306 SUMMER MANAGEMENT 



attract them. The larvae hatch out within a few hours after the 

 eggs are deposited in the befouled places. They grow very fast 

 and cause the sheep a great deal of discomfort. They can be 

 killed by applying a strong solution of sheep dip or spirits of 

 turpentine. Kerosene is also effective in killing them. The dip, 

 mixed one part to fifty parts of water, is to be preferred to the other 

 remedies as it is less severe on the skin of the sheep. A sheep plainly 

 shows when it has maggots by squirming and twisting in an effort 

 to get its mouth to the irritated spot. Maggots should not be 

 allowed to remain on the sheep long, since they soon eat through 

 the skin and recovery from the injury is very slow. After they 

 have been killed, the injured place should be treated with some 

 soothing ointment, such as carbolized oil or vaseline. Saratoga 

 ointment, a rather expensive remedy, is very effective in restoring 

 the broken skin and in bringing the injured part back to normal 

 condition. 



Ticks, Lice, and Scab Mites are external parasites that may 

 give trouble at any time of the year. They should be exterminated 

 in the summer or fall while the weather is warm and the wool 

 is short. 



Lice {Trichocephalus sperocephalus) . — Sheep lice are white and 

 reddish-brown parasites having almost the same color as the skin of 

 the sheep. They are about one-tweatieth of an inch long, but be- 

 cause of their color are rather hard to see when on the sheep. They 

 are usually present in largest numbers on the back just behind the 

 shoulders, but in bad cases they are on nearly all parts of the body. 

 On account of the irritation they cause, the sheep is very uncom- 

 fortable and often rubs out a large portion of its fleece in trying to 

 get relief. A thorough dipping will kill lice, but since the eggs are 

 not destroyed by the dip, it requires a second dipping completely 

 to get rid of them. It pays well to dip lousy sheep, for if it is not 

 done, a great deal of the wool crop will be lost, and if nothing more 

 were accomplished than the relief to the animals, the dipping 

 would be well worth while. When dipping is not possible. Baker ^ 

 advises rubbing the affected parts with a mixture composed of equal 

 parts of lard and sulfur (Fig. 194). 



Ticks {Melophagus ovinus). — ^The sheep tick is a flat, brownish, 

 wingless fly that subsists on the blood it sucks from the skin of the 



''Ba.ker, "Sheep Diseases," 1916. 



