224 ESTABLISHING THE COMMERCIAL FARM FLOCK 



established. One is to increase the size of the flock, the other is to 

 replace individuals which for good reasons should be disposed of. 

 For example, it is advisable to dispose of ewes which do not pro- 

 duce regularly, that is, raise a lamb or lambs each year. Such 

 ewes are often the handsomest in the flock, and because of their 

 good appearance the owner may be tempted to keep them, but if he 

 acts wisely he will let them go. Again there are ewes inclined to 

 breed late and out of season with the main flock. When it is appar- 

 ent that a ewe is fixed in this habit she should be rejected, because 

 her lamb, coming late, will not be ready for sale when the main 

 part of the lamb crop is ready to go to market. Then, also, ewes 

 that are failing in general condition should be " culled out " of the 

 flock, because they are becoming more susceptible to disease and are 

 likely to get too low in condition to nourish lambs well. 



In case the owner replaces ewes " culled out " or adds to his 

 flock with ewes of his raising, he has an opportunity to take ad- 

 vantage of several important factors. First, he should select early 

 maturing ewe lambs of approved type. By so doing he will accom- 

 plish something toward building up a flock which will produce 

 early maturing lambs. This is a matter of no little importance, for 

 the lambs which grow into a marketable product in a short time are 

 likely to be the most profitable. Second, the ewe lambs should be 

 from heavy milking dams. This will be accomplished if early 

 maturing lambs are selected because they are usually well fed on 

 mother's milk. But, since desirable milking properties, as such, 

 should be sought by the man who aspires to grow a good lamb crop, 

 he should know whether or not the dams of the ewe lambs he pro- 

 poses to reserve for breeders are desirable milkers. Third, the ewe 

 lambs reserved for the breeding flock should be nearly of the same 

 age, and preferably from the first, rather than from the last of the 

 lamb crop. By all means, the very late born ewe lambs should not 

 be retained, for there is a tendency for them to breed late and they 

 oftentimes fail to develop into large, thrifty ewes. Those of nearly 

 the same age may be expected to breed at about the same time and 

 hence contribute toward a crop of lambs that is uniform with respect 

 to age. Young ewes are not sufficiently mature to place with the 

 ram until after they are one year old. 



Selecting the Ram for the Farm Flock. The ram should be 

 pure bred and of correct market or mutton type. It has already 

 been conceded that the ewes of the farm flock are likely to be grades 



