132 SHEEP FARMING IN AMERICA 







feeding, excessive feeding or sudden changes in the 

 amount of feed given. Therefore make no sudden 

 changes and least of all never make a large addition 

 of grain to her daily ration. In England ewes sel- 

 dom taste grain at all, but eat instead grass, hay and 

 roots, mainly swede turnips. Here, where roots are 

 not so easily grown and fed (excepting in Canada 

 and northern America), more reliance is put upon 

 grain, and with care in feeding it may take the place 

 very well. 



A sensible treatment of the ewe that lambs in 

 winter is to keep her mostly on clover or alfalfa 

 hay until after the- lamb comes. There will be no 

 need to limit the amount of hay that she consumes 

 after lambing and then when her lamb takes all her 

 milk and wishes more, begin feeding her a little 

 wheat bran. "For a week bran will suffice, gradu- 

 ally increasing the amount fed, then there may be 

 added to it a little chopped corn or barley and a 

 little later some oilmeal. A pound a day of this 

 mixture will keep her in good milk flow and it must 

 be gradually led up to for about ten days. 



About the right, proportions of the mixture are 

 100 pounds of wheat bran, 100 pounds of chopped 

 corn and 20 pounds of oilmeal. This with clover or 

 alfalfa hay will push her to a very heavy milk flow. 

 If she is a large ewe she may consume more than a 

 pound to advantage, as much as two pounds being 

 consumed by some large Dorset ewes belonging to 

 the writer. 



If this feed is so gradually introduced to the ewe 



