This is the tool used to dose animals. The drench gun you use must be clean and sterilised before using it. The drench gun is inserted in the mouth of the sheep by entering it down the cheek towards the throat. The remedy is then slowly dosed to the animal to avoid it going down the trachea into the lungs of the animal.
Syringes
It is important to have different sizes of syringes available on the farm to accurately inject an animal as prescribed in the remedy booklet used. The most common syringe sizes that should be in stock on the farm are 1 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml and 20 ml syringes. There are also different types of syringes:
Calibrated syringes (re-usable)
Disposable syringes (dispose of after use)
Hoof Cutters
Hoof cutters are used to trim the hooves of sheep if they are overgrown. The hooves of sheep may overgrow when sheep are housed in intensive systems or are kept on kraal for a long period.
Rumen Tube and Funnel or Syringe
This is a tube that is used to supply a remedy directly into the rumen of sheep or to be used when sheep have a blockage in the oesophagus. The rumen tube should be placed slowly down the oesophagus of the animal into the rumen.
A funnel or syringe is then used to insert the correct amount of remedy into the rumen of the animal.
Scales and Weighing
Several types of scales may be used to weigh animals. Maybe the most accurate and effective scale to use is a beam scale with a weighing crate. A weight band may also be used to estimate the weight of an animal.
Hand Shears
These shears are used by many shearers in South Africa. This is because it is relatively cheap to buy and easy to use. If the person using this type of shears is not properly trained to do so they may cause a lot of injury to the animal.
Electric Wool Shears
The use of electric shears has sped up the shearing process a lot. Electric shears are more expensive than hand shears, but the time saved in the shearing process makes the use of electric shears worthwhile. Injuries caused by electrical shears are much lower than those caused by hand shears.
Rubber Ring Applicator
This is the tool used to apply rubber rings when castrating lambs or docking their tails. This tool tightly grips the rubber ring and makes it possible to easily stretch it to be placed over the scrotum or tail.
Mating Harness and Colouring Blocks
A mating harness with colouring blocks is placed on rams used to breed in a certain flock of ewes. This is a good method to determine which ram mated with a certain ewe or to identify ewes coming onto heat.
