Sheep Breeders' Association. 367 



stover each morning also goes well. What they refuse to eat the 

 cattle will soon clean up. 



The amount of grain fed per head depends on the condition of 

 the pastures. If the grass is short I feed approximately >^ lb. 

 Sliced turnips, ^ lb. corn and | lb. oats per head daily until two or 

 three weeks before lambing time, when I take away the corn en- 

 tirely and feed % lb. turnips and 1/2 lb. oats or ^ lb. oats and ^ lb. 

 bran per head daily. The roughness remains the same. 



Some of my neighbors have laughed at me and have said that 

 I feed my sheep too much, but at lambing time many of them com- 

 plained of their ewes not giving milk, which very seldom gives me 

 any trouble. I attribute my success here to my liberal feeding. I 

 never shut my ewes up in a close barn at night, unless it is very 

 stormy, but they have access to a long shed 16x60 ft. with a hay 

 rack on each side, and well ventilated with windows and doors. 

 Good ventilation in the barn and plenty of exercise are very im- 

 portant factors for the pregnant ewe. 



Just before lambing, I give the ewes fresh winter pasture, as 

 wheat or rye, which gives a healthy tone to the system and in- 

 creases the milk flow. Here is where mothers are often deficient 

 at first but I find by giving the ewe vdnter pasture this obstacle is 

 overcome. I also find the young lamb will begin to eat grain soon- 

 er when given winter pasture to run on than when just started on 

 dry feed alone. 



At lambing time, which runs from the first of January till the 

 first of March, I nearly live in the sheep barn. I always pick out 

 the ewes farthest advanced towards lambing and separate them 

 from the rest of the flock to another barn in which I have a stove. 

 I do not use the stove unless it gets very cold, so that there is 

 danger of chilling the young lamb. I again divide these ewes in 

 lots of five or six each, by means of little pens, so that when a 

 lamb is dropped it cannot stray very far away from its mother. 

 Often when twins are dropped the first one will stray off among 

 the flock and then the mother will not claim it. But where there 

 are only a few sheep in a pen the mother can keep up with both. 

 As soon as I find a new comer I separate in a single, small pen for 

 several days until the mother and lamb or lambs know each other 

 well. First thing I do when I find a newly-made mother is to 

 draw some milk from the udder to make sure the milk flow is all 

 right. 



Sometimes a young lamb must be fed by hand for awhile, as 

 it may be too weak to take care of itself or because the mother has 



