WESTERN LAMB FEEDING 287 



fed up on alfalfa until they are strong again, we are 

 ready to introduce them to grain feeding. It is a 

 good practice to turn them out of doors while we put 

 in feed for them, leaving them out until the racks 

 are all filled. If oats are plentiful and cheap enough 

 we can give the first grain food of oats, mixed with 

 bran. There is nothing better than this. Scatter 

 the grain very thinly along the bottoms of the racks, 

 having first cleaned them out well. A quart to a 

 rack will be an abundance, less will be better. 



After the grain put in the hay loosely. Be careful 

 with nice bright early-cut clover and alfalfa not to 

 feed too much ; they will waste it. They may as well 

 eat it up almost clean. 



Let the lambs come in. Throw open several wide 

 doors at one time so that they will not crowd. Little 

 by little they will learn the taste of the grain. Do 

 not increase the amount fed until you feel certain 

 that most of them are seeking it. Then let your in- 

 crease be very gradual. 



Corn, in the cornbelt, must be the main part of 

 the fattening ration. Now to introduce that. Take 

 ear corn, if it is at hand, and chop the ears up with 

 a hatchet into nubbins about an inch long. Strew 

 a few of these nubbins in each rack. Next feeding 

 time strew in a few more. Increase very, very slow- 

 ly as they learn to eat the corn, till you are giving 

 them several ears to a rack. Cut the bits longer and 

 longer, till at last you are merely making two pieces 

 of an ear. Finally stop breaking ears at all, and 

 feed them whole. 



