64 SHEEP FEEDING 



lanes of temporary fencing, so that it will not be difficult to 

 drive in and out with hay and manure. Water is supplied 

 for two yards at a single trough, so constructed and protected 

 that the sheep cannot get into it or in any way foul the water. 

 It is very important that these troughs be kept sweet and 

 clean. A box for salt is kept near the watering trough. 



Arrangement of the feeding yard. The feeding yard is so 

 arranged that one man can do the feeding and keep busy, 

 for he can prepare the feed for one lot while another is 

 eating. As outlined here, three hundred sheep eat at a time, 

 provided fourteen sixteen-foot feeding bunks are used. This 

 gives about sixteen inches of trough room for each sheep, 

 while twelve are generally considered sufficient. Plans for 

 building the troughs appear on page 62. The illustration 

 on page 63 shows the troughs built and ready for use. From 

 every standpoint this style of feeding bunk is the most 

 satisfactory that the writer has ever seen. It contains the 

 following essential points : it is hard to tip over ; it has a 

 broad, flat bottom which prevents the sheep from getting 

 too large mouthfuls and eating too fast ; sheep will not put 

 their feet in it or stand in it; they cannot jump over it; 

 they can eat from both sides ; it is durable, light, convenient 

 to handle, and cheap and easy to construct. 



Self feeders. Corn cannot be successfully fed from self 

 feeders unless mixed with something to lighten it, as screen- 

 ings, cob, bran, or cut hay. Some of the largest feeding 

 plants in the country use nothing but self feeders, but they 

 are so constructed that it is necessary for a man to rake 

 the feed down two or three times a day, and corn straight 

 is never fed from them. 



Increases in feed. Sheep that are to be yard- or barn-fed 

 do not have to be started on pasture ; in fact, it is generally 



