48 SHEEP FEEDING 



7. It is sometimes necessary to yard the sheep at night 

 on account of dogs. They should not -be yarded unless 

 it is absolutely necessary, but when kept up at night they 

 should be turned out as early as possible in the morning, 

 for at that time they do their best grazing. 



8. Sheep fattened entirely on a green feed sell equally 

 well on the market with grain-fed sheep, if equally fat when 

 sold. Shrinkage is a little greater with the sheep that are 

 fed green feeds. 



SYSTEM II. PASTURING DOWN A FORAGE CROP 



GROWN BY ITSELF 



A system not widely practiced in the Middle West. In 

 Colorado the pea-fed sheep are fattened on a crop grown 

 by itself, the crop used being Canada field peas. Cowpeas, 

 field peas, soy beans, and rape are the crops most commonly 

 grown for this system. Lambs are generally used, and the 

 feeding period is from sixty to a hundred and twenty days. 

 The same precautions as were mentioned in System I should 

 be observed in getting them onto feed. In fact, these pre- 

 cautions should always be taken, no matter what the feeding 

 system may be. Hurdles or temporary fencing which allows 

 the sheep to graze just a small portion each day are neces- 

 sary with this method. The rate of pasturing and gains 

 made may be based on those described in System I, but 

 ordinarily more sheep per acre can be fattened and the 

 gains are a little more satisfactory. Some of the reasons 

 why Middle West farmers do not follow this method more 

 extensively are because the weather conditions are apt to 

 be wet and muddy during the feeding period, and the crop, 

 cowpeas, that is best adapted to the system can be more 

 profitably grown in the corn. 



