nr. SHEEP AND LAMB CALENDAR 1045 



CHAPTER III. 



SHEEP AND LAMB CALENDAR. 



OCTOBER. 



IT is somewhat difficult to decide whether Dorset ewes can be said to 

 lamb extremely early or very late. So far as the time of year is 

 concerned they are late, but as the aim is to produce young fat lambs 

 before the other early breeds come in, they are more generally regarded 

 as the first of the early breeds : this is correct also because they are the 

 first ewes which come into season in the year. So it is safe to say they 

 commence the lambing year. With this exception the period of lamb- 

 ing of ewes varies with the different localities and their climatic con- 

 ditions, going on in what may be called an unbroken succession from 

 January until April, and even up to the middle of that month, which may 

 be regarded as the end of the lambing season of the latest, or upland, 

 hilly, or mountainous districts. As the Dorset lambs are required to 

 be well grown and fat by Christmas, they should be born this month, 

 and as there is generally a good supply of green food at this season 

 there should not be much difficulty in carrying them along. The ewes 

 should have a good allowance of linseed-cake at first, and this may 

 gradually be transferred to the lambs as they get strong enough to 

 digest it. Lambs, when three months old and receiving their mother's 

 milk, can digest and assimilate quite as much as, if not more than, when 

 they are six months old and receive no milk. It is best to give them 

 crushed corn in addition to cake, mixing coarsely crushed peas, oats, 

 or beans with it ; pea-husk is an excellent food for young lambs, and 

 nothing keeps them in a more healthy condition. 



Ewes go from 20 to 22 weeks with young, or about five months, so 

 the different breeds are put to the ram five months before the time 

 they are required to lamb, which varies according as the keep will 

 come in for them. Thus the Hampshire and Oxford Downs are put 

 to the ram at the end of July to produce lambs at Christmas, when the 

 lambs are intended for showing, or for fat lamb at Easter ; the rest 

 come in later and the tupping goes on through August and September, 

 so that the rams may be with the ewes as late as October to catch 

 those which missed the first time. Lambs which are to be brought up 

 on grass are not required before the young grass can be relied upon to 

 be in readiness for them when they are old enough to eat it. There- 

 fore, with the exception of lambs brought up on roots, the lambing 

 time is regulated by the time the grass shoots in spring. Hence, 

 October is a month when a very great number of ewes will have to 

 -take the ram, and they should then be in good condition, as this will 

 insure a heavier fall of lambs. It will be necessary to smear the rams 

 with a mixture of oil and raddle between the fore-legs, so that the 



