Spring Management of the Flock 201 



so rapidly that if suppuration begins, there is no 

 outlet for the pus that collects, and as a consequence 

 inflammation follows. It is necessary to be careful 

 to remove both of the testicles intact, for if this is 

 not done, such a lamb will prove troublesome when 

 being fattened with others. 



Docking the lambs. — The easiest and most agree- 

 able way of docking is to have the lamb held in a 

 manner similar to that desirable for castration, and 

 when in that position, the tail is cut off with a sharp 

 knife one inch or less from the body. It will be 

 observed that it is at that distance that the skin of 

 the body on the under side merges into the tail. 

 It is advisable to do this as soon as the lambs have 

 recovered from the effects of castration or in the 

 instance of ewe lambs when they are a week or so 

 old, for the reason that the tail thickens as they grow 

 older and it becomes harder to locate a joint. If done 

 when the lamb is not more than a week old, it will 

 not suffer from the loss of blood. When lambs over 

 six months old are to be docked, there will be a smaller 

 loss of blood if a string is tightly tied just above the 

 joint at which the tail is to be cut. If the lambs are 

 in ordinary condition and not likely to become weak 

 from the loss of a small quantity of blood, they may be 

 docked similarly to the method described for younger 

 Iambs. Rather than dock lambs in the hot season 

 when flies are numerous, it would be better to let 

 them go until the cooler days in the fall. 



