SHEEP FEEDING. 11J 



SECOND PART OF EXPERIMENT WITH LOCOED SHEEP. 



Considering, next, the continuation of the experiment with 

 locoed sheep; as noted above they were not ready for the market 

 and were thus fed for 58 days longer. They received practically 

 the same amount of feed as for the second period of the first part 

 of the test, though the hay during this time was not weighed. Dur- 

 ing this period of 58 days it required 6.37 pounds of hay, 3.64 pounds 

 of grain and 2.75 pounds of roots for each pound of gain. Each 

 }:ound of gain cost 5.7 cents, which was practically the same as for 

 the first 65 days of the test. For the 123 days, during which these 

 sheep were fed, it required 5.92 pounds of hay, 3.40 pounds of grain 

 and 2.55 pounds of roots to produce each pound of gain put upon 

 the sheep. The average cost of this gain was practically the same 

 as for the previous part of the test. 



The results which \\ere obtained with these "locoed" sheep were 

 a surprise to the writer, as they probably will be to many other feed- 

 ers, and the question arises, why this difference in the experience 

 noted?" I will not enter into any discussion as to what is the 

 cause of "loco" in sheep as this matter will be fully discussed by Prof. 

 Chesnut in a bulletin soon to be issued. It has been noted above, 

 however, that practically all of those "locoed" sheep were more or 

 less affected with internal parasites, and even if there were no other 

 cause, these parasites, together with hard fare on the range, and es- 

 pecially so with lambs, would give us a starved and very thm animal. 

 Even on very good feed I have known animals to pine and die when 

 affected with internal parasites of various.kinds. How much worse 

 the condition of those animals with the range feed as it frequently 

 is? Attention has been called to the fact that these sheep were 

 treated with vermifuges. These, of necessity, have to be strong medi- 

 ans, and, as was stated before, the "locoed" sheep were very week. 

 Some of them died the first night after they reached the farm from 

 exhaustion and others died a few days later before being treated 

 with vermifuges. A few others died after this treatment. Of the 

 A2. head obtained but 29 survived to the end of the test, though nearly 

 half of those lost were killed for post-mortem examinations. It is 

 probable, however, that the treatment with vermifuges may have en- 



