202 OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 270 



intervals during- the summer the ewes which were proved to be with 

 lamb were removed from the flock, after which they received no 

 feed, other than bluegrass pasture, until the lambs began to come in 

 the fall. 



EXPERIMENT I 

 OBJECT 



The object of this experiment was to compare the efficiency, as 

 measured by the rate and economy of gains produced by the lambs, 

 of a ration composed of corn, oats, bran, oilmeal, alfalfa and silage, 

 with one composed of corn, oilmeal, alfalfa and silage, for ewes 

 raising hothouse lambs. 



PLAN OF EXPERIMENT 



Two lots, 12 ewes and 12 lambs in each lot, were used in this 

 experiment, which lasted from December 19, 1912, to February 18, 

 1913, inclusive, a period of 62 days. On February 5, five lambs 

 from Lot I and three lambs from L/ot 2 were slaughtered and their 

 dams removed from the experiment. On February 12, sufficient 

 lambs of similar breeding and slightly younger, together with their 

 dams, were added to bring the number of ewes and lambs in each 

 lot back to twelve, as at the beginning. After February 18, lambs 

 were slaughtered from both lots at frequent intervals and other 

 lambs and ewes were added to take their places. It is doubtful if 

 the ewes and lambs thus adde,d were in the experiment long enough 

 for the different rations fed to have much influence on either the 

 rate or economy of g-ains. For this reason no account is taken of 

 the results of the experiment after February 18, although it was 

 continued until March 17, when the last lambs were slaughtered. 



Animals usexi: A description of the ewes and lambs used is 

 given on Page 201. The 24 ewes included in this experiment were 

 the oiies which lambed first. (For date of birth of lambs, see 

 p. 217). In this, as in all other experiments reported in this 

 bulletin, the two lots were made as nearly alike as possible with 

 respect to age, weight, conformation and breeding. 



Rations: The rations fed to the ewes were as follows: 



Lot 1 -Corn, 4 parts; oilmeal, 1 part; alfalfa and silag-e. 



Lot 2. Corn, 5 parts; oats, 2 parts; bran, 2 parts; oilmeal, 1 

 part; alfalfa and silage. 



The lambs in both lots were fed the same ration, corn and 

 alfalfa. The lambs were fed apart from the ewes. 



The different grains were so proportioned that the grain rations 

 fed to each lot of ewes had approximately the same nutritive ratio. 

 It was planned to feed the same amount of grain per head to the 



