CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 861 



prevention of this may be brought about by the dipping of 

 ewes in the autumn, for it is obvious the parasitic infection 

 of the lamb is derived from the ewe. The use of poisonous 

 dips on ewes which have lambs still running with them 

 must be carefully carried out, or the lambs may be 

 poisoned by sucking the wool. 



The clipping of wool from around and beneath the tail 

 of ewes is a sanitary precaution in the long-wool breeds 

 which should not be neglected either in the pasture or the 

 lambing-pen. 



The Castration and Docking of lambs are frequently 

 carried out at the same time, and generally a few days 

 after birth. Of the advantage of docking and its hygienic 

 necessity there can be no doubt. A long useless tail has 

 been provided the sheep, which soon becomes in a most 

 filthy condition, and leads to the disease known as ' maggot,' 

 described at p. 432. 



Parasitic attacks to which sheep are liable are described 

 elsewhere. Eoot-rot has also been dealt with, but it is 

 here necessary to draw attention to the fact that there is a 

 variety of foot disease in sheep often mistaken for foot-rot, 

 which is not contagious but due to neglect. 



Neglected Feet. — The feet get overgrown, especially on 

 wet land, and the horn becomes curled or twisted. Dirt 

 and gravel work up between the wall and the laminse, and 

 set up suppuration. 



The preventive measures are very simple. Long feet 

 should be at once attended to, and reduced to a proper 

 length by means of a knife. Eegular inspection of the feet 

 should be made from time to time for horn separations, 

 and burrowing dirt and gravel. 



In some flocks the sheep are regularly passed through a 

 trough containing a disinfectant, and afterwards folded on 

 a surface like a hard road until the parts are dry. This is 

 done to prevent foot-rot, a disease which is specific and 

 quite distinct from the above; but there appears no 

 reason why on pastures Kable to produce non-specific 

 foot-trouble this method should not be adopted as an 



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