190 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



FEEDING LAMBS AT THE WISCONSIN EXPERIMENT STATION. 



By the courtesy of the Director of the Wisconsin Experi- 

 ment Station, Prof. W. A. Henry, we have the opportunity 

 of studying the interesting question, whether or not it is 

 profitable to feed lambs as soon after birth, and while 

 running with the ewes, as may be possible, with a suitable 

 grain ration. From the experience of the author in this line, 

 he has been well able to decide this matter for himself in 

 the affirmative, and very positively so. And it has been his 

 practice to begin feeding the lambs as soon as they could be 

 induced to take the least, mca-sel of suitable grain food 

 from the hand. And right at this point it is very desirable 

 to affirm very positively, that the gentle and confiding dispo- 

 sition of the lambs, and their gentleness and confidence in 

 the feeder, are to be cultivated and encouraged, if the best 

 results from any kind of feeding that may be adopted are 

 to be desired. In fact, the gentle shepherd who carried the 

 lambs in his bosom, is to be the pattern, rather than the 

 one who roughly treats them, and who is feared and 

 avoided by them. In fact we feel decidedly free 

 to say that the gentle shepherd only will be able to 

 make the best profit from the feeding of lambs or sheep 

 of any age. So that to begin feeding with the young lambs, 

 when they will eat a little bran or meat from the shepherd's 

 hand, and troop after him in the liveliest fashion for the 

 sweet morsel, is one O'f the first requisites to the profitable 

 feeding during the period of nursing on their dams. 



The whole story of the feeding is too long for our space, 

 .but it will suffice to give the results of each of three care- 

 fully conducted experiments. There were three periods dur- 

 ing which these trials were made. The first from the first 

 ability to eat the food after birth; the second after weaning; 

 and the third after the lambs were finally fed for fattening 

 for market. 



The result of the first test was that thirty lambs Avere 

 fed 1,353 Ibs. of grain food, consisting of corn meal, bran, 

 oil meal (each of these latter two about one-half in amount 

 of the corn meal), and a small quantity of oats too small 

 to notice in any way. The result w r as that one pound of live 

 weight was made for a very small trifle over one pound of 

 food eaten, or from 1,353 Ibs. of food 1,226 Ibs. of live weight 



