Story: Diseases of sheep, cattle and deer

Lamb tailing is a major job on sheep farms in spring. Removing tails prevents dung accumulating in the area and providing sites for fly strike and other problems. At the same time, lambs are usually vaccinated against tetanus, pulpy kidney and blackleg clostridial disease. Male lambs are usually castrated, and ewes kept for breeding receive an ear tag. In earlier days, as at Pirinoa Station in the Wairarapa in 1976, lambs’ ears were marked with a notch to identify them as belonging to a particular property.