8 Junk. 1908.] Sheep Feeding. 345 



Where sheep are being held over the summer with the view of fatten- 

 ing them in the winter, it pays well to have a supply of fodder for them. 

 They often get so low in a bad autumn as to be past all chance of making 

 thern good enough until about shearing time, when, getting toward full 

 fleece, it is next to impossible to make them prime, and so they have to 

 be shorn ; and bv that time fat sheep are becoming plentiful and prices 

 lower. 



With the majoritv of sheep breeders who grow their own fodder, hay 

 is the feed most in use, up to the present time. When necessary to buy 

 feed, oats are most economical, and generally give the greatest satisfac- 

 tion, for they contain the most nourishment in the smallest compass, are 

 easily distributed, and give no trouble in windy weather. 



Where lambing ewes are to be fed, silage is preferable tO' all other 

 fodders. It has been proved that it will keep in the best of condition 

 for an indefinite number of years. The objection to it with sheep men 

 was that in the old style of rough ground pits, especially if not chaffed, 

 it gradually rotted at the sides, for in good seasons it was made and 

 sometimes kept for three and four years before being wanted. With 

 the present day silos, when all matters of detail are properly carried out, 

 this objection is not worth mentioning. Silage is also a good fodder 

 to handle; it is heavy, and unlike hay -chaff, does not blow about. When 

 stud ewes, or any special lambing flocks are to be fed with the view of 

 saving the lambs and also keeping them growing well, the usual custom 

 has been to feed chaff and bran. Unless it was well sheltered in the 

 troughs the bran blew away in the wind, especially if the feeder were 

 careless in emptying the bags and mixing. This is a serious disadvan- 

 tage in bran and chaff feeding. If it is damped to keep it from the 

 effects of the wind, and it is not all eaten, it soon becomes sour. Silage 

 chaff, when mixed with hay chaff, is better to handle in the wind, and, 

 whilst equal with bran for milk giving, is less costlv. 



For feeding hay at some distance, light spring drays and waggonettes 

 with strong hurdles on each side and one across the end, with the front 

 of the cart left open, will carry a lot of sheaves. The driver can tie 

 the reins handy, and let his horse walk along, while he throws the hay 

 off in a thin line. This thin line gives the weak sheep a chance to get 

 their share, and they soon learn to follow the carts. If sheep are being 

 fed for the first time, it is best to place the hay in a circle round them ; 

 they must then feed across it at some point, and once they taste it no 

 further trouble will be found. Sheep run along and in a very quick 

 time take the heads and lightest parts of the hay first. If a few head 

 of cattle are allowed to run in the paddock, they will clean up the coarse 

 straws. Where large flocks, especiallv on leasehold areas, have to be 

 provided for, hay, when cut with the binder, is least expensive to make. 

 Use oaten hay for preference. If short in the straw so much the better ; 

 many farmers when wanting hay for their own use check the crop with 

 a few stud sheep, or fatten off a few on it if it shows at all forward in 

 the winter. Algerian sheaves about two feet in length form an ideal 

 feed for all stock. When intending to sell to produce merchants it is 

 another matter — a coarser sheaf wall rut a more showv sample of 

 chaff. 



When sheep are too long forced to eating grass and tussocks of per- 

 haps two years' standing, or living on bits of dead grass from out of the 

 dust, they sooner or later die of impaction, especially so if the water is 



