SHEEP 



581 



follow and usually has the desired effect 

 of eliminating some of the dogs. 



Sheep are not injured by a summer 

 shower, but if cold drizzling rains set 

 in, they should be brought up and herded 

 in yards with access to open sheds, and 

 fed hay until fair weather returns. Ewes 

 in fair condition will require no grain at 

 pasture at this time. If the grass be- 

 comes short, owing to drought or over- 

 stocking, other crops should be used to 

 supplement the pasture. Green corn is 



to get in the crops at this season. On 

 this account, it may be advisable, in 

 many cases, to have the lambs come in 

 March or April, when farm work is less 

 pressing. In such cases, the ewes should 

 be bred during October or November. 

 Farther south, the ram is usually turned 

 in with the ewes in August or September. 

 Flushing ewes_Sheepmen like to have 

 their ewes in good condition at breed- 

 ing time and gaining a little in flesh. 

 It is believed that more ewes will breed 



M4kt» 



&;#*>:*-^*,-~ 



Fig. 368 — BROADTAILED RAM 

 (Courtesy of J. H. Barber) 



relished by sheep as well as pea and oat 

 mixtures, rape, etc. 



Breeding the ewes — Under ordinary 

 farm conditions in the northern states, 

 the ewes should not be bred before De- 

 cember. This would bring the lambing 

 period in May, when the weather is 

 warm and the grass is beginning to 

 start. It is easier to care for the lambs 

 at this time; there are less losses from 

 chilling and the bite of green grass, 

 available at this time, will insure the 

 ewes a full supply of milk. May is, 

 however, the month in which spring 

 work usually begins, and there is a rush 



and that a larger number of lambs will 

 be produced. 



The English have a method of feeding 

 ewes at breeding time, which they call 

 flushing. It is practiced for the purpose 

 of securing twin lambs. For two or three 

 weeks before breeding, the ewes are given 

 an extra supply of nutritious, palatable 

 food, so that they may be gaining in 

 weight when breeding takes place. A 

 little extra good pasture at this time and 

 the addition to the ration of half a pound 

 of some grain, like oats, mixed with a 

 little oil meal — perhaps a tablespoonful 



