FEEDING AND CARE OF SHEEP 



329 



a desire for feed in addition to their dam's milk and will be found 

 nibbling at the feed trough beside their mothers. They should now 

 be provided with both grain and hay at one end or corner of the 

 barn which is fenced off by means of a "lamb creep" thru which only 

 the lambs can enter. This may be made of two lx6-inch boards, to 

 which are nailed lx4-inch vertical strips about 3 feet long, spaced 

 just far enough apart to allow 

 the lambs to pass thru but keep 

 the ewes back. Within this en- 

 closure there should be a low, 

 shallow trough with an ob- 

 struction lengthwise" over the 

 top to prevent the lambs from 

 jumping into it. In this tro-ugh 

 should be sprinkled a mixture 

 of such feeds as ground oats, 

 wheat bran, corn meal, and lin- 

 seed meal. Fine alfalfa or 

 second-crop clover hay is also 

 excellent for young lambs. 

 The feed should never be al- 

 lowed to grow stale. Fresh, 

 clean water should also be pro- 

 vided. 



The change tp pasture should 

 be gradual, the ewes and lambs 

 being turned on grass for only a few hours at first and then brought 

 back to shelter, where more feed awaits them. It is usually best to 

 feed the lambs concentrates in addition to pasture and the milk they 

 get from their dams. This may be provided by means of a "lamb- 

 creep" at some convenient point. 



At 4 to 5 months of age* the lambs should be weaned, for their own 

 good and also to give their mothers a rest before another breeding 

 season. If possible, advantage should be taken of a cool spell and 

 the lambs and their dams should be so separated that neither can hear 

 the bleating of the other. For a few daj^s the ewes should be kept 

 on short pasture or dry feed to reduce their milk flow, and atten- 

 tion must be given their udders. The lambs should be put on the 

 best pasture, such as clover or rape, and given a liberal supply of 

 grain. 



After weaning, lambs that are to be marketed early may profitably 

 be fed grain, but those to be fattened in winter and the ewe lambs to 

 be retained for the breeding flock need no grain when the grazing is 



Fig. 91. — Meal time for the lambs. 

 Notice the lamb creep separating the ewes 

 in the background from the lambs. (From 

 Kleinheinz, Sheep Management, Breeds, 

 and Judging.) 



