424 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



. A FEW POINTERS ON FEEDING SHEEP. 



(J. H. Starr, Centralia, Mo. Mr. Starr feeds several thousand sheep each year and makes 



many market tops.) 



There is no kind of slock fed for market that is as little un- 

 derstood as sheep by the average farnier. While there have been 

 great successes in feeding sheep there have been as great failures. 

 The latter are usually attributed to lack of knowledge, careless 

 and indifferent handling, crowding, the wrong amount of feed or 

 feed that is not of proper kinds. I wish to make it plain that 

 there is no kind of stock that will fatten as fast and respond to 

 good treatment as a sheep, and, on the other hand, there is no 

 stock that will go to pieces as fast as sheep under bad treatment. 

 Consequently, to be successful it is a vital matter that they 

 receive regular and careful feeding. 



Sheep will thrive and do well on different kinds of feed; 

 in fact, they gain the most when fed various kinds of feed — silage, 

 clover hay, alfalfa, oats, corn, wheat, cottonseed meal and lin- 

 seed meal. They should not be fed too much at one time, but 

 fed often in amounts that will keep the feed fresh and clean. 

 And the water supply should be ample — good, clear, fresh water. 

 It is a mistaken idea that sheep do not require much water. 

 When your sheep are drinking lots of water it is a good sign thai 

 they are going right, but when they are not getting plenty of 

 water you need not look for satisfactory gains. Water troughs 

 16 feet long, 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep, fed by a supply 

 tank, are very satisfactory; or, if you are fortunate enough to 

 have it, a spring or running water is fme. Sheep like fresh run- 

 ning water. 



There are two plans for feeding sheep and lambs. One 

 plan is for early market, which is December and January, and 

 the other is called the late market, from February until April. 

 In feeding for the early market you should get your lambs from 

 September 1st to October 15th. If you have some grass or cow- 

 peas or can turn the sheep in the cornfields and let them eat the 

 blades and roughage it is fine, but it is very important to give 

 them a little grain as soon as you receive them. Shelled oats 

 and a little corn with it make good feed. The reason of this is 

 it takes the place of the mother's milk. As these lambs are 

 weaned when loaded at the range points and the long trip in 

 shipping is hard on them, they need extra care and nourishing 

 food when they first arrive. 



