the lamb
has large tail. the hot iron sears
over the wound which prevents bleed
Ing. If the lambs are very old it might
be we'll to tie a string around the
stump to prevent bleeding. Ten days
to two weeks time should lapse be-
tween docking and castrating as the
two operations at one time would bS
100 hard on the lamb.