SHEEP 



615 



Where sheepmen are not favorably 

 located for growing alfalfa many use 

 simply the native hays, which are fre- 

 quently found in very great abundance. 

 Lupines are the more important of 

 these. To prevent lupine poison, which 

 sometimes occurs from eating the ripe 

 seed, the plants are not harvested imtil 

 late in the season, after the seeds have 

 fallen. Stock sheep are fed simply a 

 maintenance ration during the winter. 

 Either lambs or sheep that are to be 

 marketed are placed in corrals and not 

 allowed to run upon the range. 



They are fed all the alfalfa hay they 

 want. This is placed on the outside of 

 the fence, leaving space for the sheep 



shipped to market. (See Sheep Fatten- 

 ing on a Large Scale.) 



Cost and profit in sheep ranching — 

 Where winter feeding is unnecessary, 

 and public lands are used for grazing, 

 the annual cost of caring for sheep in 

 the West is about 25 cents a head. 

 Where, however, an expensive plant is 

 necessary with buildings and winter 

 feeding, the cost is considerably in- 

 creased, varying from 25 cents to $1.25 a 

 head yearly. The income, of course, de- 

 pends upon management, season, and 

 the price and condition of wool. At the 

 present time, the income from the fleece 

 varies from $1 to $1.50 a head, and 

 the lambs sell in the fall for from $2 to 



Fig. 382 — ANGORA GOATS 

 (Courtesy of John Frye) 



to stick their heads through to get it. 

 The hay is fed directly on the ground, 

 as it has been found that less loss occurs 

 in this manner than when fed in racks. 

 The corrals are usually built so that a 

 stream of water runs through a por- 

 tion of it. Salt is supplied in large 

 lumps and sometimes roots or grain are 

 fed in addition. 



On alfalfa alone sheep will gain 6 

 to 8 pounds a month, requiring about 

 three months to put them in good 

 marketable condition. Many of the 

 sheep, however, are sold to feeders who 

 make a specialty of buying range sheep 

 and carrying them farther east to the 

 grain belt, where they are fattened and 



$3 a head, depending upon their con- 

 dition. This amount for lambs can be 

 considerably increased by feeding for a 

 longer period with alfalfa hay. Under 

 the better conditions a net profit of 50 

 cents to $1 a head is sometimes ob- 

 tained, which makes the business enor- 

 mously profitable where it is managed 

 on a sufficiently large scale. 



The more responsible sheepmen have 

 permanent locations with land and 

 buildings of their own, and additional 

 lands which they rent. There are, how- 

 ever, many wandering sheepmen who 

 have no permanent location, but travel 

 from the southern ranges northward 

 with the season, driving their flocks 



