l^ A 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



FED. a, 1^43, 



3^^ 



FATTENING SHEEP. | Co8t of feed brought over, $158 11 



'Hjc Ijcsi age for eelectinij wellxira to fiitten, is SaJes of above sheep, (U at $4 each, and 5i 



at $4 OJJ eacli — advunco on 114, 



175 16 



'from tl jree to five years old. They must be fed 

 with I jje utmost regiilarily and exactness; slrang- 

 ■ era n just not be suffered to go ainong them ; and 

 t'le p-eatcst pains must be taken not to disturb or 

 •'o tm them. If folded, fifty are as many as should 



cv -jer be put in one enclosure, and a less number a„)on,r thernl and the sa'le affected by a large ' '"*'"'^'"^'' '" ''''^ '"'"••'^ ^"'' they arc in the habS 

 ■ oould be bettor. There should be a shed under , „u„,|,er in the market on the day they were offere^d. I °^ sending annually many very fut shopp to Brighf* 

 ^vhich they may take shelter at their pleasure, and , jj^^ ^i^^^ 1^^^!^ ^^..^.^j ^ ^^^^^^^^ earlier, Ihey would 1 o" mnrkot. The ordinary commissiona chargi 

 •whore they may always find a dry bed ; and their | (^^^.^ broii<rhl as much as at the time they were ! ^°' driving fat sheep from Connecticut river to B( 



These are the most exict experiments which) 



have cnme within my knowled;,"' in regard to tHtfl 



fatting of wethers. The resnlt is in n degree sabV^ 



jeot to the same caprices and fluc:iiation8 as tWr 



Net balance in favor orf the sheep, $17 05 j fatting of beef: but in general, imder good moi 



N. B— It was noted that the thrift of the above ' agement, it affords a compensatory return. TM 



sheep was injured by the prevalence of the foot-rot | to*"" "f Shelburne and Conway, arc particularl' 



yards, likewise, should be always abundantly lit 

 tered, because if suffered or compelled to stand in 

 wet yards, where there exists a predisposition, tliey 

 are liable to become infected with the foot-rut, a 

 jnost troublesome disorder, and fatal to all thrift, scp- 

 erate from its infectious character, which will cause 

 it to diffuse itself rapidly through a large flock. 

 Their feeding troughs likewise, and mangers, should 

 Be kepi thoroughly clean, and their yards well sup- 

 plied with pure water. In selecting slieop for stall 

 fieeding, the fine-wooled kinds often make up for 

 want of size in the superior value of the fleece. 



This matter is of so much importance to the far- 

 mers in the interior, that I shall go more at large in- 

 to it, and illustrate it by some actual experiments, 

 of which I have received an authentic account. 

 ]. I'iXperiment in stall-feeding sheep. 

 Forty wether sheep from 2 to 3 years old. Cost 

 f!],'J'J each. Put up 1st December ; sold 5th March, 

 at S4 per head in the yard. 

 Feed. 

 From 1 Deo. to 15 Dec. 1 gill of corn per 



day, 600 gills. 



" 15 Dec. to 21) Dec. 2 gills « " 1120 ' 

 " 20 " to 14 Feb. 3 " " » 5640 ' 



sold. Ill regard to circumstances of this nature, I '""-"" '"''""i '"•<'"'>'''ve cents to thirlythree co: 

 no certain calculations can be made ; but they il- I each ; hfly cents are sometimes charged, whei 

 luslrate the caprices to which all such operations the sheep are remarkably valuable 

 are liable. ' ^^'" s"''J"'" some miscellaneous notes, whi 



I will serve to illustrate the general mode of ked| 

 3. E.xperiment in stall-feeding sheep. I ing sheep. 



180 wether sheep of superior size and condition D. I!, has sixty wother sheep in preparation 

 were put up to be stcll-fed on the 1st of December. ' market. He allows them as much hay as tl 



125 delivered on the 11th Feb. were sold at $5 

 per head. 



55 delivered on the ]8lh Feb., were sold at $5 

 25 per head. 



Cost of the above sheep: 



118 wother sheep at $2 50 pvr head, $2f>5 00 



2 " cosset sheep at .S3 per head, G CO 



CO " sheep at S3 OtJ 1-2 per head, 183 75 

 Commissions for purchase and driving, 25 cts. 



each, 45 CO 



Interest on $530 at 10 per cent including 



risks, 13 25 



Equal to 283-4 bush. 

 From 14 Feb. to 5 March, 1 bush, per 

 day, to 40 sheep, 10 



Total of corn, 47 3 4 bubh. 



Prom 1 Dec. to 10 iah. 3 bu. of tur- 

 nips per day, 123 



Trom 10 Jan. to 5 March, between 5 



and 6 bush., siy 5 1-2, 297 



Total of IWrnips, 420 bush. 

 Hay by estimation, 2000 lbs. at $10. 

 xCo.-n 47 3-4 bush, at ,50 cents, $24 00 



Turn ips, 420 " at 10 cents, 42 00 



Hay,2c''00 lbs. at $10, 10 00 



^03t of 4v? sheep at $1 92 each, 



$543 00 

 Produce consumed in fatting the above sheep: 



$51 DO 



519 bushels turnips at 10 cts. per bush. 

 151 " of corn at 75 CIS. per bush. 

 Hay at 2 1-2 lbs. per day each, 33,;i()-J lbs 

 Tons 10, 1,362 lbs. at $8 per 2000 lbs. 



will cat, and three pecks of corn and two bushel 

 of potatoes daily among the whole. He will 

 degrees, increase their feed. 



A. A. has seventy five fatting sheep, and havii 

 lately addi-d to their (ecih gives them five pecl 

 of corn per day, rind one bushel of potatoes, with 

 much hay as they will consume, feeding them fl' 

 times a day. He mentions the case of an excel! 

 flock of sheep, which were fatted upon corn, wil 

 liberty to go to a stock of pour meadow at thi 

 pleasure. To use his own expression, " the col 

 did the work." The quality of the hay docs 

 seem important. 



0. N., one of the best feeders in the count 

 has fiftyfive sheep in one yard. At d.iylight 

 gives them a feed of corn, dividing it so as to gi 

 the flocl; about one bushel and a pi'ck in thecou: 

 of the day ; after that, ii foddering of hny ; at nil 

 o'clock, another foddering of liay ; at twelve 

 clock, another feeding of corn, the sane as in 

 morning; after which, another feeding of hay; at 

 four o'clock, P. M., another feeding of hay and the 

 same measure of corn as before. He think* it 

 best to have them finish their eating by ni;;!]'. *■) 



I as not to be disturbed after durk; and that K.^y 



$72 IC relish their corn host at night. 



N. I), and G. D. liavo one hundred and 

 fatting sheep. Feed with corn and hay; bcgi 

 with one pint, and now average about one quart 

 corn per day. Their sheep are uncommonly fi: 

 T)io live weight of one, 180 lbs. 



1. N. has one hundred wetliors ; fifty of them 



1 13 25 

 J33 44 



$841 .59 

 913 75 



76 80 



$1.52 80 

 PtoceeJs of saLi « $4 nQh,5th March, 160 00 



$7 20 

 Manure consiu'ercd eouivalent to the attendance. 

 2. Experiment it.' 8tall-.'"ceding sheep. 

 Dec. 9lh. Put up to be stall-fed ,50 wether sheep, 

 " 17lh. 

 •' 16lh. " 



Cash received for above sheep, 



Net balance in favof of the sheep. 



Note. — The amount of hay charged as above, 

 was matter of estimate rather than of measurement. 

 Twenty of the above flock, put by themselves and 

 fed as fully as possible, consumed in three days, 

 150 lbs. ; and in the succeeding four days, 155 lbs. 

 or 305 lbs. in seven days=2 5-2S lbs. each per day. 

 On a previous trial of this kind of a flock of sheep \ ^ s»per'or character. To the one hundred, giv( 

 of a smaller average sixe, the consumption of hay ""^ bushel, honped measure, of oil meal per d" 



12 



114 at two and a 

 half dollars each, .$285. 



Feed consumed by them as follows: 

 Swedish turnips (rula baga,)S62 bu. at 10c. $86 20 

 English flat turnips, 125" .5c. 6 25 



Indian corn, 37 " 70c. 25 90 



Hay (rowcn'i 9942 lbs. at 40 cts. per 100 lbs. .39 7(1 



was equal to 1 48-100 each per day 



From a3,362 lbs. diduct I 5=26,690 lbs. 



cost $100 70. Now 133 44 100 76= 



26 08 cents, * ,$20 08 



Call the interest and risk 7 per cent, instead 



of 10 per cent. $13 25 9 27=3 98 3 98 



Estimate the turnips at 8 cents instead of 10 



cents ,$51 90 41 52=10 38 10 38 



Amo'int of difference in charges in favor 

 of sheep, 



Add former balance in their favor, 



Balance in favor of the sheep, $113 20 



1 good 

 whole. 



The above sheep, when put up, were 

 condition and of a large size token as 

 The price at wliich thi'y were sold was low com- 

 pared with many sales at the time. The native 



SI58 11 b'uoil predominated in llicm. 



with hay. His oil meal costs him twenty dolli 

 per ton, besides the expense of transportation two! 

 tyfive miles 



D. N. has sixty sheep. To the sixty gives half ( 

 bushel of oil lueal and half a bushel of corn p t 

 day. " 



G. S. has fiflyeight sheep. Corn and hay onlf 

 are allowed. Allows one and a half bushel ofculD 

 per day to the fiftycighl sheep. 

 I A. R. has three hundred sheep — in pensoftweU" 

 tyfive sheep in each. His aim is to induce \h$ 

 y "\ sheep, besides hay, to take one quart of corn caciv » 

 /■i 1() giygn ai three times a day. i 



T. R. has one hundred and twelve sheep. F<'cd» t 

 with corn and Iny. Fifty of them have one bush- t 

 el per day. The best and most forwnrd have onO i 

 quartcach. The live weight of om, 210 lbs. « 



G. D., on experienced feeder, is of opinion lh»l ~ 

 no advantage is gained by giving the sliuep iiicsl 

 instead of uiitjround corn. 



