THE PRODUCTION OF " HOTHOUSE " LAMBS 243 



Percentage from each breed marketed as hothouse lambs out of total number 



born 



it of the total number of lambs born from the ewes of the different 

 ids, 93.3 per cent of those born from the grade Dorsets were marketed 



hothouse lambs; 81 per cent from the Delaines; 76.9 per cent from the 

 Rambouillets ; 76.2 per cent from the grade Cheviots; 70.8 per cent from 

 the pure-bred Dorsets; 69.2 per cent from the Cotswolds; 66.6 per cent 

 from the Hampshires; 59.6 per cent from the grade Shropshires; 59 per 

 cent from the grade Southdowns; 55.8 per cent from pure-bred South- 

 downs; 50 per cent from the pure-bred Shropshires; and 46.9 per cent 

 from the pure-bred Cheviots (Table 3). 



Again, taking both pure-breds and grades of each breed into considera- 

 tion, the breeds would stand in the following order: Dorsets, Delaines, 

 Rambouillets, Cotswolds, Hampshires, Cheviots, Southdowns, and Shrop- 

 shires. 



The data for weight at birth, weight at slaughter, total gain, number of 

 days growth, gain per day, selling price, and highest price at the time 

 each lamb was sold, have all been averaged and are interesting to study; 

 but the individual variations are so great that no conclusions can be drawn 

 as to the comparative value of the different breeds. 



From the above studies the conclusion is clear that the best results 

 in hothouse-lamb production would be with the Horned Dorset, the 

 Delaine, and the Rambouillet breeds, mainly because of their early 

 breeding habits and from the fact that the ewes of these breeds are 

 excellent mothers. 



Records of some individual ewes 



Some of the ewes in the flock have made exceptional records. These 

 records are reviewed to show what is possible with some ewes. 



A grade Dorset ewe, No. 98 (Tables 3 and 4), has the best record. She 

 produced ten lambs in eight seasons. All of these lambs were raised 

 early enough to be marketed on the hothouse-lamb market, where they 

 brought a total of $94. If they had sold at the highest quoted price for 

 the weeks in which they were sold, they would have brought $86. This 

 denotes that the offspring of this ewe sold well above the quotation. The 

 records show that this ewe raised every lamb born from her, and produced 

 milk enough to keep the lambs gaining an average of .56 pound each per 

 day. 



A pure-bred Dorset ewe, No. 607 (Tables 3 and 4), produced nine lambs 

 in five years and raised eight of them early enough to be marketed as 

 hothouse lambs. They sold a little below the highest quoted price, 



