SHEEP 



611 



the chest. By the ordinary method of 

 slaughtering lambs a considerable amount 

 of liquid will accumulate at this point 

 and unless it is removed it will seri- 

 ously injure the appearance of the lamb 

 when shown for sale. This can be ef- 

 fectually removed by making an open- 

 ing with a knife at the lower part of the 

 chest and keeping it free until all the 

 blood is completely drained out. This 

 should be done while the carcass is 

 hanging. 



SHEEP RANCHING IN THE WEST- 

 ERN STATES 



Nearly half of the sheep grown in the 

 United States are produced under range 

 conditions, and primarily for wool. The 



Within recent years, however, sheep 

 men have found it desirable to provide 

 some winter food for the sheep to tide 

 them over during heavy snowstorms or 

 for a prolonged period when the ground 

 is covered with snow. 



Location of sheep ranches — The sheep 

 ranches, as a rule, are so located that the 

 range which each man controls may be 

 divided into a summer and winter pas- 

 ture. The summer range is located at 

 the higher altitude, usually in the 

 mountain valleys and high plateaus, 

 where a comparatively large amount of 

 rainfall occurs. A large portion of the 

 best range is found in United States 

 forest reserves. Sheep in . New Mexico 

 and Arizona are usually driven to the 



Fig. 378 GOOD TYPE OF SHEEP DOG 



management of western sheep is there- 

 fore totally different from that observed 

 by eastern shepherds. Individual sheep 

 owners under range conditions, may 

 own from 2,000 to 100,000 sheep, which 

 are maintained in bands of 2,000 to 

 4,000 head by a herdsman attended by a 

 couple of dogs. The sheep are grazed, 

 partially on lands owned or rented by 

 the ranger, but more largely on the 

 free, government lands. 



In many localities the sheep are suc- 

 cessfully grazed the year around with- 

 out shelter. This is especially true in 

 the southwestern portion of the United 

 States. Farther north shelter becomes 

 more desirable, though even in Montana 

 some localities may be found where 

 sheep can be grazed the year around. 



summer range along in April, and in 

 Montana and Wyoming some time in 

 June or July. This summer range 

 where the ewes can get fresh green feed 

 to maintain their milk supply, is con- 

 sidered absolutely essential in most lo- 

 calities. The sheep remain in the moun- 

 tains until danger from snowfall, when 

 they are brought back again to the win- 

 ter range at lower level. This usually 

 occurs about September 15. 



Method of grazing — Under the best 

 condition of management the sheep are 

 allowed to feed in a rather open forma- 

 tion, to give each sheep an equal show 

 and to prevent too close grazing. Each 

 day the sheep are driven from one to 

 three miles from camp and brought 



