Care and Management of Sheep. 



443 



717. Weight of lambs at birth. Below is given the average 

 weight of lambs of several breeds at yeaning, as reported by Hum- 

 phrey and Kleinheinz from records covering 5 years of the Wiscon- 

 sin Station 1 flock: 



Average weight of lambs at birth. 



718. Ewe's milk. In America sheep are not generally used for 

 producing milk for man, but in many districts abroad, especially the 

 mountain regions of Continental Europe, their milk is extensively 

 employed, partly for direct consumption and to a larger extent for 

 the manufacture of cheese. Ewe's milk has a peculiar, somewhat 

 unpleasant odor and taste, and differs from cow's milk mainly in 

 its greater proportion of fat and protein. It is also thicker and 

 sours more slowly. The fat content of ewe's milk is extremely vari- 

 able, ranging from 2 to 12 per cent. 2 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. Sieglin 3 states that the East Friesian milk sheep in Ger- 

 many yield at 2 to 3 years of age from 3 to 4 quarts of milk daily 

 for 2 months after weaning their lambs, and keep up an excellent flow 

 of milk during the autumn months. These sheep are prolific, drop- 

 ping 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. 



719. Composition of ewe's milk. Below is given the composition 

 of ewe's milk as determined by Sartori and Fleischmann. 4 For com- 



1 Rpt. 1907. 



2 See Staz. Sper. Ag. Ital. 23, p. 572; Analyst, 1893, p. 248; Fleischmann, Milch- 

 wirtschaft, 1901, p. 64; Jensen, Milchkunde und Milchhygiene, 1903, p. 17. 



, 8 Schaf er-Sieglin Lehrbuch der Milchwirtschaf t, 1908, p. 17. 

 * Milchkunde und Milchhygiene, Jensen, p. 18. 



