SHEEP 



603 



These results indicate a fair feeding 

 value for emmer and in dry situations 

 or on soil too poor for wheat, it may 

 prove a valuable crop to grow for sheep 

 feeding. 



Flaxseed — Flaxseed whole or ground 

 is seldom used for feeding sheep until 

 after the oil is expressed, when it be- 

 comes known as linseed meal. At the 

 Wyoming station it was found that flax- 

 seed might be used in place of flaxseed 

 meal as a supplement to the corn rations 

 for fattening lambs. It was fed heavily 

 without expressing the oil and no uri- 

 nary troubles resulted. In other experi- 

 ments when flaxseed was ground and fed 

 to lambs it was not as valuable as bar- 

 ley. For finishing sheep, however, whole 

 flaxseed may be used successfully with- 

 out other grains. Not more than Yi to 

 z /± pound a head should be fed daily. 



Gluten meal and feed — Gluten meal 

 and gluten feeds are by-products in the 

 manufacture of starch from corn. They 

 are much richer in protein than the 

 original corn grain or corn meal and 

 are used principally for balancing the 

 ration and in increasing the protein con- 

 tents. For composition see page 75. 



At the Illinois station, lambs fed glu- 

 ten meal with corn gained more rapidly 

 than on corn alone or corn and oats or 

 whole oats alone. On corn and gluten 

 meal two to one, and clover the gain was 

 .52 pound a day, while on clover alone it 

 was but .39 pound a day. 



Gluten feed is not greatly relished 

 by sheep, it is too dusty to be fed alone 

 and should be mixed with other feeds. 



In English experiments the average 

 gains were 14.1 pounds on gray peas, as 

 compared with 15.1 pounds on gluten 

 feed and 15.8 pounds on chick peas dur- 

 ing the same feeding period. The sheep 

 did not care for the gluten feed in this 

 experiment. The chick peas were great- 

 ly reb'shed by the sheep, either whole or 

 split. And it is stated that chick pea 

 mutton is considered a delicacy in India, 

 where the peas are fed to sheep in large 

 quantities. 



In other experiments reported from 

 England, gluten feed proved about 

 equal in feeding value to split peas, or 

 to a mixture of equal parts barley meal 

 and undecorticated cottonseed cake, and 

 it was a little cheaper. 



Kafir corn — This grain has not been 

 extensively fed to sheep so far as we are 



aware. At the Oklahoma station, a 

 wether lamb fed 2 pounds of kafir meal 

 a day with prairie grass hay gained 13 

 pounds in four weeks. A Shropshire 

 ram on the same ration gained 17 pounds 

 during the same period. In another 

 experiment, three wether lambs and 

 three rather inferior yearlings were fed 

 kafir grain for 52 days and made an 

 average gain of 2.57 pounds a head 

 weekly, giving 5.82 pounds of grain for 

 each pound of gain. These are good 

 gains and show a comparatively high 

 feeding value for kafir corn grain and 

 meal. 



Linseed meal—This is a by-product 

 in the manufacture of linseed oil from 

 flaxseed. It is one of the most useful 

 protein feeds we have, not only on ac- 

 count of its high food value, but also be- 

 cause of its physiological, tonic, and 

 laxative effects. It should be used only 

 in small quantities. From Ys to % 

 pound a head daily is sufficient and 

 Y'i a pound should be considered the 

 maximum amount to feed at any time. 



It is especially valuable for breeding 

 sheep and for show animals, adding lus- 

 ter to the fleece and softness to the skin 

 and generally producing a well-condi- 

 tioned sheep. It is especially valuable 

 for feeding to sheep not receiving roots 

 or silage or other succulent foods. 



In experiments in Scotland, cotton- 

 seed cake and maize in equal parts gave 

 slightly better results than linseed cake, 

 either alone or mixed. 



At the Wisconsin station, when lambs 

 were fed one part oil meal and two parts 

 corn meal, they gained 3.3 pounds a 

 head weekly. When cottonseed meal 

 was substituted for the oil meal, the 

 gain was 2.95 pounds a head weekly. 

 Even at $27 a ton, linseed meal has been 

 found profitable when fed in small 

 amounts for fattening lambs. The Mas- 

 sachusetts Hatch station found old and 

 new process meals about equally valu- 

 able for sheep feeding. 



In experiments reported by the Mas- 

 sachusetts state station, it was found 

 that linseed meal, cottonseed meal and 

 Chicago gluten feed could be substitut- 

 ed, one for the other, without materially 

 changing the cost of the ration or its 

 feeding value. Chicago maize feed and 

 Buffalo gluten feed were found equally 

 valuable as feeding stuffs. 



Millet seed — Some varieties of millet 

 produce a large quantity of seed which 



