Author Topic: Dagging (Read 2655 times)

georgielmgm · « **on:** August 28, 2014, 03:49:48 pm »

Hi all,
So got my 8 ewe lambs, all settled in (we left them in the field for 20mins to talk to the seller on the road, came back to find them being herded up by the neighbouring cows! Bit of chicken wire under the gate sorted that!)
Anyway, noticed 2 needed dagging pretty seriously and another two that looked doubtful so brought then in yesterday and got them done (not the '2 secs' someone told me it would take!) Farmer friend smirked when he saw my shears (admittedly they were too small to get through the thick dags) and gave me some electric shears and a battery to use, was a bit nervous about dagging without the worry of electricity nd fast moving clippers being involved so I went without using them, but has anyone any experience using electric daggers that can offer some support? Are they as scary as I think?
Also, farmer suggested dagging them all even though they'll probably be done before tupping, thoughts on this as well?
Thanks!

twizzel · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2014, 04:54:50 pm »

Are you dagging because their back ends are dirty? If so have they been wormed recently?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2014, 05:31:35 pm »

Worming was my first thought too. Were they wormed when they arrived? Were they daggy when they arrived? What breed are they?

We use normal hand daggers, not shears and not electric or battery powered daggers. It's not the most pleasant of jobs, but your confidence and speed do improve. With hand daggers, you're not usually cutting through the dags but through the wool between the poop and the skin. If they're very tight, use the scissors on your Swiss Army knife, but don't try to pull the dag away from the skin to get your daggers underneath as that's a sure way to cut the sheep. It looks scary and you take your time - no rush, you don't have 3,000 to do. Make sure you protect a ewe's vulva and tail as you dag, and sit her on her behind for part of the procedure to be sure you get to any underneath bits while being able to see clearly. If they are standing, it's a great help to have someone else holding the front end.
At certain times of year you can peel off dry dags, mainly coming up to shearing.
If your ewes are a big fluffy type, and particularly prone to mucky back ends, then a big clearance up both back legs as your farmer neighbour recommends will be effective and help you spot signs of fly strike.

smallflockshearing · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2014, 08:28:08 pm »

With electric you can dag with a shearing method - across the crutch and then up the back legs and tail from an upright and then side-on position, into the fleece.
Or you can dag standing up, cutting with the flow of the wool from above the tail then widening out. This is safer (and slower) if you are not confident, but will not clear as well beneath the tail and it will be much harder to clear between teats and vulva (if they grow fleece there).
I'm not sure that hand shears are any more dangerous than an electric-powered handpiece around the back end!
Good luck!

georgielmgm · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2014, 03:24:11 pm »

Hi all, thanks for the replies

I'm sure the seller said they'd been wormed not that long ago, but I can ask precisely when? Excuse my ignorance, but what would the outcome of them being wormed recently mean? Thanks!