180 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



south is sufficient shelter for sheep. What they do need, how- 

 ever, is a dry place and protection from cold winds. 



OTHER CHARACTERISTICS 



Dual-purpose Nature. — Sheep in a sense are dual-purpose 

 animals. They yield annually lambs and wool. A good 

 average farm flock ought to shear about 10 pounds of wool per 

 head which at 20 cents a pound is $2 for wool. Ewes very often 

 drop twins and sometimes triplets. An average of 1}4, lambs 

 for each ewe can be raised without very much difficulty. At 

 the rate of S4 or $5 a head for lambs, an income of $8 a ewe 

 is easily possible. 



Hothouse Lambs. — Most breeds of sheep breed only in the 

 fall. Their period of gestation is five months, hence the lambs 

 are dropped in the spring. Early spring lambs and fall lambs 

 that are well fed and prepared for the holiday and early spring 

 markets are called hothouse lambs. These can be sold in the 

 larger cities at a comparatively high price. Such lambs may 

 attain one-third the weight of the mature sheep and sell for 

 from two to four times the price per pound of mature sheep. 

 This is a very profitable side line in sheep husbandry for those 

 who are in a position to handle it. 



Care of Sheep. — The droppings of sheep are comparatively 

 dry and hard. This makes it necessary to clean out the sheep 

 shed only once or twice a year. The manure may then bo 

 loaded on the wagon or manure spreader and hauled to th(^ 

 field. On account of the nature of, the droppings also very 

 little bedding is needed. Sometimes enough stubble is left 

 from the hay that is fed to answer this purpose. 



Sheep need water at all times but are very economical 

 in its use. They need much less relatively than the other 

 farm animals. This makes the work of feeding and caring for 

 sheep very light. This, together with the fact that sheep 

 are ruminants and can use a large proportion of roughages, 

 and that they do not need expensive shelter, make sheep among 

 the most profitable of all farm livestock. To succeed with 

 sheep, however, one must be adapted to the work and must 

 have a fondness for the animals, which must be handled with 

 care and kindness and the feeds should be clean, sweet and 



