American Agriculturist, March 22, 1924 
How to Dock Lambs 
Trimmed Carcasses Meet a Better Market Demand 
T HE sheep industry depends for its 
principal returns upon the lambs and 
wool produced from the flock. The meat 
side of the industry is of great importance 
and bears a direct relation to the profits 
from the flock. A desirable lamb carcass 
must be the result of good breeding; the 
result of proper feeding, and the result of 
castration and docking of the lamb. 
Agencies interested in the sheep busi¬ 
ness are making an effort to educate the 
American public to eat more lamb. If 
this effort is to be a marked success, the 
lambs must be properly bred, properly 
fed. and the carcass of a desirable char¬ 
acter. The competitive prices , of beef. 
Equipment for Docking 
pork and lamb are on equal footing, and 
thus the larger consumption of lamb de¬ 
pends upon its being as palatable and 
tender when served on the table as beef 
or pork. The farmer does not market 
his t lambs as ram lambs rather than 
wethers. The correction of this neglect 
with regard to the docking and castration 
of lambs, is vital, and upon a more 
general practice of docking and castration 
in the farm states hinges real profits and 
more general success. 
Benefits of Castration and Docking 
Very substantial benefits arise from the 
early castration of the lambs. They 
attain to a greater size. Castrated lambs 
are more quiet and so make better gains. 
They are more easily managed. Both 
sexes may then be run together at all 
times without the danger of the females 
being bred. Early castration results in 
the prodiiction of a better carcass. It 
prevents undue development of the head 
and neck and front quarters. Buyers 
discount severely uncastrated lambs, 
ranging from $2.00 to $5.00 per 100 lbs., 
in comparison to lambs of the same age 
which have been castrated and docked. 
All lambs should be docked at the same 
Docking with Heated Irons 
time that they are castrated. In some 
cases it may be best to let a few days 
elapse between the castration and docking 
nf lambs. When care is used both opera¬ 
tions can be performed the same time and 
Jabor saved as the lambs will only have to 
be caught once. It should be a uniform 
practice of those who keep sheep, that 
the tail should be removed when the 
lambs are 7 to 14 days old. 
the lamb’s tail renders no substantial 
>enefit to the lamb. Its presence is in¬ 
jurious because of the filth that accumu¬ 
lates around and beneath the tail. And 
lastly, lambs are more attractive, look 
neater and deeper in the leg and twist if 
the tail is removed. When the tails are 
left on females they are apt to fail to 
breed. 
Methods of Docking 
The preferable ways to remove a lamb’s 
tail is by using a sharp knife or docking 
irons. When docking with a knife, the 
operator by feeling on the inside of the 
tail can detect where the joints are. He 
should push the skin on the tail back 
toward the body of the lamb so as to 
leave some surplus skin to grow over the 
stub, and then cut the tail at a joint 
about one and a half inches from the 
body. The cut should be made quickly 
with a sharp knife—If any particular 
lamb should bleed too much a piece of 
cord may be tied very tightly on the stub 
of the tail close to the body—This will 
stop the bleeding. The string must be 
removed in a few' hours or the tail will 
slough off. 
Using Docking Irons 
By using the hot punches no danger 
need be feared from loss of blood. Old 
sheep can be successfully docked with 
the hot punches. The punches should be 
heated to a cherry red heat and the tail 
seared off at one to one and a half inches 
from the body. The wound w ill be seared 
over and no blood will be lost. It is true 
that the tail does not heal quite so quickly 
when the docking irons are used, especially 
if they are too hot. When the irons are 
used at proper temperature the wound 
A Properly Docked Lamb . 
will heal just as quickly as when the knife 
is used. When the lambs are handy, with 
one man to catch them and a third to 
hold them, 9 to 12 lambs can be docked 
between the heating of the irons. The 
wound is also sterilized and needs no 
further attention. The lambs should be 
w r atched for a few 7 days to see that they 
are recovering from the operations 
satisfactorily. 
Live Stock Sales Dates 
Holsteins 
March 21—York, Pa., W. K. Cozen & 
Son 
March 25—Mechanicsburg, Pa., G. L. 
Strock & Son Holstein Sale. 
March 26—De Tour, Md.,—Wilbur F. 
Miller 
April 2—Liverpool, N. Y„ R. E. Brown 
Holstein Dispersal. 
April 15 and 16—Liverpool, N. Y., R. C. 
Melvin Holstein Sale. 
April 17—Syracuse, N. Y.—Harrington 
Farms Holstein Sale, Harrington Farms 
Jerseys 
May 17—Bethlehem, Pa., Gi’een Pond 
Farms 
May 20—East Berkshire, Vt., Tiffany 
& Royce 
May 28—Golden Bridge, N. Y., S. N. 
Kaplan 
June 2—Morristown, N. J., W. R. Spann 
& Sons 
June 5—Meredith, N. Y., Ayer & 
McKinney 
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