Modern sheep dipping (1960)

[Music] since earliest times sheep have been attacked by a number of parasites of the skin and fleece and the damage and losses they cause have long been a heavy burden to the Sheep farmer today the increased stocking necessary to meet the constantly expanding demand for food and clothing throughout the world provides even greater opportunities of survival for sheep parasites and the diseases they cause general effects of infestation in a flock are loss of condition and lowered Vitality impaired growth and quality of wool and lowered resistance to other diseases strict control measures must be maintained and in all the main sheep raising countries of the world dipping and spraying are an essential part of the sheep Farmers routine sheep are dipped for three reasons first to destroy external parasites and protect the animals against them secondly to control the diseases which parasites cause or transmit thirdly to improve the wool and freshen up the Sheep it is not definitely known who originated dipping as opposed to smearing or washing but about the year 1800 Lord Somerville in Norfolk England was immersing his sheep in a mixture of arsenic soft soap and water in 1810 a Frenchman named Tessier also used a mixture of our enus acid and sulfate of iron but dipping did not become a general practice until after William Cooper invented the first arenic Sulfur powder dip in 1843 William Cooper practiced as a Veterinary surgeon at berkhamstead in hartshire and his dip eventually penetrated to all the main sheep raising countries of the world today one of the most Troublesome pests of sheep in many countries is probably the maggot fly this feeds on Carion and lays its eggs on dead carcasses and the living sheep it is attracted by the odors of decomposition such as droppings and urine in the fleece wounds Shear cuts and similar injuries also attract the maggot fly the female lays her eggs in quick succession 120 to 250 at a time and may produce some 2,000 during her lifetime these eggs hatch into maggots which immediately begin to feed and in neglected cases the Sheep may be literally eaten alive in a few days when the maggots are fully grown they drop to the ground here they bury themselves and change into pupy from which the Flies emerge later the Sheep Ked is a true insect in fact a wingless fly which passes all its life on the sheep it lives by sucking blood and causes great irritation with consequent loss of condition and lowered resistance to bacterial infections like other parasites it is also responsible for considerable wool damage the female gives birth to a mature maggot or lava which almost immediately changes into a hard-skinned puper this is the so-called egg of the Ked which is attached to the fleece by a gummy secretion sheep Li are another cause of loss they're particularly Troublesome in Australia and New Zealand and in recent years have become an increasing problem in Britain the biting or body L seen here is found nearly everywhere and does the most damage lice cause sheep to rub and nibble at the wool serious damage is done to the fleece and heavily tested Lambs become stunted in growth feeding is interrupted and the loss of wool makes the Sheep less able to withstand bad weather conditions ticks of which there are many different kinds cause much lot of blood irritation and unthriftiness great losses are also caused Through The Tick's ability to transmit such diseases as Ling ill tickborne fever heart water unlike KS ticks are difficult parasites to control since only a short part of their very long life cycle is passed on the sheep they can also infest other animals so their chance of survival is great the fertilized female lays 500 to 2,000 eggs on the ground from these lvi emerge which must feed on blood at each of their several stages of development between each stage they drop to the ground until finally the adult stage is reached pairing then takes place on the sheep or other host a number of skin parasites of the genus acari or mites can also be controlled by dipping these include certain types of mange which cause trouble in goats camels and other animals seen here is the itch might of sheep the might which causes sheep scab was at one time very widespread but persistent measures have wiped out scab in Great Britain Australia and New Zealand however this disease still occurs in Europe and other sheep raising areas of the world scab mites cause great irritation and loss of wool through the Sheep biting scratching and rubbing themselves the fleece falls off large scabby areas of skin are exposed and the animal may die if left untreated if a scabby sheep is scratched it shows its pleasure by twitching its head and smacking its lips since earliest times attempts were made to control external parasites of sheep with salves and smears it was difficult to penetrate the fleece with these and none was particularly effective total immersion of the sheep in a dip wash finally solved the problem of [Music] control the equipment necessary for dipping is quite simple the first necessity is a bath in which the Sheep sheep can be completely immersed and a water supply from which it can be filled suitable catching and draining pens save time and labor the only other Essentials are a plunger or broom for keeping the wash stirred and a crutch for controlling the sheep in the bath and ducking their heads under the watchh the size and type of bath to install depends on the number of sheep to be dipped a bath of 240 gallons is suitable for flocks of up to 800 sheep but for small breeds one holding up to 170 gallons may be preferred when installing baths it is important to have them deep enough it is better to allow too much depth than too little the capacity of the bath must also be accurately determined carefully measured quantities of water should be added to it and the levels recorded small farmers overseas May dip their few sheep or goats in an African kitou bath which is merely a metal drum sunk in the ground [Music] another type of bath found in East Africa and elsewhere is the circular swim bath holding about 800 gallons the operator stands on an island in the middle and one or two men can control several sheep together in The Bu biggest of all are the long swim bars needed for dipping the large blocks of Australia and South America these are usually of concrete and hold anything up to 3,000 gallons of wash the average being about 2,000 gallons [Music] against certain parasites particularly the maggot fly excellent control is also been achieved by spraying with the Koopa Alman sheep spray race a similar race is known in some countries as the PTO spray there is no doubt that spraying saves much time and labor and handling of the sheep is reduced to a minimum less wash is required for spraying than for dipping but a specially formulated spray must be used and applied through equipment that ensures good coverage as with dipping correct preparation of the wash is essential this type of race is transportable and can be taken to the Sheep if necessary driving the flock over a long distance is therefore eliminated the Sheep readily follow each other through the race and they can be sprayed at a rate of up to 60 a minute [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] for the control of parasites living close to the skin such as lice kads and mites dipping or showering is preferable to spraying owing to Greater penetration of the fleece and in Australia and New Zealand sheep are often showered on a large scale [Music] with this type of equipment fixed Jets saturate the sheep from below and nozzles on a boom rotate above them [Music] [Music] protection against Mega fly can also be achieved by jetting or hand spraying this is mainly of value for heavily fleeced sheep like the Marino wash is applied to the parts of the sheep most liable to be struck such as the crutch and along the back in the search for better sheep dips and other insect decides the Cooper technical Bureau and their colleagues overseas have always played a leading part every every year many hundreds of chemicals are screened for their possible usefulness in the control of animal parasites promising ones are thoroughly examined in the laboratory before being tested under practical farming conditions this entails the keeping of large colonies of flies and other insects for experimental purposes dips can be in powder paste or liquid form for over a century arenic and sulfur or phenols were the main constituents of sheep dips in arenic sufur for dips the insecticide remained in suspension in the wash and much stirring of the bath was necessary to prevent its settling correctly formulated these dips cured scab in two dippings carbolic dips form an Emulsion they're easily mixed give a clean tari odor to the fleece and can be reinforced with other insecticides after the war simple arenic sulfur and carbolic dips were largely superseded by synthetic insecticides such as DDT and bhc these could be formulated as suspensions or emulsions next came other chlorinated hydrocarbons such as dieldrin and Aldrin these had many advantages but they tended to build up deposits in animal fat and in most countries May no longer be used in sheep dips the present Trend in dips is towards safe Organo phosphorus compounds these have great efficiency and persistence in the fleece but research continues and it's quite possible that still new compounds May emerge before long for a successful dipping or spraying correct mixing of the wash is essential measure the quantities of dip and water accurately don't guess them all the manufacturer's skill to say nothing of the farmer's time and effort may be wasted through careless preparation of the bath compared with the older type dips modern ones are very easy to mix nevertheless stir the bath thoroughly before beginning to dip and again after any break in dipping sheep should not be dipped when they are heated tired thirsty or full of food after Gathering allow them to rest before dipping begins when dipping bear in mind that it is best to separate Lambs from the rest of the flock [Applause] Rams and fat sheep should also be dipped separately and treated with special care provided they're handled carefully in Lam use can be safely dipped at any time but preferably either very early or very late in pregnancy a sheep leaving the bath carries a considerable weight of wash in the fleece though most of this drains off quickly the animal May stagger as it climbs out of the bath if necessary it should be assisted [Applause] gently sheep remove both water and insecticide from the bath some of the insecticide is retained in the fleece and the wash draining back to the bath is therefore under strength to restore the bath to its original strength and maintain sufficient depth of wash in it topping up is necessary when topping up pay particular attention to the dilution rate given on the label since this may not be the same as for the original mixing the appropriate quantity of dip should be measured and after the bath has been restored to it proper working level with water the dip should be added to it the bath is then stirred again before dipping is [Applause] resumed after dipping allow the Sheep to stand in the draining pens until their fleeces have ceased to drip when when the pen is full remove the Sheep to a nearby Paddock and let them rest until they're dry if the day is very warm allow them to dry in shade if possible but never cow them together nor her them into a closed shed dipping showering and spraying then make possible the control of all external parasites of sheep maggot fly KS ticks scab and lice constant vigilance and years of research have gone into the development of effective dips sprays and Equipment greatly improved results are now possible it is for the Sheep farmer to apply the measures and methods best suited to his needs today he knows that science is constantly adding new and more powerful weapons to his Armory sheep parasites and the diseases they cause are being controlled or wiped out through systematic countermeasures and good husbandry [Music] [Applause] [Music]