542 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



sweat badly in winter when confined in quarters sufficiently warm, for 

 dairy cows. One thickness of matched boards will make the barn or 

 shed where sheep are confined sufficiently warm in the northern states, 

 except for winter lambs. Ample ventilation is of great importance, but 

 drafts must be avoided. On the western plains, it is even more neces- 

 sary to protect sheep from cold winds than from rain. Sunshine, good 

 drainage, and conveniences for feeding are the other requisites of a 

 good sheep barn. When succulent feeds, such as wet beet pulp or silage, 

 are fed, the quarters must be especially well drained and the barn or 

 shed well bedded. Stone basements are unsatisfactory for sheep on 

 account of dampness, and if used good ventilation is especially neces- 

 sary. Damp walls are a sure indication of lack of ventilation and im- 

 pending trouble. 



In late spring and early summer the flock should be sheltered, if pos- 

 sible, from cold rains, for exposure is dangerous, especially for young 

 lambs. In summer, if there is no natural shade in the pastures, the 

 flock should have access to a darkened but well ventilated shed. A 

 fringed curtain thru which the sheep force their entrance will keep 

 back the flies from this retreat. (881) 



831. Winter quarters for fattening sheep. The kind of shelter it is 

 advisable to provide for fattening lambs and sheep in winter will of 

 course depend on the climate in the given district. During each of 5 

 winters Skinner and King fed one lot of western lambs at the Indiana 

 station 8 in a well-ventilated barn and another lot in an open shed with 

 a yard for exercise adjoining. In all except one trial the lambs in the 

 shed made a trifle more rapid gains than those in the barn and in each 

 trial returned slightly more profit. On the average, the feed cost of 100 

 Ibs. gain was 12 cts. less, the selling price per 100 Ibs. 15 cts. greater, 

 and the net return per lamb 17 cts. more for those in the open shed. 



To find whether there was any advantage in providing more shelter 

 than an open shed in a more northern climate, Morrison and Kleinheinz 

 fed a lot of 40 western lambs during each of 3 winters at the Wisconsin 

 Station 9 in an open shed, partly boarded up to provide additional pro- 

 tection from the wind and snow, and another lot in a well-ventilated 

 barn. Each lot was turned out for exercise for a short time daily, ex- 

 cept in stormy weather. On the average, the lambs in the barn gained 

 0.395 Ib. a head daily and those in the shed 0.386 Ib. In each trial there 

 was no difference in the finish or the selling price of the lambs, but the 

 average cost of feed for 100 Ibs. gain was 4.6 per ct. higher for the 

 lambs in the shed, and therefore the net return over cost of feed was 

 slightly less than for lambs in the barn. In a trial by Shaw at the 

 Minnesota Station 10 a lot of lambs fed in a yard with no shelter, but 

 protected from the wind by a low building at one side, gained 12 per 

 ct. less and required about one-fourth more feed for 100 Ibs. gain than 



8 Ind. Buls. 168, 179, 184, 192 and 202. 10 Minn. Bui. 44. 



e Wis. Bui. 323, p. 13; unpublished data. 



