SHEEP 



South, taking the place of alfalfa and 

 red clover in a large measure. But one 

 experiment has been reported in feeding 

 this crop to sheep, where at the West 

 Virginia station it was found to be much 

 superior to timothy and at $5 a ton 

 was found more valuable for fatten- 

 ing lambs than mixed hay at $10 a ton. 



Corn fodder—Well cured corn fodder 

 is widely available and an excellent 

 roughage for fattening sheep. It makes 

 the best fodder and furnishes the most 

 grain if cut when the grain is beginning 

 to dent and the lower leaves are begin- 

 ning to turn color. It may be cut and 

 fed whole, stalks, leaves, ears and all 

 in racks. The sheep will eat a little 

 more of the butt if the stalks are shred- 

 ded, but under western conditions the 

 cost of shredding is more than the in- 

 creased feeding value of the stalk will 

 amount to. By this method of feeding, 

 the sheep will get a considerable amount 

 of corn; in fact, all the grain they will 

 require. To make a well-balanced ra- 

 tion, it will be advisable to feed with the 

 corn fodder some good alfalfa or clover 

 hay to add protein and make it a more 

 evenly balanced ration. Toward the end 

 of the feeding period, some shelled corn 

 mixed with a little oil meal, bran or 

 cottonseed meal, might be fed with 

 profit in addition to the fodder. By 

 this method of feeding, corn fodder 

 makes one of the cheapest rations there 

 is for sheep, under western conditions. 



If the grain is husked and the corn 

 stover fed alone, it is still very palata- 

 ble to sheep and practically the best of 

 the more carbonaceous roughages that 

 can be given them. 



In experiments reported by the Utah 

 station, well cured corn fodder cut up 

 before feeding gave equal or better gains 

 with sheep than corn silage and the 

 flesh produced on the fodder corn was 

 not so watery. For breeding ewes at 

 the Wisconsin station, cut corn fodder 

 proved superior to either corn silage, 

 oat straw or blue grass hay as a winter 

 ration. 



Miscellaneous fodders — Timothy hay 

 is occasionally used as a fodder for sheep, 

 though it is more generally given to 

 horses. It has about the same feeding 

 value as oat straw. On timothy and 

 grain, sheep gained 2 1 / 4 pounds a head 

 weekly at the Dakota station and on oat 

 •straw and the same grain ration the 

 gains were 2% pounds a week. Where 



sheep are kept for wool, stock wethers 

 are frequently given no other roughage 

 during the winter than oat straw. They 

 will just about maintain their eights 

 on this feed. Brome grass proved more 

 effective as a sheep ration at the South 

 Dakota station than prairie hay. 



While good clover hay or alfalfa 

 makes the best winter roughage for 

 sheep, there are a number of plants 

 which may be substituted for them, es- 

 pecially if a little grain is fed in addi- 

 tion. 



At the Michigan station cheap and 

 substantial gains were made on all the 

 following roughages: Millet hay, oat 

 straw, bean straw and corn stalks. The 

 least effective of these was millet hay. 

 Bean straw is about equal to corn stalks. 

 Considerable care was necessary in feed- 

 ing the millet hay, as the sheep easily 

 scoured on it. Sorghum hay is about 

 equal in value to timothy hay or corn 

 stover. The best results with this class 

 of feeds cannot be expected unless they 

 are supplemented with some grain or 

 fodder richer in protein, like oats, bran, 

 alfalfa, etc. 



SILAGE AND BOOTS FOR SHEEP 



The mutton sheep industry of Eng- 

 land is largely based on roots, and the 

 feeding of these has become a science 

 in English sheep husbandry. The 

 greater expense of roots, as compared 

 with silage in the United States, and 

 the different conditions under which 

 sheep are reared here, has conduced to 

 a greater use of silage than of roots. 

 Generally speaking, the two are about 

 equal in feeding value. The main pur- 

 pose of feeding silage or roots in the 

 rations of sheep is not so much on ac- 

 count of the food constituents they con- 

 tain, as for their tonic and regulating 

 effects. Sheep relish both and when fed 

 in a limited amount, both are extremely 

 valuable, and no one should fatten sheep 

 or raise lambs without one or the other 

 of these succulents. Hay or other fibrous 

 foods should always be fed with roots 

 to regulate digestion. 



Silage — The healthfulness of silage 

 for sheep was investigated at the Oregon 

 station, with 25 breeding ewes and a 

 ram. The sheep were fed all the steamed 

 vetch and clover silage they wanted, 

 with about J /2 pound of oats a head daily 

 in addition. On this ration they gained 

 122 pounds in 48 days, and with the 



