The process of removing dags from the rear of sheep. Similar to crutching, but more restricted in area sheared.
Sheep accumulate faeces on wool around their backsides, and the wool and the associated faeces need to be removed, usually in
late spring or early summer after weaning so that there is a lower risk of
fly strike, and so that the rams can find their
target with the ewes during mating or tupping.
Dags accumulate as
hard accumulations around the sheeps' backside if early summer is dry, and if dagging is done, these can provide sheep farmers with some
small early season income.
If dags dry out, they rattle when sheep
run, this gives rise to the NZ and Aust expression rattle your dags.
In NZ where sheep rule (
joke) dagging is usually done by shearers. The mixed sheep poo and wool produced by dagging is processed to make garden fertiliser and some low grade wool fibre.
Related definitions: rattle your dags
NZ
Farmer (Bruce): Hey Fred, your ewes seriously need dagging.
NZ
Farmer (Fred, over the fence): Yeah I know, delayed as we had a
wet summer.