PROGRESSIVE SHEEP RAISING 



It is also well to sell ewes before they are too old for the 

 butcher. For mutton sheep this is usually about the fifth 

 year of their age. After that they are not very profitable 

 as breeders nor well suited for the block. 



Sheep are kept for wool, even the 

 Shearing mutton breeds, and must be sheared 



once a year just at the opening of 

 summer. The old hand shearing is a thing of the past, 

 except in certain places in the West and in the case of 

 the small farmer who keeps only eight or ten head and 

 does not have access to a mechanical shearer. 



F. R. Marshall says: "The tags or dung locks should 

 be removed from the fleece, and then it should be rolled 

 up, not too tightly, skin side out, and tied with paper 

 twine. Wool buyers prefer this method of tying to that 

 done with wool boxes." 



Dockina Docking is the removing of the tails of 



of Lambs lambs and is an operation that every 



good sheep breeder attends to promptly 

 and without fail. It is essential for lambs that are to be 

 marketed. The tail is only a lodging place for burs, 

 maggots and dirt and is sure to become a dead-weight 

 and a drag upon the vitality of the growing animal. 

 In fact, undocked lambs are discriminated against in 

 the market. 



The operation is performed by means of a knife, chisel 

 or hot iron, and should be attended to about a week 

 before the work of castration. Cut the tail off about 

 one inch from the body. Marshall says in Farmers, Bul- 

 letin No. 840: 



"The lamb should be held with the rump resting on 

 the top of a panel or pen partition, or upon a board if the 

 hot irons are used. When docking with the hot iron the 

 operator should work with the right hand, holding the tail 

 in his left and pushing it toward the body. This will 

 leave loose skin above the cut to close over the wound. 

 Pine tar may be applied if flies are bad." 



Page Forty-Two 



