CARE OP THE EWE AND YOUNG LAMB 161 



scorching the body. The writer has thus operated 

 on a six-year-old ram and had him get up and go to 

 eating hay quite unconcerned. It is probable that 

 the hot iron destroys the sensibility to pain to quite 

 an extent. 



CASTRATION OF LAMBS. 



Castration of young lambs is a very simple 

 process. The lambs should be two weeks old and 

 strong. The end of the scrotum is cut off, the tes- 

 ticles made to emerge and are then pulled out with 

 the adhering cords. Some shepherds practice seiz- 

 ing them with their teeth ; this is a common practice 

 on many western ranches. It is not usually neces- 

 sary to apply anything in case of these young lambs, 

 but a mixture of lard and turpentine, or tallow and 

 turpentine, combined in proportion so as to be soft 

 will deter germs and make healing more rapid. 

 There should not be a loss from docking and castra- 

 tion of more than one lamb in 500, and it is satis- 

 faction to have both done so that whatever age the 

 lambs may reach they will not in marketing suffer 

 a "dock" because of their "bucky" condition. 



WEANING. 



As a rule it is not necessary to wean lambs before 

 they go to market. If they are fed right they will 

 while sucking their mothers reach a weight of 75 to 

 85 pounds if of mutton breeds. There is nothing 

 better than mothers' milk except more mothers' 

 milk ! Lambs that are to remain on the farm, how- 

 ever, should be separated from the ewes when ten 



