FEED BACKS. 



59 



as part of the hay is eaten, the rest falls down to the front where 

 the sheep can reach it. The end of the rack should be closed with 

 bars in the same way as the front, so that young lambs cannot 

 creep in and get lost. For want of this precaution a fine lively 

 young lamb will sometimes get into a tight place, where it may 

 become chilled and die. This rack may be made of any length, 

 and should ex- 

 tend all round the 

 shed in order to 

 give the greatest 

 possible extent 

 of feeding room. 

 The form of this 

 rack prevents the 

 sheep from 

 thrusting their 

 heads between 

 the bars and 

 wearing the wool 

 from their necks, 

 or from stran- 

 gling themselves 

 by getting their 

 heads fast be- 

 tween the bars, which they will do with many of the racks in 

 common use, of -which the bars are frequently too far apart. 



For feeding cut or pulped roots, or fine feed, such as bran-meal 

 or grain, a rack made on the plan of that shown at figure 8 on 

 page 31, will be useful. The rack there figured is a portable one 

 intended for use in the field or yard, but a fixed rack similar to it 

 may be made in the shed if desired. The bars placed over the 

 rack prevent the stronger sheep from crowding the weaker ones 

 from their feed, and getting more than their share, and also pre- 

 vent the more active ones from leaping into the trough in their 

 eagerness to procure an undue portion of food. 



The variety of foods suitable for the winter feeding is extensive. 

 Hay, straw, pea and bean haulm, corn-fodder, roots of various 

 kinds, corn, oats, peas, rye, buckwheat, cotton-seed and linseed 

 oil-cake-meal, and bran, furnish a variety of food from which a 

 proper choice can readily be made. The relative feeding values 

 of these various substances used as food, will determine their rela- 

 tive money values, and as these differ and fluctuate from time to 

 time, it is often necessary, to secure the most profit on the feeding, 



Fig. 27. FEED-BACK. 



