AFTER-MANAGEMENT OF EWES AND LAMBS. 121 



it may be continued longer, but unless fed at high pressure the 

 frame attains the looser appearance associated with young sheep. 

 Although uncastrated lambs grow faster for a time than do those 

 that have been castrated, yet castrated lambs make the best fat 

 lamb on the same amount of food ; they handle better, and die 

 better. 



Older Lambs. A variety of green food is beneficial to lambs ; 

 in fact they can hardly receive too varied a diet. The finest lamb 

 feed of any individual crop is white clover, but care has to be 

 exercised in its feeding, as in place of ordinary digestion it is liable 

 to produce a large quantity of gas in the stomach, causing what is 

 known as hoven or blown. At times the stomach is so distended 

 that it bursts, and the lamb quickly dies. The first sign of hoven 

 is usually frothing at the mouth. If this is detected no time should 

 be lost in getting the 

 lambs out of the field ; 

 the exercise of walking 

 is beneficial, as it helps 

 to move the gas. 

 Should a sheep become 

 so bad that fears of its 

 safety are entertained, 

 it should be relieved 

 by the insertion of a 

 trochar and canula, 

 when, on the with- 

 drawal of the trochar, 

 the gas will speedily 

 escape. The canula 

 can then be removed, 

 and the wound will 



speedily heal. Special care must be exercised for a few days 

 to prevent recurrence. Failing the proper instruments, relief 

 may be obtained by means of a stab by a knife. The hole 

 made may be kept open as long as desired by inserting a 

 stout quill. The exact position to insert the instrument is 

 equi-distant from the hip-bone, the last rib, and the lateral 

 processes of the backbone, and the direction should be nearly 

 horizontal with the point directed slightly downwards, otherwise 

 the kidneys may be injured ; nor should it be done on the right 

 side, as then other organs are endangered. The point at which 

 to thrust the instrument is shown in the centre of the triangle in 

 illustration, and the direction of the thrust is also indicated. Clover 

 being very succulent, is the most likely green food to produce 

 hoven, especially when hoar-frost or moisture are on it. The best 

 means to prevent this is to put the sheep on the clover when their 



INSERTION OF TROCHAR AND CANULA. 



