154 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



on both sides of it, the breeding ewes are commonly kept 

 on one side and the rams and sale sheep on the other side. 

 The apartment in which those rams are kept in winter 

 should open into a yard, and this into a paddock. No 

 surer method could be taken of destroying the breeding 

 powers in rams than to deny them exercise for periods 

 at all prolonged. Usually the number of the rams thus 

 kept together is limited. Because of this, it may be more 

 convenient to keep the rams of different ages all in one 

 pen. This is allowable when the food is moderate in 

 character, but the aim should be to keep ram lambs sepa- 

 rate from the older ewes, as they need a more forcing diet 

 to give them completed growth. 



During the period of active service, the rams have 

 probably been fed a liberal grain ration to sustain them 

 at a time when the drain upon their system is severe. 

 When the season for service is over, there should be a 

 gradual reduction in the grain fed, and probably a mod- 

 ification in the kinds fed. During the winter stock rams 

 should be kept in a good condition of thrift without ex- 

 cessive fatness. No kind of food will tend to keep them 

 in this condition better than field roots, but in the case 

 of rams mangels should not be fed, lest trouble should 

 result from the lack of free urination. The same kinds of 

 grain as were given as suitable for ram lambs (see page 

 113) will also be found suitable for stock rams. The 

 amount to feed should be regulated by the condition of 

 the rams, and it should be kept as low as will be rea- 

 sonably consistent on economical grounds and to avoid 

 overtaxing the machinery of digestion in the rams. 



Should the stock rams be allowed to run with the 

 breeding ewes in winter, they are less restful than when 

 kept alone. The danger is present, at least to some ex- 

 tent, that they may injure the pregnant ewes. Nor is 

 the food that is suitable for the ewes always suitable for 

 the stock rams. 



Sale rams in summer As the rams held for sale as 



