how-to-build a sheep dip

8/12/2019 How-To-build a Sheep Dip

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The Bunbury Herald and Blackwood Express (WA : 1919 - 1929), Friday 10 June 1927, page 2

National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87002948

HOW TO BUILD A SHEEPDIP.

SOME PRACTICAL ADVICE.

WHEN AND HOW TO DIP.In building a sheep dip a site should

be selected on slightly rising ground.If a natural slope is obtained muchlabour will be saved because it ismost essential that the draining pensshould have a good fall back to thedip. The water supply should also be

soil that would besuitable for dam sinking would beideal. The sloping ground will againprove convenient because the watercan be run from the dam to the dipwithout any difficulty if built on ahigher level.

The best material and probably thecheapest for building the bath andramp would be concrete consisting ofthree-parts of cracked stone threeparts of sand and two parts of cement.A thick coat of cement should be applied to the inside to prevent any possible leakage of the water from theback.The length of the dip exclusive of

the ramp and pens should be not lessthan 60ft. The depth should be from6ft. to 8ft. with a width of 2ft. 3in. Ifthe bottom of the bath is built with aslope toward the centre to allow anydirt or foreign matter to collect it willbe considerably easier for cleaningpurposes at ^he end of the dippingseason or sooner

if it becomes foulbefore dipping operations are completed.

Two Draining Pens.We recommend two draining pens

for a dip where any quantity of sheepare to be dipped in a year. The samemixture of concrete could be used forthe walls of the draining pens as wasused in building the dip with a top

coating of 3in. of strong cement. _Considerable care should be taken

with these pens to see that they arenot built too. steep and on the otherhand equal care should be taken toallow for draining a good passageback to the dip. If the pens are builtto hold 60 to 80 sheep each they shouldprove of cenvenient size. With twodraining pens dipping operations canbe speeded up and a swing gateoperating1 across the top of the ramp

will allow the other pen to be usedwhen one is full. ;

Judgment must be used to see thatthe ramp leading from the dip to the draining pens is not built too steepotherwise weak sheep with the added -weight of the dipping preparation in their wool will find it difficult to reach

the draining pens. To overcome this difficulty we recommend the use ofpieces of timber placed in the rampand bolted down at the top and bottom with pieces of gratings nailedacross about 6in. apart.

? A dip owner should know the quantity of water that the dip will hold andit is a good plan when first filling thedip with water to measure it and forsay every 100 gallons of water addeda mark should be placed on the wallof the bath. This will allow the ownerto know how much water is carriedaway in the wool of the sheep andwhen fresh water is added he willhave an idea of the quantity of dipping; niixture to add to. keep thejdip tothe required strength.

Water Storage.Provision should be made for the

storing of rain water near the dip butif it cannot be obtained and hardwater is used washing soda should beadded to keep the water as soft as possible.

Before dipping operations. . commence thought should be given to the


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menceyards in which the sheep are to beyarded before entering the bath.These should be kept as free from dustand foreign matter as possible otherwise the sheep get dujjty and dirtyand the bath will become foul veryquickly. Dirty yards and travellingsheep on dusty roads immediatelyafter dipping in my opinion are responsible for the so-called dip mark inwool. We suggest therefore that theyards at the approach to the dipshould be floored with slabs or if themouth of the dip is raised sufficientlygratings could be used to better purpose.

We are not in favour of the race atthe approach to the dip. We considerthat with a small pen that will holdsay from 50 to 60 sheep built on alevel and angling towards the mouthof the dip will be found more convenient. This means of course thatthe sheep must be pushed into the bathby hand but more sheep can be dippedin this way with half the worry andKnocking about as is the case with therace.

Time to Dip.The most effective period to dip

sheep is from one month to six weeksafter shearing. The wool is then sufficiently long to hold the dip. We advocate dipping twice a year once earlyin January and again in April. Themixture need not be so strong thesecond time as on the first occasion.The growth of wool will be considerably longer in April and larger quantities of water will be used. The powdered form of dip must be mixed to athick paste and allowed to stand overnight in some convenient-sized vesselbefore it is ready for use.

Cool weather with a good wind isbest for dipping so that the sheep willdry quickly. It is advisable to have asmall paddock where there is plenty offresh water close to the dip so thatthe sheep can be yarded overnight

for an

ready for an early start in the mornring. The animals will then enter thebath refreshed and cool.On no account should hot and thirsty

sheep be allowed to pass through thedip. The risk of sheep drinking themixture when dipped while hot andthirsty is great and considerablelosses will be avoided if a little thoughtand consideration is given to the animals. It is advisable to start dippingoperations early in the morning andknock off early in the afternoon allowing sufficient time for the animalsto dry before sunset.

Stir Wall.Always keep the bath well stirred

from the bottom while the sheep areswimming through and always allowthem to drain thoroughly before leaving the draining pens.

If sheep are in poor condition theyshould be handled gently but thoroughly dipped because more vermincan usually be found on animals withweak constitutions.One plunge of the head under the

mixture is sufficient for sheep in aweak condition. If sheep are beingpushed into the bath by hand it is adBvisable to push them in breech firstand so obviate the possibility of themixture entering through their nostrils and lodging on the lungs.

If a sheep is noticed to be mopy andsluggish after dipping it is a sure signthat the animal has taken some of themixture while in the

The Remedy.A drench of several pints of new

milk will usually put the animal rightif given quickly on the symptoms ofpoisoning being noticed.

It is not a good plan to dip ramsafter being mated with the ewes because it usually suspends workingoperations for some days. We advisedipping rams off shears and thus overcoming this difficulty.


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With dipping the greatest cooperation is necessary among flock ownersif satisfaction and vermin-free flocksare to be obtained. When flock owners realise the benefits of dipping tothe body and wool of the sheep nocompulsion will be necessary to inducethem to dip their sheep.

how-to-build a sheep dip

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