March 1, 1909 
THE PRRM. 
Stud Marino Ewes. 
H. W. Ham, Sheep Expert. 
Through the months of November, 
December, and January merino breeders 
have occasionally to go through their stud 
ewes and clean eyes and tails. To cut 
the wool away from the eyes during ‘the 
+ime the grass is seeding is anecessity, but 
it is of greater importance that the tail 
parts be cleaned. Often ewes cannot be 
served by the ram through this. 
As soon as a stud flock is worked up to 
be of any merit and fair length of 
staple, and fair density and good body 
covering is reached, then more or less tail 
and head covering comes along with it. 
The better and more high class a flock of 
merino sheep becomes, the more attention 
is needed. No matter what a breeder’s 
aim may be, sheep will always vary; some 
become excessively covered and others too 
bare pointed and thin. Bare legged and 
bare faced sheep are usually thin and 
wasty below and not filled up very well 
with wool under and about the tail. These 
give less fly-blow troubles than the better 
covered class. 
Stud ewes should be cleaned well about 
the tail, and burrs, &c., removed from 
under the rams to give them the final 
chance at this time of the year to serve 
the ewes well. Burrs, both around a 
ram’s pizzle, and over the tails of ewes, 
conduce to make the ram sore, for he 
ineffectually serves the ewes many times 
owing to them being excessively 
woolled. Sone ewes will be found with 
their nipple cut off, the result of careless 
shearing. It nearly always contracts 
somewhat in healing and this makes it 
harder for the ram to serve quickly. Often 
ewes are closed up like mares, but ‘this 
can be rectified at times by similar treat- 
ment to that prescribed for mares. 
There is also a scald caused by a black 
gummy substance on many stud ewes that 
is very sensitive and sore. It is worse 
Ewes will not 
carry a heavy ram more than a few 
some seasons than others, 
seconds as this scaldis very painful. The 
wool and folds are pressed on it by the 
ram’s weight and if a ram is, (as a stud 
ram usually is) thick set an heavy, and 
consequently slow of service, then very 
few ewes get in lamb. For scald there is 
nothing to equal three or four of the 
leading sheep dip powders, at a strength 
of one pint of powder to five gallons of 
waterand kept well stirred. Put the 
ewe on her side, cross the hind legs, 
holding the bottom leg across behind the 
hocks of the topmost leg and mop the dip 
water on witha cloth. The water will 
evaporate, leaving the powder adhering to 
the skin and wool and its action is then 
‘ to dry up the scald. It will also, after 
three or four applications, begin to turn 
the fulds and loose skin a dark colour, and 
later on, come right away, When shear- 
ing the wool and dirt away, care should 
be taken that no very severe shear cuts 
are made, as the action of the powder 
dips, if the strong sediment that settles in 
the bottom of the liquid be put on, is 
likely to be too severe and a few ewes may 
be lost if carelessly treated. 
In stud weaner ewes the scald is always 
getting flyblown. Ifitis dried up, and 
the folds removed, the cause of fly blow in 
this class of sheep disappears. Maggots 
cannot live and thrive if they come in 
contact with powder dip provided it is of 
fair strength. Applying spirits of tar, 
sprinkled out of a bottle with a hole in 
the cork, or from a scent bottle with an 
adjustable top, is the best way to 
immediately kill the maggots, and this 
method is adopted Sy the best Tasmanian 
breeders; it is instant death to the maggots 
is very searching, does not take the wool 
off nor discolour it. 
With flock ewes the method mentioned 
in the Sydney Wool and Stock Journal by 
Mr. H. H. Kelly of Garriwilla Station, 
Gunnedah. N.S.W,, is to be commended 
for speed and being effectual. His plan 
is to have a trough made of any length to 
suit the number of sheep to be treated 
and the number of men employed and to 
sit the ewes in a mixture of sheep dip, at 
a strength according to the degree of 
damage the flies are doing. In some 
districts, twice the strength of ordinary 
dipping may be found necessary, but 
some classes of sheep are worse than 
others. Where sweating is caused by 
folds meeting, these parts will need to be 
hand dressed with a stronger mixture, In 
a few cases the skin will crack and the 
41 © ELS 
Serwves 
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