143 



HANDLING AND FEEDING THE LAMBS. 



As a rule, the farmer feeds the early lanib nothing in 

 addition to Us mother's milk and what little pasture it cam 

 secure during the winter months. It will pay to feed the 

 lambs though, and to feed them well. Any animal makes 

 its cheapest gains when young. If it has a good pasture of 

 oats and vetch to run upon it will eat but little grain in 

 addition. But it will eat some corn and should have it, 

 because this early lamb, to derive the greatest profit upon 

 him, and at the same time lessen the risk of summer dis- 

 ease, should be pushed to an early market. The first lambs 

 were dropped January the 8th. This was late, which fact 

 gave greater cause for pushing them to an early market. 

 From the sixteen ewes fourteen lambs were raised to a 

 marketable age. Two of the ewes were too young to breed 

 at this time. As soon as the lamb was born he was placed 

 in a third lot with his mother. In the fence of this lot was 

 a small hole which permitted the lambs to creep through and 

 make use of the pasture of oats and vetch. The pasture, 

 which had been fall planted, was ready for grazing by tne 

 time they could use it. As stated above, it would have 

 been better and cheaper if the mothers had been allowed 

 the run of this pasture also, but they were kept off for 

 reasons heretofore mentioned. A small pen was also cut 

 off in the corner of the lot where the mothers were kept and 

 a creep made into this pen largfe enough for the lambs to 

 go through. In this pen coarsely ground corn was kept 

 all the time in a small trough. The pasture and grain 

 should be given the lambs as soon as they are born and 

 they will begin to eat by the time they are ten days old. 

 The lambs did not eat much corn, but what they did eat 

 helped to put the finish on them at an earlier date, so that 

 they sold well upon the market. The 14 lambs at? but 6.6 

 bushels of corn during the whole winter and early spring. 

 80 the lambs had all of the corn, milk and green pastures 

 that they wanted. With this combination of feed they, of 

 oonrse. did well. 



