FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



are bred about May 1, only a few will 

 normally take tbe buck at this time; per- 

 haps not more than 5 per cent. By 

 shutting the ewes up for a time on 

 scant feed, then turning on good pas- 

 ture with supplementary nitrogenous 

 feed, like gluten meal, wheat bran, etc, 

 turning with them at night a Dorset 

 buck in good, vigorous condition, the 

 percentage that breed will be consider- 

 ably increased. With care in feeding 

 along these lines, 10 per cent more will 

 be with lamb by the middle of June 

 and 50 per cent by the middle of Aug- 

 ust. By October the buck should be 

 removed from the flock. With pure 

 Dorset sheep or with high-grade Dorset 

 ewes, Miller and Wing, in the Winter 

 Lamb, lay down the following rules rel- 

 ative to breeding: 



(1) Have the ram with ewes not ear- 

 lier than middle of March, not later 

 than the middle of May. (2) Put ram 

 with ewes nights, not days. (3^ Use 

 young ram and feed him well while in 

 service. (4) Do not have ram too fat. 

 (5) Do not have ewes too thin. (6) 

 If ewes were not shorn in the fall shear 

 as early as you dare. (7) Feed ewes 

 green food, such as ensilage, turnips, 

 carrots, mangels, etc, and some corn. 



Whatever the condition of the ewes, 

 the quantity of the feed given them at 

 breeding time should be increased. Dur- 

 ing the natural breeding period of sheep 

 in the fall, the ewes are normally gain- 

 ing in flesh. The nearer we can ap- 

 proach normal fall breeding conditions 

 in spring, the more likely the ewes are 

 to breed. 



Summer and fall feeding of pregnant 

 ewes — The ewes will require but little 

 attention during the summer other than 

 a good supply of pasture, pure water and 

 shade. If pastures become short and dry 

 they should be supplemented with other 

 feeds. One of the best for this pur- 

 pose is pumpkins. Pumpkins possess 

 considerable nutriment, especially the 

 seeds, and are highly palatable to sheep. 

 In addition, the seeds are a vermifuge 

 of considerable value. They are usual- 

 ly fed by simply hauling them to the 

 pasture and breaking and allowing the 

 sheep to gnaw them at will. If fed in 

 excessive quantities, the ewes may be- 

 come too fat. For milking ewes, pump- 

 kins are considered especially valuable. 

 They may be kept on hand for feeding 

 purposes until about Christmas. 



In addition to pasture, ewes giving 

 suck to their lambs should receive a 

 liberal grain ration, made up of corn, 

 oats, barley, bran, etc. Gluten feed or 

 linseed meal is especially valuable at 

 this time. Since it is intended that the 

 lambs shall be marketed after running 

 from two to three months with the dam, 

 the necessity of giving heavy rations to 

 the ewes for milk production is readily 

 understood. 



Feeding hothouse lambs — The lambs 

 will begin to eat when about three weeks 

 old. It is very desirable that they be 

 given fresh pasture, such as clover, al- 

 falfa, rape, peas and oats or some sim- 

 ilar forage which they relish. They 

 learn to eat grain just as soon as they 

 learn to eat forage. The best grains are 

 ground corn mixed with ground peas, 

 oats or barley. When about four weeks 

 old they will eat as much as a pound of 

 grain a head daily. They may be given 

 all they will eat up clean without fear, 

 as at that age they practically never 

 overeat. A little sugar sprinkled on the 

 grain may aid in teaching them to eat 

 it. The grain should be varied every 

 two or three days, to keep up their appe- 

 tites and interest. 



It has been noticed that lambs will 

 eat a particular kind of grain with con- 

 siderable relish for a day or two and 

 then seem to tire of it and consequently 

 consume less. Before this stage is 

 reached a change in the grain ration 

 should be made. The observant feeder 

 will soon note the kind of grain relished 

 best by the lambs. Whole oats and 

 whole wheat are readily eaten. A lamb 

 creep should be provided so that the 

 lambs can be fed away from the ewes. 

 A self-feed arrangement is not desir- 

 able with the lambs since they muss 

 over much of the feed, which thus be- 

 comes unsavory and often ferments. 

 Cleanliness in feeding, while desirable 

 for all sheep, is especially so for winter 

 lambs. 



Lambs born in the late fall and early 

 winter, in addition to the ewes' milk 

 and grain, should be liberally fed with 

 the best quality of clover and alfalfa 

 hay and given silage or sliced roots in 

 addition. In a test at the Cornell ex- 

 periment station, of the relative value 

 of these two succulent foods for winter 

 lambs, a lot fed all the roots (mangel- 

 wurzels) it would eat, in addition to 

 other feeds, gained on an average 3.44 



