596 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



depended on to breed sufficiently early. 31 However, Hampshires, Shrop- 

 shires, and Southdowns are occasionally used with success. 



At the Minnesota Station, 32 in trials covering 6 years, Shaw found 

 that the breeding habit of common grade ewes which usually drop their 

 lambs in the spring may be so changed by 2 or 3 generations of judicious 

 crossing and the selection of the early yeaned lambs for breeders that 

 they will drop lambs in fall and early winter. This change can be 

 hastened and more permanently fixed by mating the ewes with pure- 

 bred Dorset rams. Where the ewes have the early breeding habit well 

 fixed, superior lambs may be obtained by using dark-faced rams, such 

 as Shropshire and Southdown. Shaw further found that ewes which 

 have suckled winter lambs breed more readily before being turned to 

 grass than subsequently, especially when fed a stimulating grain ration 

 while still in the shed. At the New York (Cornell) Station 33 Dorset 

 ewes bred earlier, stood forced feeding better, and were less 

 affected by unfavorable weather than Shropshire ewes, and their lambs 

 made more rapid gains. Miller and Wing 34 advise using a young ram, 

 well fed during service but not too fat, turning him with the ewes not 

 earlier than the middle of March nor later than the middle of May. The 

 ewes should be in good condition and so fed as to be gaining in flesh. 

 Even with favorable conditions, all the ewes will not breed at the de- 

 sired time, and to secure 400 winter lambs about 500 ewes are necessary. 

 Ewes which fail to breed are sold early, and those breeding late drop 

 lambs useful for later sales. Ewes which are successful breeders are 

 kept as long as possible, since those lambing in November are likely to 

 breed at the right time the following year. 



909. Care of the ewe. During the summer the ewes need abundant 

 pasture, water, and shade. Should the grass become scant, they should 

 receive additional feed rape, pumpkins, etc. If in good condition, it 

 is rarely necessary to feed grain before lambing, and then only in small 

 amount. The ewes should be shorn in the fall or as early in winter as 

 possible so as to keep them cool. At lambing time the ewes should be 

 removed to the lambing pen and fed lightly for a few days. The lamb- 

 ing pen should be warm so that the new-born lambs will not be chilled. 

 Alfalfa and clover hay with silage or roots serve best for roughage, 

 while oats, bran, oil cake, and corn prove suitable concentrates. The 

 object at all times is to produce the largest possible flow of milk to 

 hasten the lamb's growth. In trials at the Ohio Station 35 Hammond 

 found a mixture of 4 parts corn and 1 part linseed meal was as satis- 

 factory for ewes raising winter lambs as one of 5 parts corn, 2 parts 

 oats, 2 parts bran, and 1 part linseed meal, when fed with alfalfa hay 

 and corn silage. Corn and alfalfa hay proved a good combination to 

 feed the suckling lambs. 



^Wing, Savage, and Tailby, N. Y. (Cornell) Bui. 309. 



"'Minn. Bui. 78. "The Winter Lamb, p. 6. 



M N. Y. (Cornell) Bui. 88. ""Ohio Bui. 270. 



