GENERAL CAEE OF SHEEP AND LAMBS 585 



attention must be given for a few days to see that the lamb is taking milk 

 from both sides of the udder. All surplus milk should be drawn, or 

 better, a needy lamb helped to an extra meal. Caked udders and sore 

 teats should receive prompt treatment. 



With the demand for more milk by the lamb, it pays to increase the 

 ewe's ration, for lambs make the most economical gains when suckling. 

 (114) If there is not sufficient roughage of high quality for the entire 

 winter, the most palatable portion should be reserved until after the 

 lambing period. Legume hay and succulent feeds are essential at this 

 time, and more succulence can be safely fed than before lambing. An 

 allowance of 1 Ib. of concentrates a head daily, or slightly more in some 

 cases, should be enough, with satisfactory roughage, to produce a good 

 flow of milk. 



889. Ewe's milk. In America the milk of sheep is seldom used by 

 man, but abroad, and especially in the mountain regions of continental 

 Europe, it is extensively employed, both for direct consumption and for 

 the manufacture of cheese. The average composition of ewe's milk, 

 compared with cow's milk, has already been given in Chapter V. (115) 

 It is there shown that ewe's milk is much richer in protein (casein and 

 albumin) and fat, and higher in ash than cow's milk. Ewe's milk has 

 a peculiar, somewhat unpleasant odor and taste, is thicker, and sours 

 more slowly than cow's milk. The fat content is extremely varia- 

 ble, ranging from 2 to 12 per ct. The butter is pale yellow, less firm 

 than cow's butter, and becomes rancid much quicker. 



The yield of milk by sheep will vary greatly, according to breed and 

 feed. The East Friesian milk sheep in Germany at 2 to 3 years of age 

 yield from 3 to 4 quarts of milk daily for 2 months after weaning their 

 lambs, and keep up an excellent flow during the autumn months. These 

 sheep are prolific, dropping 2, 3, and even 4 lambs, individuals lambing 

 twice a year. Three sheep are estimated to consume as much feed as 

 1 cow. Ordinary sheep yield from 100 to 150 Ibs. of milk per year, 

 while the milk breeds produce from 300 to 1,400 Ibs. 



890. Milking qualities of ewes of various breeds. But relatively few 

 data are available concerning the composition and yield of milk of the 

 various breeds of sheep. In studies; at the Wisconsin Station 12 by 

 Carlyle, Fuller, and Kleinheinz, lambs were kept from their dams ex- 

 cept at regular intervals when they were allowed to suckle. The milk 

 yielded by the ewes was determined by weighing the lambs immediately 

 before and after placing them with their dams. Similar studies were 

 carried on by Ritzman at the New Hampshire Station 13 and by Neidig 

 and Iddings at the Idaho Station. 14 The fat content of the milk of ewes 

 of various breeds, as determined in these studies, is shown in the table 

 on the next page. 



K Wis. Rpt. 1904. 



"Jour. Agr. Res., 8, 1917, pp. 29-36; N. H, Tech. Bui. If 

 "Jour. Agr. Res., 17, 1919, pp. 19-32. 



