472 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



on a good fall pasture, and often very fat lambs are made in 

 this way. But it is very seldom that the novice in the business 

 is the man that gets them, but rather the older hands in the 

 business who have learned the ups and downs of the trade. 

 To get the cheap gain on fall pasture is one of the sources of 

 profit to the lamb feeder, but the mistake must not be made of 

 putting the lambs on the market in an. unfinished condition so 

 that they do not sell for enough to return a profit above the cost 

 of lambs, feed and shipping. The owner should be in a position 

 to put the lambs on feed until they have become fat enough 

 for market. It is the fattening period when no green feed is 

 available with which our experiments deal. 



The trials are conducted in a shed 22 feet deep and 112 

 feet long with a feeding alley six feet wide along the back side 

 of the shed. The shed space, 16 feet by 112, is divided into 

 eight equal divisions, thus allowing each lot a shed 16 by 14 

 feet. In addition to the shed room each division has an open 

 lot 14 by 28 feet. Therefore each lot of lambs has a space 14 

 by 44 feet, 16 of the 44 feet being covered with a shed open to 

 the south. Fattening lambs do not require warm quarters. 

 The wool helps to keep them warm and the heat formed in the 

 digestion of their food keeps them sufficiently warm that no 

 great attention need be paid to getting a warm barn. In fact, 

 fattening lambs will make a more rapid and economical gain 

 when the atmosphere is cool. An open shed with an abundance 

 of fresh air and sunshine is far preferable for fattening sheep 

 than a tight barn that has a tendency to cause a heated, damp 

 atmosphere. Sheep want clear, fresh air and lots of sunshine. 

 But they cannot endure wet feet or damp coats. Therefore 

 the shed should be dry. Muddy lots are not only disagreeable 

 to the occupants, but may also lead to foot troubles and result 

 in poor gains on the lambs. All things considered, the shed 

 opening to the south, thus giving the lambs dry backs and feet, 

 at the same time keeping the air pure and cool, offers almost 

 as good conditions for fattening lambs as could be desired. 

 In fact, we have had better results when the weather is cold than 

 when warm and we always prefer as much cool air as possible 

 in the fattening pen, but always have a dry place both above 

 and below the fattening lambs. 



The animals used in our trials have been western range 

 lambs and have averaged approximately 60 pounds per head 

 when placed on feed. We have been using western lambs be- 



