32 KEEP LAMBS OUT OF FEED TROUGHS 



slats or palings far enough apart to let the lambs through but 

 not the ewes), and place a feeding trough inside the creep in which 

 the lambs can be fed. 



Lamb Feeding Trough 



Always make a lamb trough so the lambs cannot jump into it 

 and soil their feed (see illustration on preceding page). Feed 

 for the lambs at first can be wheat bran, cracked corn, a little 

 oil meal, or any clean ground feed until they learn to eat. 

 Then they can be fed cracked corn and oats, oil meal and silage, 

 or any good feed or combination of feeds. 



Keep Lambs Out of Hay Racks 



Fix the hay racks for both ewes and lambs so the lambs cannot 

 get upon the hay with their feet (lambs delight in climbing into 

 racks). Give the lambs choice bits of alfalfa or clover hay. 

 They will soon learn to eat silage. 



When to Sell Lambs 



A fat lamb at weaning time (lambs should be weaned when 

 four months old) , will usually bring as much as it will two months 

 later and often as much as it will bring after being fattened in 

 the winter. It is the practice on many farms to sell the lambs 

 right off the ewes ; others keep the lambs to fatten and sell during 

 the winter; others do not sell the lambs until they are one year 

 old, thus getting one fleece from them. Shearing is advisable 

 with the fine wools as they produce heavier fleeces and do not 

 mature quite so rapidly as the mutton breeds. 



Keep Best Ewe Lambs 



Keep a few of the best ewe lambs each year and discard a few 

 of the older and less useful ewes. 



Summer Feed 



When lambs are to be sold at weaning time it is usually profitable 

 to feed them grain until they are sold. This can be done by 

 building a pen or creep in the pasture in which to feed them. 



If the pasture is good and the lambs are fed grain liberally, 

 feeding the ewes grain can be discontinued when the lambs are 

 two months old. 



Lambs grown for feeders, to be fattened during the winter 

 need not be fed as much grain during the summer, as lambs that 

 are to be sold at weaning time. 



