Lambs should be docked when from six to twelve days old, when
convenient in bands of not more than 700. For several reasons it is best
to trim them on a cool day before they move around much in the morning.
Avoid trimming in the heat of the day. Docking lambs in old corrals is
dangerous, because it is unsanitary--many lambs are likely to die if
left standing in old corrals after being cut at docking time. Turn each
lamb over the fence and out to pasture as you dock it and you will avoid
this trouble. When you can so arrange, it is best to leave these trimmed
bunches where they are the balance of the day. At least do not overheat
them by rushing them around, either before or after trimming. Let them
rest a while.
We have used a knife in tailing lambs for years, but find they become a
few pounds heavier during the summer season when seared, so advise the
use of searing tongs to do the tailing. Keep these tongs red hot, so
they will sear and stop all blood. To sear lambs, the docking corral is
arranged the same as when you dock with the knife. You simply have an
extra man, who places a stove or builds a fire to the right of the
person doing the ear-marking and castrating. In this fire or stove the
tongs are kept hot, and as the party doing the trimming passes the lamb
to the right--the catcher still holding it--along the cutting board,
this extra man has the tongs ready to part the tails. One heating of the
tongs will sear and part the tails of four or five lambs. You should,
however, have at least two or three pairs of these tongs. They are sold
at Chicago.
If, after a few days, two or three of your largest lambs become sick,
bleed them a little by cutting them under the tail stub. Use a solution
of 100 parts water to one part creosote sheep dip, or the same solution
of carbolic acid, as a wash to swab wether lambs. This will disinfect
all cuts and keep flies from them. You will also save many lambs that
have been snagged, dog or coyote bitten, by disinfecting them at once,
or within a few hours, with either of these solutions. In castrating
young lambs, cut the scrotum or sack off about one-half inch from end,
then pinch tight above the testicles and draw them. Part the tails at
about the lower end of skin on inside of tail. At this time herd-mark
each full band of ewes and their lambs distinctly with a separate mark,
so they can be parted in case they mix with another band during the
summer season.