DIVISION OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 597 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 1S 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, BRANDON, MAN. 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT— W. C. McKILLICAN, B.S.A. 



The flock of sheep on the Farm on March 31, 1913 consists of the following : — 

 , Oxford Down : 1 ram, 2 breeding ewes, 1 yearling ewe ; 



Grade: 27 breeding ewes, 22 yearling ewes, 2 young lambs and 80 wethers. 



The season has been a successful one with the breeding flock. Thirty ewes gave 

 birth to forty-two lambs, thirty-eight of which were successfully raised. The only 

 obstacle to success with sheep has been predatory dogs. Although the fence around 

 the sheep pasture is supposed to be coyote-proof, dogs got in one day in July, 

 probably through a gate not fitting tightly, killed two lambs and one ewe and worried 

 some of the others. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENT. 



One hundred range lambs were bought in November, 1912, for the purpose of 

 conducting a feeding experiment during the winter; thirteen wether lambs from our 

 own flock were added. These were divided into three lots. One lot was fed hay of 

 wild grasses and red top, one lot was fed alfalfa hay and the third lot was fed 

 straw. Unfortunately the experiment was spoiled by dogs. On the night of January 

 .28 two dogs broke into the enclosure where these sheep were kept and attacked the 

 sheep so viciously that two were killed, twenty-two were injured so badly as to 

 necessitate immediate slaughter, and nine more, not apparently so badly injured, 

 died in the next few days, making a total death list of thirty-three. The remaining 

 sheep were so badly frightened, and so many of them were suffering from injuries, 

 that it took about six weeks before they were doing well again. The experiment was 

 continued, and the remaining sheep, in each lot, are still getting the same feed, at 

 the end of the fiscal year. But the results will scarcely be of any value, as the three 

 lots did not suffer equally, and all were thrown off their feed for weeks. 



Dogs are certainly the greatest obstacle to sheep raising in Western Canada. 

 Such an experience as above described is sufficient to discourage even the most 

 enthusiastic sheep owner. It would appear as though the country would have to 

 choose between the dog and the sheep. Up to the present the dog has been the choice, 

 and it seems an unfortunate one, as ninety-five per cent of the dogs in this country 

 are wholly useless, while the sheep is invariably a useful and productive member of 

 the farm-yard community. 



