Jan., 1911] 



FEEDING SHEEP AND LAMBS. 



15 



Lot I. — Fed Dry Rations 



TURNIPS VERSUS DRY RATION. 



Outline of Experiment. 



Ten ewe lambs were selected and divided into two lots, con- 

 taining two Shropshires, two Dorsets and one Hampshire in 

 each lot. One lot (lot I) was fed grain and clover hay; the other 

 (lot II), grain, clover hay and turnips. The amount of grain 

 and clover hay given to lot II was reduced to correspond in 

 cost of ration to that of lot I. In amounts of digestible nutrients 

 there was little difference between the two rations. However, 

 the ration of lot I (without turnips) possessed a slight advantage 

 in this respect. 



Each lamb in lot I was given per day a ration consisting of 

 1 pound of grain (oats, bran and corn in equal parts by weight) 

 and 2 pounds of clover hay; lot II, ^ of a pound of the same 

 grain mixture, 1 34 pounds of clover hay and 5 pounds of turnips. 

 The daily cost of each ration amounted to 3 Yi cents a day, 

 and the cost for the entire feeding period of 98 days, approxi- 

 mately $3.50. 



WEIGHTS AND GAINS OF LAMBS. 



The lambs of both lots possessed at the beginning of the 

 experiment fairly uniform weights. They had previously been 

 fed together on the same rations. Fortnightly records of their 

 weights had been kept, and it was impossible to distinguish any 

 material difference in their rates of increase. Consequently, 

 the feeding trial may be considered a fair test of the value of 

 turnips in a winter ration. 



