22 FARMERS' BULLETIN 840. 



PREPARING LAMBS FOR MARKET. 



ADVANTAGES OF EARLY MARKETING. 



Under ordinary farm conditions lambs should be made ready for 

 market at from 3 to 5 months of age. When young they make a 

 higher rate of gain and will put on the same amount of flesh for less 

 cost than when they are older. Then, too, they will make but small 

 gains during the heat of summer, and at this time parasites are most 

 troublesome and they are thus more liable to losses from this cause. 

 Risk of accidents is always higher when the lambs are held for a long 

 time. More feed is saved for the breeding flock, and less labor is 

 needed, if the lambs are sold early. Better prices are obtained in the 

 spring because of not having to meet the competition of the western 

 lambs that are marketed during the summer and fall, and in addition 

 the grower gets the use of his money sooner by pushing the lambs to 

 a marketable condition as fast as possible. 



TEACHING THE LAMBS TO EAT. 



Every effort should be made to keep the lambs growing from the 

 start. The first essential is to teach them to eat. Liberal feeding of 

 lambs dropped before pastures are ready is profitable under any ordi- 

 nary grain prices. This is best done through the use of a small 

 inclosure known as a " creep," to which the lambs have access at all 

 times, but into which the ewes can not come. The creep should con- 

 tain a rack for hay and a trough for grain, so arranged that the 

 lambs can not get their feet into them. 



All feed given, especially ground feed, should be clean, fresh, and 

 free from mold. The lambs will begin to nibble at the feed when 

 from 10 to 16 days of age. Pea-green alfalfa of the second or third 

 cutting is one of the most relished feeds. Flaky, sweet wheat bran 

 probably ranks next. For the first few days these are the ideal feeds. 

 A little brown sugar on the bran at first will make it more palatable. 

 Linseed meal is also good when mixed with the bran. Until the 

 lambs are 5 to 6 weeks old all their feed should be coarse ground or 

 crushed. The Ohio Experiment Station l has found that for young 

 lambs that are to be marketed a grain ration of corn is of about the 

 same value as one of corn 5 parts, oats 2 parts, bran 2 parts, and oil 

 will be safe for spring use and, if plowed and sown to rape or other 

 meal 1 part. Oil meal is especially relished by lambs at this time and 

 would be especially valuable in promoting growth rather than fat. 



Such feeds as middlings are too floury for extensive use. Rye is 

 less palatable than oats or barley. Soy beans may replace the lin- 

 seed meal if they cost less. Cleanliness is an important factor in 

 keeping the lambs growing. Always feed to an empty trough, and 

 if it becomes soiled scrub it out with limewater. 



1 Ohio Experiment Station Bulletin 270, 



