46 SHEEP FEEDING 



so large a band it is hardly probable that half were culls, 

 as the weights might indicate; in fact they were not. 



3. When buying, ship from the market in double decks, 

 and if the rates are as satisfactory ship back in singles. 

 This gives opportunity to market half the sheep as soon 

 as fat, and there is quite a little difference in the rapidity 

 with which those that remain fatten. The first ones are fre- 

 quently ready from thirty to forty-five days before the last, 

 and as the number is reduced at home those that remain do 

 very much better. In reference to marketing fat sheep one 

 large feeder said : " It is impossible for a feeder to buy, for 

 instance, a thousand head of sheep, put them on feed at the 

 same time, and then sell the thousand head in one shipment 

 and make money on them. The reason for this is because 

 some sheep fatten twice and three times as quickly as 

 others, and when some of them get fat they should be 

 sold regardless of the others. Sheep cannot be profitably 

 held after they are fat." 



4. The sheep should receive all the salt they want, but 

 increases must be given gradually, for in some cases it 

 acts as a laxative. 



5. An abundance of pure water should be supplied 

 in such a way that the sheep can reach it without getting 

 into the mud, and if furnished in a trough it should be so 

 arranged that it will be impossible for them to get into it. 



6. Dogs are frequently very bothersome, the damage 

 done in frightening and making the sheep restless often 

 being greater than in the number killed. By having a 

 number of good big bells on some of the sheep, dogs are 

 sometimes kept away, as they seem to prefer to commit 

 their depredations on the quiet, and an unusual clatter of 

 bells will attract the attention of those about the farm. 



