74 SHEEP FEEDING- 



well be spared to get perfect ventilation in a sheep barn, as 

 it is absolutely essential to success. 



Effect of shearing. Nearly all the sheep that go to feed 

 yards in late winter or early spring are sheared before being 

 returned. It is a well-known fact among shepherds that 

 much more rapid gains can be made on sheep after they are 

 sheared than before. Sheep that have previously been doing 

 poorly will frequently take on a new start and gain most 

 excellently after their wool is clipped. The men who do 

 early-spring feeding seldom have very much margin on 

 their sheep, but, on account of their rapid gains and, in 

 many cases, heavy clip of wool, it is not necessary. 



The difference in price between shorn and unshorn sheep 

 varies from fifty cents to one dollar, depending in most cases 

 on the price of wool and the season of the year. Unshorn 

 sheep during hot weather are not liked by the buyers, for 

 they claim the sweating of the sheep makes the mutton 

 soft. The profits from clipping very light shearers are some- 

 times questionable. If a feeder intends to feed from fall 

 until spring, he should handle the light-wooled classes in 

 the fall and the heavier-wooled ones in the spring. Some 

 years there is relatively a great difference between wooled 

 and clipped sheep, in favor of the clipped, and when such 

 conditions exist, the feeder should take advantage of it. 

 If it is impracticable to do the shearing at home, the sheep 

 may be billed to one of the feeding yards near the markets, 

 where they will be clipped and fed until the owner sees fit 

 to market them. It is generally advisable to hold sheep a 

 week or two after being clipped, in order that they may 

 take on a fill and their wool grow a little, which rounds out 

 their forms and gives them a more pleasing and symmetrical 

 appearance on the market. 



