THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



14-5 



I am not careful to oft'er any apology for presuming to 

 write a short annual paper upon it, and I shall be very 

 pleased if any remark I may make may become use- 

 ful. 



The lambing season is always looked forward to, by 

 all flockmasters, with very considerable anxiety. It is 

 an universally acknowledged truth that the breeding 

 flock cannot be kept in any other than a quiet, even, 

 progressive state, without endangering their safety in 

 the lambing season. To do this, a season of compara- 

 tively even temperature is required, and the food should 

 be of uniform character and quality. How then can 

 rough and stormy weather, or successive frosts and 

 thaws, snows and rains, be provided for, or assimilated 

 by management to this ? Well, the flockmaster must 

 try. If the grass lands are deeply covered with snow, 

 the flock must have mangolds, hay, and cut chaff given 

 out. If continuous rains, plenty of hay chaff or other 

 dry food. If the flock is wintered on turnips or cole- 

 seed, the task is not so difficult. A liberal allowance 

 of hay, straw, or other dry food in cold weather, with 

 dry lairs and shelter, will keep the flock all right. The 

 chief thing in the latter case is to take care that the 

 turnips are good in quality, and of like kind, i. e , not 

 frozen or decayed. It is not good or safe practice to 

 feed them on common white-fleshed turnips, and then 

 suddenly revert to swedes, or other yellow-fleshed 

 turnips, immediately before lambing ; the latter is not of 

 much importance, as they assimilate more to the white 

 varieties than swedes. I have known severe losses 

 occur from this change, when on the point of lambing. 

 I repeat, the ewe flock should be wintered with great 

 evenness and regularity as to keeping, and, if possible, 

 be kept in a sound store condition ; not too fat — cer- 

 tainly not too poor. We may devise many various 

 schemes for ensuring a successful lambing season ; but if 

 the animals are not carefully attended to, and properly 

 prepared for it^ in the winter, all will be In vain. 



If the ewes, then , are in fair average condition for lamb- 

 ing, a good supply of milk may be anticipated — the one 

 thing needful for ensuring a good " crop of lambs." 

 Very, very much depends upon this. Why do so many 

 flocks of lambs winter badly ? It is because they were 

 pined when young, and thus had their constitutions 

 weakened. The flock-master should not scruple about 

 the cost of food in the lambing season. If the ewes are 

 not well and regularly fed, the lambs soon give evidence 

 of failing strength. A good breadth of seed-land laid 

 in through the winter is one of the best places for young 

 lambs, and warm sheltered pasture fields the next, with 

 plenty of room. In many districts it is the common 

 practice " to lamb the ewes on turnips :" here, then, they 

 have, without difliculty, a regular supply of the same 

 kind of food ; but when on grass lands, they must be 

 supplied with artificial food, as roots, cake, corn, chaff, 

 hay, &c. In such cases danger frequently arises ; one 

 animal will cat voraciously of roots ; another of chafi", 

 or corn, or hay, &c., &c. ; indigestion followed by fever 

 is then too often fatal. I have for many years lambed 

 my ewes on grass lands, giving them a plentiful supply 

 of mangolds and cut chaff ; but I cannot speak with 



every confidence as to the suitability or safety of man- 

 golds to the ewe flock at this time ; in very cold wea- 

 ther they are frequently injurious to them, causing 

 flatulency and scouring, and not unfrequently casting 

 or slinking of the lamb. I incline to prefer turnips or 

 swedes, but in my position I am almost necessitated to 

 resort to mangolds. In this district we grow excellent 

 and safe crops of mangolds, while our crops of swedes 

 are precarious and indifferent. My corrective against 

 the succulency and flatulency of the watery mangolds 

 is plenty of oat sheaves cut into fine chaff and given 

 freely, in the field where the ewes are collected 

 for lambing ; and as they lamb, they are drawn 

 out into seeds or " laid in " pastures, and a moderate 

 allowance of mangolds is continued, and chaff" to tbe 

 weaker ones selected out. 



Itis imperatively requisite to provide suitable lambing 

 paddocks or pens for the lambing season, to which the 

 ewes can be taken every night. In them, and also about the 

 pasture field, or adjoining fields, shelter pens should be 

 constructed, into which a ewe about to lamb, or imme- 

 diately after she has lambed, should be put, if the wea- 

 ther is unfavourable. These pens are of homely make; 

 mine are made with straw-wattled hurdles ; five hurdles 

 making a double pen, three being set down parallel with 

 each other, and so near that the two other hurdles, or 

 trays, form the back and front. As the season draws 

 nigh every preparation is made, and the allowance of 

 food is increased. The ewes being heavy with lamb, 

 require additional support, and in fact they must have 

 it, or certain loss will result. When their " time is up," 

 my ewes are constantly watched for a few days upon 

 the pastures where they have been wintered. As soon 

 as the lambs begin to fall, they are collected into a 

 roomy field, provided as above, in the corner of which, 

 adjoining the shepherd's house, is the lambing paddocks, 

 into which they are driven every dark and unfavourable 

 night. In fine open moonlight nights they are some- 

 times left out, as it is desirable that the paddocks or 

 lambing pens should be freed from taint, i.e., be sweetened 

 occasionally. Tainted straw or gangrenous droppings 

 are sometimes fatal to ewes if they come in contact with 

 the wounded uterus. Or should any epidemic arise, or 

 typhus or other inflammatory fevers occur, close contact 

 should be avoided, and the suffering animals ought at 

 once to be carefully carried to a distant and suitable 

 place, and there be nursed. On the large farms upon 

 the Downs and Wolds, and in many other parts of the 

 country, ewes are generally, if not universally, lambed 

 while on turnips. In such cases lambing yards, or 

 pens of sufficient capacity, should be provided, with a 

 temporary house for the shepherd. It is constant and 

 untiring attention that is required. It is only in special 

 cases that the shepherd's skill and experience are 

 brought into requisition. 



The Treatment of the Ewe.— I have so often de- 

 scribed the common mode of treatment, that it seems 

 superfluous to repeat it; however, I will concisely re- 

 iterate it. The ewe about to lamb must be examined 

 by the shepherd to ascertain that all is right. This 

 being found correct («. e., the nose and fore-feet in front, 



