364 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



not such good travelers as the southern sheep, nor do they need to be, 

 for the Wyoming ranges will average much better than the New Mex- 

 ican. The lambs appear larger than the New Mexican, but will not 

 weigh quite so much. From 42 to 47 pounds is an average weight on 

 the 1st of December. They grow a little more rapidly when put on 

 feed than southern sheep, and will stand a little heavier feeding. In 

 May they will weigh in Chicago just about the same as the southern 

 lambs, yet, if equal bunches were put on the market together, the 

 southern would more rapidly find a purchaser. The ewes, yearling 

 wethers, and older wethers of the Merino are heavier than those of 

 the southern sheep. Yearling wethers the first of December should 

 weigh from 80 to 90 pounds; old wethers occasionally go over 100 

 pounds. They fatten more quickly than the lambs much more 

 quickly than the southern lambs. Four months' feeding is always 

 sufficient, and many bunches will be ready for market after three 

 months. They should weigh in Chicago from 115 to 125 pounds. 

 (Agr. Dept. F. B. 96.) 



In selecting lambs for winter feeding, their age and size are 

 not of as much importance as that the lambs be thrifty and grow- 

 ing. It is unsafe to buy stunted lambs, or those that are losing flesh, 

 unless they can be purchased early in the fall and allowed the run 

 of a good pasture for a month or more before the heavy feeding 

 commences. 



Buying Lambs. Profit in lamb feeding depends not a little on 

 the price paid for the lambs. They must be bought at from one- 

 half a cent to one cent per pound live weight below the probable 

 selling price if profit is to be expected on the venture. The begin- 

 ner had better buy by the pound, and if he cannot buy at about 

 the figures stated it would be safer to let the other fellow do the 

 feeding. 



Shelter. The general testimony is that sheep do not suffer seri- 

 ously from the cold if the weather is dry; and probably experience 

 bears out the conclusion. However, wet and stormy weather affect 

 them seriously. The person who plans to take up the work of feed- 

 ing lambs as a business should provide sheds under which the sheep 

 may find protection from the wet. These sheds need not be expen- 

 sive, yet they should be substantially built. 



Grading the Flock. If a large number of sheep and lambs are 

 to be fed it will pay to grade the flock, and feed according to the 

 condition of each bunch. Merino sheep generally feed well in large 

 flocks but the mutton types do better in comparatively small flocks. 

 (Utah B. 78.) 



Regular Feeding Essential. Regularity and uniformity in 

 feeding are of prime importance. Some of the most successful feed- 

 ers manage a large feeding establishment with absolute regularity 

 and precision. The system generally practiced consists in having a 

 feeding yard separate from the other quarters. One feeding yard 

 serves for five to ten lots of sheep ranging from three to five hundred 

 in number. The grain ration is placed in the troughs and the sheep 

 admitted and returned to their regular quarters in ten or fifteen min- 



