Entries about jetting

The job of the day was to 'drench' and 'jet' a mob of sheep.

First of all they needed mustering to the wool shed;

However, as it was the end of summer, the grass was struggling to survive and as a result it produces a toxin from a fungus that grows to protect itself. The fungus is an “endophyte” i.e. it grows inside the plant where the highest concentrations are in the leaf sheath at the base of the pasture and in the seed heads. The toxin damages parts of the brain that coordinate movement. As a result the affected sheep appear nervous and sometimes sway when while standing and stagger when walking. If you put them under too much pressure when mustering, they simple can't cope and fall to the ground. They recover intime, but in the meantime you have maybe a hundred other sheep to keep moving.
so the best way to deal with it is to take the shep with you on the quad

which gets a bit cosy when the dogs jump on

Once at the wool shed, the sheep are peened up, to be moved through the shed in smaller groups

with the help of the dogs

before being led into a crush, where they can be drenched

Drenching is a dewormer used once or twice a year used to rid the sheep of various parasites and worms.
When you drench sheep you use a dewormer purchased specifically for that purpose. It is concentrated, you mix it with water, fill a large oral syringe, place the syringe into the side of the mouth as far as it would go, and it slowly push the liquid into the sheep's mouth so that they could swallow. You give the sheep an amount according to how much they weigh.

After this, the sheep are jetted. Once again they are led through a series of pens, narrowed down to single file.

Jetting is application of insecticide to sheep by use of a high-pressure spraying machine. The jets at the head of the handheld appliance are combed through the wool so that the jetted fluid penetrates to the skin.