292 SUMMER MANAGEMENT 



ing market lambs, it is best to separate the ewes and lambs and not 

 allow them to be together again. The ewes should be taken from 

 the lambs, that is, the lambs should not be removed to quarters 

 entirely strange to them. A week or so before they are to be weaned, 

 they should be allowed to graze on the feed intended for them 

 through the weaning period. If it is not possible to do this, they 

 should be left for a few days on the field to which they are accus- 

 tomed, as they do not seem to miss their mothers so much when they 

 are in familiar surroundings. It is better, however, to have them 

 where the feed is fresh and good, even though the place is strange 

 to them, than to leave them where the feed is poor. 



Another method of weaning is to get the ewes and lambs gradu- 

 ally accustomed to being separated. This is a very good method if 

 it does not cost too much in labor, for one can begin when the lambs 

 are not old enough to do without milk. A fine opportunity is 

 afforded to place the lambs on the cleanest, best pasture while the 

 ewes are finishing up the old second-rate pasture. By beginning 

 early enough, and by allowing the ewes and lambs to be together 

 only when they are in the dry lot, one can in large measure keep 

 parasites out of the lambs. For this purpose, the plan is even better 

 than the English method of hurdling, in which the lambs are 

 allowed to run with the ewes and also ahead of them on fresh forage. 



Feeding Lambs after Weaning. In addition to the best of 

 pasture or forage, lambs should receive some grain during the wean- 

 ing period and all through the hot months. Oats, corn, wheat, and 

 barley can all be utilized as well as such concentrates as wheat bran, 

 linseed oil meal or cake, and cottonseed meal. Usually it is not 

 necessary to feed more than one-half pound grain per head daily 

 if the pasture or forage is good. Oats alone will serve as a good 

 grain feed. If the forage or pasture is a leguminous crop, corn 

 alone will do very well as the grain part of the ration, but usually 

 a mixture such as oats, five parts; corn, five parts, and wheat bran, 

 two parts, by weight, is preferable to any one feed. Linseed oil 

 meal or cottonseed meal should not form the sole grain ration, as 

 they are not suitable for using in large quantities in summer. 



Feeding the lambs a little grain each day affords an opportunity 

 for seeing them often and hence for detecting troubles before they 

 become unmanageable. 



Salt and good water are just as essential to the thrift of lambs 

 at weaning time as at any other period of their lives. 



