Pratt's Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry Part 9

~Teats--Obstructed~

_Treatment._--Wash off with one part Pratts Dip and Disinfectant and 50 parts of water. Use Pratts Teat Opener. Pratts Self-Retaining Milking Tube can then be inserted until teat is better. Rub teats with Pratts Bag Ointment.

~Ticks~

_Treatment._--All cattle infected with ticks should be sponged or dipped at once with one part Pratts Dip and Disinfectant to 20 parts water.

Repeat in ten days. This will not only kill the ticks but cure mange, soften the hair and make the skin healthy.

~Tuberculosis--Consumption~

_Symptoms._--Not well marked in early stages. Disease develops slowly.

There is a loss of flesh, a short dry cough, irregular appet.i.te, rapid breathing, weakness, bloating, diarrhoea, the milk is lessened and is watery and blue in color. The coat is rough and back arched. Whenever an animal is suspected of having tuberculosis, have a competent person give the "Tuberculosis Test" at once.

_Cause._--Poor feed and water, badly ventilated stables, dirty stables, from over-feeding and inoculation. It is hereditary. May also follow abortion and catarrhal trouble of the genital organs.

_Treatment._--Disease is incurable. Kill and burn all animals affected at once and disinfect thoroughly stables, yards, etc., with one part Pratts Dip and Disinfectant to 50 parts of water. Disinfect every week until every germ is destroyed. Use Pratts Dip and Disinfectant in all whitewash and sponge or dip all the cattle in a solution of one part Disinfectant to 100 parts water.

~Wire Cuts, Wounds, Bites, Etc.~

_Treatment._--Wash with one part Pratts Dip and Disinfectant and 50 parts water and apply Pratts Healing Ointment or Healing Powder three times a day.

~Worms~

Give Pratts Specially Prepared Worm Powder according to directions. It is quick in its action and has a strong tonic effect.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PRATTS PRACTICAL POINTERS]

~SHEEP~

Many years ago the sheep industry of America flourished. Then came a period of depression in this line accompanied by a steady decrease in the number of sheep kept. But the tide turned again about 1914 and the sheep are rapidly coming back to American farms and ranges.

This change is doubtless due to the steadily increasing cost of grain and labor accompanied by correspondingly high prices of lamb, mutton and wool. Also to a general recognition of the economic value of sheep--both of the mutton and wool breeds--as quick producers of income, no little part of which should be profit. The latter point is due to the fact that sheep are inexpensive to maintain as they thrive upon the roughest of pastures and coa.r.s.e feeds which will not sell to advantage, and their care consumes but little time. Low production costs--feed and labor--and high prices for the products make a most satisfactory combination.

Methods of successful sheep management vary in different sections of the country. The beginner may well consult the successful sheep-growers in his section and adopt the methods which give good results under the conditions existing in his locality. At the same time he should neglect no opportunity to secure more information from all sources, in order to know and use the most advanced methods and so make the maximum profits.

Here are a few basic facts:

Sheep raising requires careful attention, but does not demand a great amount of heavy labor or expensive equipment.

The best time to make a start is in the early fall when good breeding stock may be selected.

While pure-bred breeders are best, a pure-bred ram and ewes of good grade will prove very satisfactory.

A start may be made in a small way, but it is best to have at least twenty to forty breeders for economy of time, labor and other expenses.

As a rule it is most profitable to push the lambs for growth and market them when they weigh 65 to 75 pounds.

This weight can be secured in about four months.

If a very large pasture is available the flock will thrive on this.

Otherwise fields must be fenced off and forage crops provided.

Breeding ewes must be exercised in the winter to insure strong lambs.

But protect them from rain or wet snow as soaked fleeces cause colds and pneumonia.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ~SHROPs.h.i.+RE SHEEP~]

Thrifty condition and vigorous health must be maintained at all costs.

Otherwise the lambs will be small and weak and fleeces of inferior quality. The regular use of Pratts Animal Regulator will improve condition, insure health and vigor, increase number and quality of lambs, promote growth of flesh and wool. And in large measure, it keeps common diseases away because Pratt-fed sheep are in condition to _resist_ disease.

Shearing should be done after lambing, usually in late spring or early summer. If lambing time is late, the shearing may be done before the lambs arrive. Tie up the fleeces separately, first sorting out dung locks and tags.

After lambing, the individual ewes should be carefully watched to see that they have plenty of milk and are in good condition. They should be kept in pens for about three days, when they may be permitted to run with the flock. Feed lightly for two or three days, then heavily to stimulate the milk flow so lambs will be well-nourished. They may profitably receive one to two pounds of grain per day during the nursing period.

Inferior ewes should be marketed as rapidly as they are identified. Get rid of the barren ones, producers of poor lambs, poor milkers, light shearers.

Sheep must be protected against blood-thirsty dogs and external and internal parasites. In many sections sheep growers have united to fight sheep-killing dogs and good results have been secured. United action against a common enemy is best, as public sentiment may thus be aroused.

Because of their thick fleeces and helplessness, sheep suffer greatly from the attacks of ticks, lice and other parasites. Ticks are particularly injurious. They annoy and weaken the adult animals, torture the lambs and check their growth. The result is always a money loss to the sheep owner.

Fortunately it is a simple matter to exterminate the ticks and lice and overcome the ordinary skin diseases of sheep. Merely dip the sheep in a solution of Pratts Disinfectant. It is non-poisonous, inexpensive--does the work!

[Ill.u.s.tration: ~MERINO RAM~]

July and August is the popular time for dipping, but the work can be done as soon after shearing as the shear cuts heal. Two dippings are necessary, about twenty-four days apart. The first treatment may not kill all the eggs, but the second will kill the young ticks, thus completing the job. For successful results, it is necessary to use a dipping tank or vat large enough to hold sufficient of the solution to immerse and thoroughly saturate each animal.

Intestinal parasites, of which the stomach worm is perhaps the most dreaded, cause great loss to sheep owners. These worms live in the fourth stomach. They are easily identified, being from one-half to one and a quarter inches long, marked with a red stripe. Their eggs are found in the droppings of the sheep, so infection is secured in the pasture.

_Augusta, Me.

As a constant user of Pratts Animal Regulator, for sheep, I find that it not only helps them to put on flesh but keeps their system in fine condition. I take great pleasure in recommending it, knowing its benefit to Cloverdale Shrops.h.i.+res.

H.J. O'HEAR, Samoset Farm._