Animal Sciences Commons^™

Lamb Marking, I K. Stott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

LAMB marking is the most severe of the various ordeals which sheep are called upon to endure during their lifetimes—yet it is an operation, or rather a series of operations, to which the average fiockowner gives but little care and thought.

Registered Stock Foods : Supplementary List, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

List of Registered Stock Feeds (Supplementry List

Insect Pests : Snails And Slugs, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

WHILE snails and slugs are not insects, they have been included in this series of articles, because the damage they cause is very similar to that caused by insect pests—and furthermore, the task of testing and recommending control measures is usually left to the entomologists.

Help Those Lambs To Live, C J. Spencer

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN almost all breeding flocks the most serious stage of sheep loss is from birth to three days of age with the majority of these losses occurring at birth or during the first day.

The number of lambs lost at this time is rarely known, but survey work shows that on most properties ten to twenty of every hundred lambs born are dead before three days of age.

The economic importance of such losses cannot be emphasised too much. Money has been expended for rams as sires, while the ewes have received extra feed and have had their wool production …

This Year's Export Lamb Carcass Competition, N Davenport

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE Export Lamb Competition will be conducted through the Royal Agricultural Society again this year.

Last year, due partly to the season, entries were well below those of previous years and if this competition is to continue, greater support from breeders is necessary.

I am sure you will agree that such a competition has undoubted value both for producers in recognising the type of lamb required, and also as an advertising medium for the sale of high quality Western Australian lamb on the English markets.

A Successful Campaign Against The Euro, E H M Ealey, T. M. Richardson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

RESULTS from a five-year research programme carried out by the C.S.I.R.O. on the Abydos-Woodstock Pastoral Research Station indicated that euros could be controlled in a practical and economic way by the traditional method of water poisoning,

if it was continued for an extended period and carried out over a large area. Smallscale trials supported this claim, but no opportunity had occurred to assess the practicability of a large-scale poisoning operation.

Can Heifers Be Fed Too Well?, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DURING recent years, emphasis has been given to the results of experiments conducted overseas, which appear to show that when heifers are generously fed, this reduces their ability to produce milk in later life.

As a result, some dairymen now believe that heifer calves should be kept lean rather than in prime condition.

It has become common to hear statements to the effect that generous feeding encourages calves to become "beefy," at the expense of the milk-producing attributes which are essential in a dairy cow.

List Of Registered Stock Foods And Stock Licks 1960-61, H G. Cariss

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

All foods for stock sold in Western Australia are required by the Feeding Stuffs Act, 1928-1951, to be registered annually with the Department of Agriculture.

Rats And Mice And Their Control, C D. Gooding, J. L. Long

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

BEFORE colonisation by the white man, Australia contained over 50 species of rats and mice.

Although several of these native species have been known to breed to plague proportions they are normally slower breeders than the introduced species.

Once settlement had been established on our shores it was only a matter of time before the introduction of more of these pests, occurred probably from the British Isles.

Lupinosis In Sheep. 1. Laboratory Studies, M R. Gardiner, M. C. Nottle

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN earlier articles by Bennetts (1957, 1960), the clinical and pathological features of lupinosis, as seen in field outbreaks, were described.

The suggestion was made that the roughage portion of the lupin plants was responsible for the disease.

More recent observations suggest a relationship between parasitism and lupinosis.

Classification And Evolutionary Relationships Of The Sea Ducks, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

When Delacour and Mayr (1945) revised the classification of the Anatidae, one of their major innovations was the erection of the tribe Mergini, the members of which had in the past (Peters, 193 1) been included in the subfamilies Nyrocinae (=Aythyinae) and Merginae. This separation of the true pochards (Netta and Aythya) from the other diving ducks and the merging of the merganser group into the same tribe with the goldeneyes (Bucephala) and other sea ducks has been accepted by most authorities and incorporated into recent classifications such as those of Kagelmann (1951) and Boetticher ( …

Hybridization In The Anatide And Its Taxonomic Implications, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Without doubt, waterfowl of the family Anatidae have provided the greatest number and variety of bird hybrids originating from both natural and captive conditions. The recent compilation by Gray (1958) has listed approximately 400 interspecies hybrid combinations in this group, which are far more than have occurred in any other single bird family. Such a remarkable propensity for hybridization in this group provides a great many possibilities for studying the genetics of speciation and the genetics of plumage and behavior, and it also provides a valuable tool for judging species relationships. It may generally be said that the more closely …

48th Annual Feeders Day Progress Report: Improving Beef Production Through Nutrition And Management, W. V. Lamber, E. F. Frolik

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

As we start a new decade it is appropriate to ponder for a moment on where we have been and where we go from here.

The past ten years have seen significant changes in all phases of animal agriculture. Probably the most spectacular changes came in the area of nutrition. During the past ten years significant advances were made in our knowledge on mineral and vitamin nutrition. Additional facts on the old problem of the ratio of concentrates to roughage have been added. Ways of supplementing poor quality roughage to obtain optimum production were learned.

The Number Of Daughter-Dam Pairs Needed For Estimating Heritability, L. Dale Van Vleck, S. R. Searle, C. R. Henderson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The number of observations required to obtain reliable estimates of heritability has been discussed recently for the method which utilizes the intra-class correlation coefficient. Wearden (1959) has made use of the power function to determine the number of progeny per sire needed to estimate heritability. Tallis (1959), utilizing the formula for the variance of the intra-class correlation coefficient as given by Fisher (1952), has discussed the minimum number of offspring necessary for estimating heritability with a given accuracy.

Tetanus In Farm Animals, C R. Toop

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE disease tetanus occurs in practically all of the animals and man.

It is caused by the tetanus bacillus (Clostridium tetani) and results from contamination of wounds and raw surfaces with materials such as earth or dust containing these organisms.

Autumn V Spring Shearing, W L. Mcgarry, I. K. Stott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN the agricultural areas of this State it is customary to shear in the late winter or spring, usually some time between July and September.

In an experiment conducted at Muresk Agricultural College during the past two years it has been shown that shearing in autumn (March) has resulted in more wool being produced with higher returns than when shearing at the conventional time.

The Success Of The Rabbit 'Killer' Trials, A R. Tomlinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SUCCESS well beyond what was anticipated has been achieved in a two year trial of a modified version of the rabbit "killer" method.

In the "killer" method, trained officers are employed to kill rabbits instead of to inspect and supervise the activities of farmers and, in fact, these officers do all the actual work of destruction.

This system was advocated by the W.A. Royal Commission which reported on Vermin Control in this State in 1944, and it was used successfully in New Zealand.

These trials were applied only to poisoning and not to overall destruction measures. The main object was …

Zamia Palm Poisoning, F C. Wilkinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE Zamia palm (Macrozamia Reidlei) is a common plant in the jarrah and karri forest country and on the coastal plains and is one of the earliest recorded Australian poison plants.

Brucellosis And Its Control With Strain 19 Vaccine, C R. Toop

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

DAIRY farmers of a generation ago will not need to be reminded of the ravages of contagious abortion or of the need for the continued application of effective control measures.

Fifteen or 20 years ago this disease which we now call Brucellosis was rife throughout the dairying districts of the State and it exacted a heavy toll.

The "abortion storm" was a common occurrence and it was not unusual for 30 per cent., and sometimes considerably more, of the cows in a herd to lose their calves at about the sixth month of pregnancy.

Deferred Grazing : What It May Mean In The Mulga Region, W M. Nunn

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE practice of deferred grazing has been written up in American textbooks and has been applied effectively to sections of the cattle range lands of the United States.

Early attempts to apply the principle in eastern Australia were not very successful, and it remained for our Departmental workers in the North-West and Kimberley Divisions to demonstrate the phenomenal results that could be obtained on grasslands in summer rainfall areas.

Wild Life In A Modern Age, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE present human population of the earth is estimated at about 2 1/2 thousand million, and reliable sources consider that this figure will be doubled by the year 2000.

Although the pessimistic forecasts of Malthus have not yet come true, it is obvious that the world's food requirements, must lead to increased exploitation of land and other primary resources, with consequent repercussions on all forms of wild life.

Famous Sheep Breeds. 6. The Southdown, J A. Mallett

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE chunky, low-set, meaty-carcassed Southdown is a popular breed wherever prime mutton and lamb are appreciated.

Just as the Dishley Leicester was used to improve most of the British longwool breeds, so an infusion of Southdown blood has benefited the majority of the British shortwool sheep whose main role is meat production

Hit Rabbits This Winter : It Will Check Breeding And Give More Valuable Feed For Summer Grazing, C Marshall

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

NOW that the current summer "1080" Rabbit Drive is drawing to a close, it is time we considered our future plans.

I am afraid that in the past most farmers have relied far too much on summer control as the complete answer to rabbit destruction and that this reliance has increased considerably following the introduction of "1080" poison, plus the valuable assistance received from the myxomatosis virus.

Galah Poisoning : Kill The "Cocky", John L. Long, F. Vagg

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

NO! Not the one that tills the land, but his enemy, the pink and grey galah (Kakatoe rosei-capilla).

Farmers have usually found the destruction of galahs damaging standing crops and bagged, or stored grain, fairly difficult.

Past methods of boiling grain and adding sweetened substances are rather laborious and require a lot of time.

Now, a quick and relatively simple method is available to farmers, using paraffin oil to adhere poison to the grain.

Selenium : An Essential Trace Element, Laurence C. Snook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

SELENIUM is one of the rare elements. In most soils it occurs in such minute quantities as to escape attention.

Plants, however, can concentrate selenium in their tissues and, in the U.S.A. in areas where the soils contain more selenium than usual, this facility can result in selenium poisoning in grazing animals.

Fortunately, none of the common soil types in Australia appears to contain enough selenium to affect the quality of the herbage.

Pig Pox : Its Presence In W.A. Is Suspected But Not Yet Confirmed, F C. Wilkinson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A PIG-FARMER recently asked for in-information on pig-pox and inquired whether the disease occurs in Western Australia.

The first part of the question is easily answered, as pig-pox is a typical pox disease caused by a virus and resulting in roundish, red areas appearing on the pig's skin.

The disease is in fact very similar to the other more commonly known pox diseases—chicken-pox in the human population, fowl-pox in poultry and cow-pox in cattle.

The Romney Marsh, J A. Mallett

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE Romney Marsh, sometimes known as the Kent, is the most popular of the British longwoel sheep breeds used in Western Australia.

Rams of this breed are widely used for mating with Merino ewes, the crossbred female progeny of the matings being in demand for subsequent mating with Downs-type rams to produce export Iambs.

Time Of Lambing, W L. Mcgarry, I. K. Scott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE time chosen for lambing depends on many factors, and the final decision rests with the individual flock-owner who has to consider how different times fit in with the overall programme of farm operations; how they will influence the marking percentage, the marketing, the thrift of his sheep and most important, how they influence the profit from his sheep operations.

Cutting Costs In Calf Rearing, N A. Scott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

RAISING calves as herd replacements and as a sideline to provide added income is becoming increasingly popular.

This is particularly noticeable since the inception of the Artificial Breeding Scheme whereby farmers are at liberty to breed herd replacements from their most productive cows and use semen from beef breeds for the poorer types.

Pullorum-Tested Poultry Flocks : 1960, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

EARLY in 1955, an amendment to the Stock Diseases Act made blood-testing compulsory for all commercial breeding and hatchery flocks of poultry, and it was required that the incidence of infection, as determined by the last test prior to the commencement of hatching, must be less than two per cent.