BULLETIN 



OF THK 



'hio Agricultural Experiment Station 



. "TT i . _ . 



<:R 187. NOVKMBKR, 1907. 



FATTENING RANGE LAMBS. 



BY B. E. CARMICHAEL. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The sheep industry of Ohio, with her more than 2,000,000 sheep, 

 one of the important branches of agriculture of the state. Indeed, 

 some sections the conditions seem better suited to sheep hus- 

 >andry than to any other kind of stock growing. Whether the 

 prime object of the flock owner is to produce wool or to produce 

 mutton, sooner or later a large number of the sheep or lambs are 

 fattened for market. 



According to the report of the Secretary of the State Board of 

 Agriculture, under date of August 1, 1907, there were, in April, 

 1907, 2,017,325 sheep in Ohio. It is not possible to state definitely 

 the number of these sheep that have been fattened for market, 

 or will be fattened during the year, but the number is large. 



The matter of selecting the ration for sheep that are to be fat- 

 tened is an important one and one upon which, to a marked degree, the 

 profits fromfeeding depend. The Departmentof AnimalHusbandry 

 of thisStationhas undertaken a series of experiments to compare var- 

 ious rations, and the results of the first two years' work show some- 

 thingof the importanceof using rations that have been carefully select- 

 ed. Since it has not been possible to deal with more than one phase of 

 the fattening of sheep, it seems best that lambs have been used, for, 

 as a usual thing, rations that will give good results with lambs should 

 be suitable for older sheep. While, perhaps, this cannot be said to 

 be true in all cases, yet a ration that is markedly extravagant for 

 lambs would probably not be economical for older sheep. It is 

 believed, then, that the results, as secured to date, while secured 

 from work with range lambs, will, in general, apply to native lambs 

 and to mature sheep as well. 



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