CHAPTER XXXIII 

 GROWING THE LAMB 



Importance of Growth. In producing lambs for the market 

 an effort should be made to keep them growing rapidly until they 

 attain the weight desired. A lamb, that is strong and hearty at birth 

 begins to gain at once if it is properly fed, and it pays to feed it well 

 while it is very young, for at that time the cheapest growth can be 

 secured because the lamb is capable of making its highest rate of 

 gain for the amount of feed it consumes. If there are exceptions to 

 that part of the above statement which pertains to cost of growth, 

 they occur under circumstances when feed is abnormally high while 

 the lamb is young, and unusually cheap when it grows older. 



Methods of Feeding. There are two ways of feeding lambs: 

 First, indirectly through the ewes ; second, directly by giving them 

 feed such as grain and hay as soon as they are able to take it. Both 

 ways of feeding should be followed if the lambs are to be marketed 

 before they are five months old. 



Feeding the Ewe. 1 In order to do her best for her lamb the 

 ewe must have good feed in liberal quantities, because she is not only 

 producing milk, but she is also growing wool and maintaining her 

 own body. If possible her ration should be made up of several 

 feeds rather than of one, because variety stimulates the appetite 

 and assists in keeping the body in good thrift. She should have a 

 ration fairly rich in protein, for sheep's milk is rich in nitrogenous 

 substances and fat. Some succulent feed, such as roots, silage or 

 pasture, should be a part of the ration for the sake of the influence 

 on the amount of milk produced and also for the toning and regu- 

 lating effect these feeds have on the body. Too often American 

 flock-owners are disposed to overlook the importance of succulence 

 in the rations of nursing ewes. They rely too much on grain and 

 on fields whose plant growth early in the spring is of questionable 

 value; but now that silage is coming into more general use we 

 should be able to compound a better ration with respect to succulence. 



On beginning to feed after lambing, the concentrate part of the 

 ewe's ration should be light in nature and small in quantity. 



1 A good suckling ewe gives about 3 pounds of milk daily, 



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