Dagging

On Monday we assisted with the ewe dagging. This is much more of a process since they are much bigger and daggier. We were greeted again by a couple thousand ewes and a beautiful sunrise.

Once again, Brendan starts things off with a draft. This time it is just a two-way separation. The ewes run through a race past what we call the "butt mirror." This allows Brendan to see if they need dagging. Below are photos of the "butt mirror" and Brendan drafting and a shot of Doug's dogs mustering the ewes into the race.

For the actual dagging, a couple of men came with a machine that makes everything quicker and easier. The ewes move up a race (encouraged by Doug, his two dogs, and ourselves) onto a trailer. There are two races, each going to a machine with a dagger. The ewes walk to the top, are held into a type of vice, rotated onto their side where they cannot squirm, and quickly dagged. The whole process only takes about 15 seconds per sheep. Below are pictures of the dagging and the sheep in the race.

We will work with the daggers again on Friday and they will also be here all weekend. All of the ewes and rams on the station will be dagged before next week when the shearers arrive.