MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 185 



Some breeders of pure-bred stock want their lambs to come as early 

 as it is possible to get them, others do not want them to come before 

 there is an assurance of grass for the lambs, and the western ranch- 

 man does not wish his to lamb much before grass is somewhat 

 plentiful and danger of winter or early spring storms is over. The 

 breeding ewes must be kept in vigorous condition during the 

 coupling season. This insures vigorous lambs and brings "luck/' 

 which generally follows good care, and insures an even lambing. 

 As the breeding season approaches, the ewes should be given a 

 little grain. About one-half -pound of oats per head daily is very 

 good. If ewes are brought into a uniformly good condition they 

 will lamb more uniformly. 



BARREN EWES. 



In regard to "turned" or barren ewes a prominent English 

 shepherd says: "In fine weather they will be seen jumping and 

 playing about ; also when they are called up at feeding time it will 

 be noticed that those not in lamb are the first to come up, but those 

 in lamb come up much slower. They are less bulky in the region 

 of the abdomen than those in lamb. Any dirt about the tail is 

 often a sign of barrenness. Another test is to turn the ewe up, 

 and if she is barren she will show no increase in size in the udder, 

 and will have a considerable amount of yellow, waxy excrefion on 

 the skin around the udder, and the wool near the udder is generally 

 of stronger growth and more firmly attached than that of an in- 

 lamb ewe." 



CARE OF THE EWE. 



The size and quality of the lamb crop depends a good deal on 

 the care the ewes get. It is impossible for a half-starved ewe to 

 properly nourish her offspring. Provision should be made for the 

 heavy drain on her system. It is not a wise policy to nurse a 

 feeble ewe through the winter while a young one will winter at 

 less cost and care. Breeding ewes should be fed grain daily, but not 

 enough to make them unduly fat. They should be kept in good 

 condition but not loaded with fat. The middle-aged ewe is the 

 one to look to for the best lambs. There is a difference between 

 high feeding, poor feeding, and sensible feeding. Naturally the 

 shepherd likes to have his ewe flock in as fine a condition as possi- 

 ble, but his ambition in this direction is not always properly ap- 

 plied. Troubles of an inflammatory nature at lambing time are 

 more prevalent with the highly-conditioned ewe than with that in 

 ordinary condition. It is a great mistake not to feed grain through 

 the winter and then "pile it on" as soon as the ewe has yeaned. 

 Insufficient exercise and too much grain are bad for the ewe, 

 therefore, the flock should have abundant gentle exercise to 

 insure a strong, healthy offspring. Gentle exercise never caused 



