DIPPING SHEEP FOR TICKS AND SCABS 43I 



The dipping of sheep is usually followed by loss of 

 weight for a limited period, and this in turn is usually 

 followed by increase. If sheep are weighed just before 

 dipping, and again 24 hours subsequently, it will be found 

 that a loss of weight has resulted ranging from one-half 

 pound to three and one-half pounds. In the next two or 

 three weeks some gain may be looked for. When tobacco 

 and sulphur have been used the gains have not been far 

 different. From carbolic dips they have proved less sat- 

 isfactory. 



The dipping plant — The dipping plant will be dis- 

 cussed from the standpoint, first, of the large or range 

 ilock ; second, from that of the ordinary farm flock ; and, 

 third, from that of the farmer who has but a few ani- 

 mals. Dipping at the stockyards is now done by methods 

 prescribed by the Bureau of Animal Industry; hence the 

 owner of the sheep dipped is not completely at liberty to 

 say how the work shall be done. 



When dipping a large flock of sheep that runs up, say, 

 into the hundreds or thousands, and for successive years, 

 as on the range, to locate permanently the dipping plant 

 will be money well spent and also to construct it of ma- 

 terial that will endure, as of brick or cement, when these 

 materials may be obtained without too much cost. The 

 requisites of such a plant include the following: (i) Re- 

 ceiving yards in which to hold the sheep that are to be 

 dipped. These will vary in size and number with the 

 numbers in the flock. From the yard nearest to the 

 dipping plant is a narrow drive or chute through which 

 the sheep are driven single file to make the plunge into 

 the dipping vat. If these yards are provided with a floor 

 that drains to a common point, they may be easily slushed 

 with the aid of a hose, should this be desired. (2) A dip- 

 ping vat or tank. These vary in the shape given to them, 

 but the oblong dipping vat is that most commonly used. 

 The length will, of course, vary. The longer the vat, the 

 greater is the saving in the time effected in dipping be- 



