390 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



FATTENING WETHERS AT THE MISSOURI EXPERIMENT STATION. 



It is estimated that 80 per cent of the sheep sold on the Chi- 

 cago market are lambs. The remaining 20 per cent are largely 

 wethers and ewes. The process of fattening wethers is not ma- 

 terially different from that for fattening lambs, but in general it 

 is true that wethers are better adapted for feeding off corn on the 

 hill and will under winter feeding conditions fatten in a somewhat 

 shorter time than lambs. It is also true that wethers require a 

 larger amount of grain for each pound of gain. The Missouri Ex- 

 periment Station in 1906-07 conducted an experiment in fatten- 

 ing wethers, the results of which are given in the following table : 



TABLE VIII. 



VARIOUS RATIONS FOR FATTENING YEARLING WETHERS. 

 Feeding period, 14 weeks. (20 Wethers in each lot.) 



Ration. 



Selling 

 price. 



1 Corn and i imothy hay . . 



2 Corn and clover hay . . . 



3 Corn, oilmeal and clover 



hay 



4 Corn, cottonseed meal and 



clover hay 



5 Corn, corn silage and clover 



hay 



6 Corn and clover hay (self 



feed) 



7 Corn and clover hay (out 



doors) 



S6.15 

 6.35 



6.35 



6.35 



6.35 



6.40 



6.20 



■Jiski 



-•L^l 



SOUTHDOWN SHROPSHIRE PURE BRED FAT WETHERS. 

 Fed by the Department of Animal Husbandry, University of Missouri. 



