SESSION 



Missouri Sheep Breeders' Association. 



January 7th, 1908. 



THE CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FLOCK. 



(E. B. Wilson, Stanberry, Mo.) 



The subject, Care and Management of a Flock, is one which 

 has been discussed time and again and very likely much of what 

 I have to say has been said by others in meetings of this kind. 



My observations of the care and management of a flock have 

 all been made in Missouri. I trust that this will be of some value 

 to the new beginner in Missouri at least. (In starting in the sheep 

 business, whether it be a pure bred flock or grade flock, we should 

 not be satisfied with anything but the very best ewes we can buy. 

 Buy young ewes if you can get them. Look well to size, form and 

 covering. In this day of high priced wool a few pounds per head 

 makes quite a difference in the profits at the end of the year. In 

 selecting a ram, we should buy the best we can find. The best is 

 none too good, and don't let a few dollars keep you from buying a 

 good ram. When breeding time comes have your ewes in a healthy 

 condition. One ram should be used to every forty or fifty ewes, 

 unless we hand breed. In this case one ram to about sixty ewes. 

 What I mean by hand breeding is to let rams serve each ewe but 

 once. But this would be a great deal of trouble in a large flock. 

 After the breeding season is over we should take rams away from 

 the ewe flock. 



We should see that our flock has plenty of pure water, also 

 feed them well. Don't feed too much corn to pregnant ewes. I 

 have seen breeders who thought they were feeding their ewes in 

 the best possible manner by giving them all the corn they can eat. 



(120) 



