10 FARMERS' BULLETIN 840. 



well if well cared for, but the yield is less than when ewes with 

 some mutton blood are used. The sheep from the range are less 

 often infested with internal parasite than are farm sheep, and in the 

 large shipments there is opportunity for closer selection. 



AGE OF EWES. 



Yearling or 2-year-old ewes are preferable to older stock. Ewes 

 with " broken mouths ' that is, those that have lost some of their 

 teeth as a result of age can be purchased cheaper than younger ones, 

 but are not good property for inexperienced sheep raisers. 



Until a sheep is 4 years old its age can usually be told within a few 

 months. The lambs have small, narrow teeth, known as milk teeth. 

 At about 12 months of age the two center incisors are replaced by 

 two large, broad, permanent teeth. At about 24 months two more 

 large teeth appear, one on each side of the other pair (see fig. 3) . An- 

 other pair appears at 3 years of age, and the last, or corner teeth, come 

 in at about the end of the fourth year, and the sheep then has a full 

 mouth. Heavy or light feeding has considerable effect upon the exact 

 time of appearance. After a* sheep becomes 4 years old the exact age 

 can only be estimated. As age advances, the adult teeth become 

 shorter and the distance between them increases. The normal num- 

 ber of teeth may be retained until 8 or 9 years of age, but more often 

 some are lost after the fifth year. 



In buying ewes, particularly those from the range, it is desirable, 

 when possible, to examine the udders to see that they are free from 

 lumps that would prevent the ewes from being milkers. It is 

 necessary to guard also against buying ewes that are useless as 

 breeders because of the ends of the teats having been clipped off 



at shearing. 



SIZE OF FLOCK. 



Persons wholly inexperienced with sheep will do well to limit the 

 size of the flock at the start. A beginner can acquire experience 

 quite rapidly with 8 or 10 ewes. It is very doubtful, however, 

 whether anyone should make a start with sheep unless the arrange- 

 ment of the farm and the plan of its operation allow the keeping of 

 as many as 30 ewes, and in most cases 60 or more will be handled 

 better and more economically than a very small flock. The number 

 of ewe lambs that can be kept for breeding each year should be about 

 one-half the number of breeding ewes. Old ewes should be discarded 

 when 5 years old. When this is done and the poorest of the ewe 

 lambs are sold a flock will ordinarily double in size in three years. 

 After two seasons' experience it will be a good plan to buy more 

 ewes when good ones can be obtained at a fair price. 



The economical disadvantage of a very small flock lies in the fact 

 that the hours of labor are practically the same for a dozen or 20 



