LAMBING PENS 



441 



using the latter type, the grain is consumed before the hay is fed, 

 and generally the same method is followed with the type in which 

 the rack for the hay is placed above the grain trough. Combination 

 racks are much more suitable than separate racks for preventing 

 waste with hay containing a high percentage of loose leaves. These 

 are very largely lost in racks intended for hay only, but in com- 

 bination racks they fall on the bottoms intended for the grain and 

 are saved (Fig. 243). 



/o-o 



FIG. 243. A combination hay and grain rack which may be entered by the attendant 

 when feeding grain or hay for partitions only. (From U. S. D. A. Farmer's Bulletin 810.) 



Troughs for grain, silage, and roots should be from 8 to 10 

 inches wide in combination racks and 12 inches or more in separate 

 pieces of construction. The sides should be about 5 inches high 

 and should slope slightly outward. The bottoms should be flat in 

 order to keep the sheep from eating too rapidly and should stand 

 about one foot from the ground. Separate troughs should be con- 

 structed so that they can not be easily pushed over, and there should, 

 be a railing above them to keep the sheep from standing or lying in 

 them (Figs. 244 and 245). 



The amount of rack or trough space required depends upon the' 

 size of the animals. Feeding lambs should be allowed about 12 

 inches each and large breeding ewes as much as 18 inches. 



Lambing pens are almost indispensable to successful lambing 

 and the movable type is the more convenient to use. Since they are 



