6 FARMERS' BULLETIN 840. 



The cheapest and best feed for sheep is pasture such as described, 

 or sown forage crops of cereals, rape, etc. Frequent changes of 

 grazing ground are necessary to health and maximum thrift when 

 pastures do not offer a wide range. This calls for fencing to sub- 

 divide permanent pastures, or for tight fencing around large runs in 

 which they are to be kept. Movable fences may be largely used for 

 carrying sheep on smaller areas of forage crops. 



Grain feeding is seldom profitable when good grazing is to be had. 

 Under some conditions flocks can be kept in good condition and lambs 

 marketed without the use of any grain. One hundred pounds of 

 grain in a year for one ewe and her lambs is the maximum that is 

 likely to be used profitably under any conditions. The largest 

 quantity may be used with ewes dropping lambs before pasture is 

 ready and for the lambs at that time, but the feeding that is most 

 economical and most likely to keep the flock in good condition is that 

 which provides frequent changes of good pastures and grazing crops 

 and winter rations mainly of good leguminous hays, with some suc- 

 culent feeds, reserving what grain is to be used to feed in winter 

 and after the lambs are born. 



Silage or roots furnish cheap feed and are especially useful in 

 keeping ewes in good condition during the winter. Too free use of 

 roots for ewes in lamb is sometimes considered to increase the losses 

 of young lambs, and the exclusive use of silage as a roughage has 

 been shown to be unsafe, either for the ewes themselves or for the 

 lambs to be dropped. 1 



BUILDINGS AND FENCES. 



In any part of the United States the main essentials of sheep 

 barns are dryness and freedom from drafts. Unless lambs are to 

 be dropped in cold weather, no expense to provide warmth is neces- 

 sary, as the buildings should seldom be closed. Protection from 

 winter rains and heavy snowfalls is desirable, but the best results 

 may be expected when ewes are allowed access to a dry bed in the 

 open. 



Fences to hold sheep should be of woven wire, boards, or rails. 

 Barbed or smooth wire can not be used satisfactorily, though a 36- 

 inch woven-wire fence at the ground with two or three strands of 

 wire is commonly used. 



The construction, planning, and cost of a variety of barns and sheds 

 for sheep and of dog-proof fences is discussed fully in Farmers' 

 Bulletin 810, " Equipment for Farm Sheep Raising." 



LABOR. 



The amount of labor required to keep a farm flock in the condition 

 necessary to insure maximum returns and lowest cost of production 



1 Pennsylvania Experiment Station Bulletin 144. 



