362 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN FEEDING 



consumption of salt. Such cases do not seem to be numerous, but 

 should a few animals in a band Have a craving for salt which cannot 

 be satisfied it would be better to feed it periodically. 



Sheds and Lots. Suitable feeding grounds and sufficient 

 shelter are of importance in successful sheep and lamb feeding. 

 Practically all feeders emphasize the need of having dry, well- 

 drained feeding grounds. Sheep dislike mud. A prominent Illinois 

 farmer who has been successful in feeding sheep and lambs for the 

 past fifteen or twenty years has made the statement that rather than 

 let a band of lambs wade through a muddy gateway, he would make 

 a passage for them by tearing down a section of fence where it is 

 not muddy. 



Opinions differ as to the value of shelter for sheep and lambs on 

 feed in regions where the fall and winter climate is variable. A few 

 advocate no shelter whatever, while others maintain that the feeding 

 process is more profitable if conducted entirely under shelter. Still 

 others, in fact the majority, take the intermediate position, which is 

 that sheep and lambs should be provided with enough shelter to 

 protect them from storms, but that in fair weather they should be 

 allowed to run in lots or in fields. Those who believe shelter is not 

 essential to successful feeding usually have some natural protection, 

 such as timber or hills to which the animals may go during stormy 

 periods. With the aid of this protection they endure all but the 

 worst storms without going back in condition, and many a band 

 of western sheep and lambs has been made fat in the Middle West 

 without having had access to shelter. 



Shelter is essential to the most successful feeding. There are 

 seasons when persons who have the best natural protection find it 

 hard to handle their sheep and lambs because of the frequent and 

 long storm periods. At such times, these men would be much better 

 equipped if they had sufficient shelter to house the animals on feed. 

 There is a saying common on the Chicago market to the effect that 

 farmers will start shipping half-fat sheep and lambs when the first 

 snow flies, which means that they attempt to do their feeding in the 

 cornstalks and are not adequately equipped with shelter. Daily 

 reports of the livestock markets have frequently called attention to 

 the fact that sheep and lambs from the cornstalks in the Middle 

 West have been returned to market in lower condition than they were 

 when they were sold out as feeders. No stronger statement can be 

 made to indicate that such a practice is unprofitable, and perhaps no 



