SHEEP. 1021 



If lambs are from young ewes or are behindhand for any 

 other reason the bran ration should be given at weaning and 

 slowly increased until they have all they will eat twice a day, 

 else there is great danger that the weaker ones will not survive 

 the winter. A weak lamb in the fall is a wretchedly poor piece 

 of property. By the first of October they should be housed at 

 night and not let out until the frost is off in the morning. A 

 sprinkle of very green, fine hay should be strewn along the 

 boxes, and they will soon learn to eat it up clean before they 

 go afield. 



The care of lambs in winter is a matter of the first 

 importance, and should be managed by the owner himself. A 

 little oats ought to be added to the bran as the grass gets 

 shorter, and presently corn. By Christmas one hundred Merino 

 lambs need daily a half bushel of feed composed of equal parts 

 of bran, oats, and corn. The three feed-stuffs are here men- 

 tioned in the order of their preference ; but, in default of the 

 first two, I have wintered lambs very well on shelled corn, 

 three or four gallons a day, to one hundred, varying a little 

 according to the weather. Grain is best given twice a day, but 

 should not be offered (to lambs) the first thing in the morning. 

 They are more sluggish at rising than older sheep, and several 

 the neediest ones would lose most of their ration if given in 

 the morning. It is very poor economy to crowd them at the 

 troughs ; let these be ample in number, flat-bottomed by all 

 means, and ranged around the side of the yard to keep the lambs 

 from jumping into and fouling them. 



Pure water at least every other day, three or four hours* 

 exercise every day, and constant access to salt will not be denied 

 by the wise flock-master. The shed is best left open on one or 

 two sides, except in heavy storms. 



As with ewes, the operation of letting down the flock from 

 hay to grass needs judicious management. The greenest, finest 

 hay should be reserved for the capricious appetite of spring. 

 The best resource is an old stiff sod of such small compass that 

 they will keep it depastured close until it is time to turn wholly 

 on grass. At all seasons of the year when flocks are housed at 



