10. Individual preference. 



11. Market demand. 



12. Community interest and demand. 



Phases of Sheep Raising. 



There are several methods of raising sheep which are determined 

 by the judgment of the breeder, based on market conditions and the 

 suitability of a given locality to the production of sheep for a given 

 purpose. The phase that will be given special consideration in this 

 bulletin is the method generally employed by the average farmer pos- 

 sessing twenty-five to thirty breeding ewes. In this method, mating 

 occurs in September or October, the lambs being born in February and 

 March. These lambs will be ready for market by July 1, if grain is 

 fed. To this method the mutton breeds and smooth-bodied Merinos 

 arc adapted. The details of management, however, to which sheep 

 under this method are subjected would apply in a general way to all 

 other methods. Another method of sheep raising is the production of 

 early spring lambs weighing fifty to sixty pounds by the middle of 

 April. The mating season under this method would be during July 

 and August for lambs born during December and January. Breeds of 

 sheep that mate during warm weather should be selected. The Dor- 

 set, Tunis and smooth-bodied Merino are satisfactory for the produc- 

 tion of early lambs. Rams of the other mutton breeds are used as 

 crosses on Merino ewes for the production of early spring lambs. 



The production of winter lambs or "hothouse" lambs is a phase 

 of sheep raising carried on to some extent in Pennsylvania. In this 

 method the mating season begins in April and extends through the 

 months of May, June and July, the lambs being dropped from the first 

 of September until the middle of December. These lambs are raised for 

 , a special trade, which is to supply a fine product out of season. This 

 phase of sheep raising should be undertaken only after first-hand 



experience with sheep, and with a knowledge of market conditions. 



Phis method involves higher cost of equipment, more labor and the 

 feeding of more expensive grain feeds than any of the other methods. 

 The breeds suited to this production are the Dorset, Tunis, and 

 smooth-bodied Merino. The latter breed, in this case, should be cross- 

 ed with rams of either the Dorset, Southdown, Tunis, Shropshire, 

 Hampshire, Oxford or Cheviot breeds. When crosses are made on 

 the Merino breed the medium-sized mutton breeds are more desirable 

 than the larger and coarser breeds for early-maturing lambs. 



Another method of sheep raising is to utilize pasture land to the 

 i greatest extent, fattening the lambs on grass. The lambs that are in 



17 



