CHAPTER XXXII 



GENERAL CARE OF SHEEP AND LAMBS FATTENING HOT- 

 HOUSE LAMBS GOATS 



I. THE BREEDING FLOCK 



Order, regularity, and quiet are of prime importance in the manage- 

 ment of sheep. The flock should always be cared for by the same at- 

 tendant, who moves among them quietly, giving notice of his approach by 

 speaking in a low voice and closing doors and gates gently. Dogs and 

 strangers should be kept from the pens at all times. Cleanliness is essen- 

 tial, for the sheep is the most dainty and particular of all farm animals. 

 The successful shepherd is therefore gentle, patient, punctual, and 

 cleanly at all times in the care of his flock. 



877. The ewe flock. Autumn is the time when the beginner in sheep 

 husbandry usually makes his start, and when preparations for the suc- 

 ceeding lamb crop are made in flocks already established. Before the 

 breeding season in the fall, all ewes should be discarded which are non- 

 breeders or poor milkers, and also those with broken mouths or spoiled 

 udders, and any which are too old or otherwise past their usefulness. 

 Those kept should not be selected by looks alone, for the thinnest ones 

 may have been brought to this condition by a heavy milk flow. As a rule 

 a good ewe should be retained as long as she will breed. In farm flocks 

 most of the ewes are commonly disposed of at the age of 6 to 7 years. 

 Those sold should be replaced by the yearlings picked as most promising 

 the preceding fall, while still lambs. Ewe lambs should not be bred 

 in the fall, else their growth will be stunted. 



878. Date of lambing; gestation period. In farm flocks it is much 

 more profitable to have the lambs come in late winter and early spring, 

 rather than later, provided warm quarters are available for lambing 

 time. Early lambs have a better chance of securing proper attention 

 from the flock owner than those which are dropped later, when other 

 farm work is pressing. By the time pasture is ready in the spring, the 

 lambs have learned to eat grain and are old enough to make the most 

 of the fresh grass and genial sunshine. Early lambs are also troubled 

 less by stomach worms than those which come later. Finally, early 

 lambs raised on the farm may be fattened and sold before the market 

 is flooded with western range lambs from the feed lots, causing a fall 

 in the price. If warm quarters can not be provided for lambing, lambs 

 should not be dropped earlier than May in the northern states, and not 

 until the dams are at pasture. 



The most extensive data on the gestation period of ewes are those 



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