262 FARM ANIMALS 



a running water supply. On the range the sheep 

 have different requirements in regard to their 

 water supply. They may need water twice a 

 day, once a day or every third day according to 

 the character of the food. In some of the desert 

 ranges where the only green plants are of a suc- 

 culent nature, it has been found possible to main- 

 tain sheep successfully without watering oftener 

 than once in two or three weeks. In the winter 

 on the desert ranges advantage is taken of the 

 fact that localities which have no surface water 

 supply whatever may be safely grazed on account 

 of the presence of small quantities of snow. The 

 sheep eat snow whenever they are dry and thus 

 obtain a sufficient supply of water in a clean 

 wholesome condition. Under ordinary circum- 

 stances there is no advantage whatever in warm- 

 ing water for lambs or old sheep in winter. 



Feeding Range Lambs. While it is entirely 

 true that many of the larger western sheep ranches 

 decline to feed any of their sheep, saying that it 

 does not pay to attempt to compete with the 

 eastern sheep raisers on the mutton market, 

 nevertheless the practice of feeding western sheep 

 on the ranges wnere they are grown is gradually 

 increasing. The profits obtained from this prac- 

 tice have been so flattering in many instances 

 that the feeding of range lambs has become an 

 extensive business in localities where it is well- 

 suited and where the necessary grain feeds are 

 convenient. In Montana and many other local- 

 ities sheep are put in a fairly good condition without 

 grain by merely feeding a ration of alfalfa hay 

 and roots. The sheep rancher finds that every 

 year he has a certain percentage of surplus sheep, 

 some being wethers and some old ewes which he 



