Live Stock Breeders' Association. 205 



ing sheep are nearly always kept too warm if confined in warm 

 shelters. Our experiments have demonstrated conclusively that 

 the best possible shelter for sheep is a dry place — under an open 

 shed, but not in a warm barn; and this is true notwithstanding 

 what we have learned about saving feed by keeping animals warm. 

 These tests have shown that it will take as much or more grain 

 to make a pound of gain when sheep are confined in a warm barn 

 than if fed in an open shed. This is particularly true of this part 

 of the country. It is also true as far north as Michigan. 



I cannot stop to talk of the different rations that have been 

 fed, but I will try to call to your attention a few rations that have 

 proven to be good rations for fattening sheep. Corn and clover 

 hay have proven during the series of four or five years not only 

 the best ration, but the most profitable ration in most cases. While 

 this ration may not always produce the highest gains, still, corn 

 and clover hay have in our experiments in feeding lambs, as com- 

 pared with what we call a balanced ration, produced equally good 

 results, and during the four or five years' work corn and clover 

 hay has been a more profitable ration than corn mixed with linseed 

 meal or other supplements that have been tried. 



The question has often been asked, "Does it pay to shear sheep 

 before feeding them." It is the custom in some parts of the coun- 

 try to shear the lambs in the fall before beginning to feed, and one 

 year at the Michigan Experiment Station the lambs were shorn in 

 the latter part of November. They were placed in a warm barn, 

 kept closed and as warm as possible. Another lot of sheep fed 

 exactly the same way, with the wool left on, was fed in a barn 

 with all the doors left open. The results were all in favor of the un- 

 shorn lot fed in a dry but not warm barn. 



The following tables give the results of various station tests 

 in fattening sheep : 



