478 Feeds and Feeding. 



cowpea, or vetcli hay, along with corn fodder or corn stover cut in 

 the fall when the leaves are still green, good prairie hay, roots, pea 

 straw, oat straw, barley straw, etc. At the Wisconsin Station^ corn 

 silage proved a satisfactory and economical roughage for breeding 

 ewes when fed in combination with hay or corn stover. Ewes that 

 are heavily fed on such nitrogenous feeds as wheat bran, clover, al- 

 falfa hay, etc., are in danger of producing lambs that are too large 

 at birth with excessive development of bone.- In addition to a lib- 

 eral supply of roughage, each ewe should receive 0.25 to 0.5 lb. daily 

 of such concentrates as oats, bran, peas, or a mixture thereof. At 

 the Wisconsin Station^ dried brewers' grains produced better results 

 than bran, oats, or corn when the milk flow was considered. Ewes 

 fed clover or alfalfa hay will not require as much grain as those 

 given straw or corn stover. Oil meal or linseed meal is acceptable, 

 and 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls may be given to each ewe daily. Corn, 

 if fed at all, should form but a small part of the grain allowance 

 of breeding ewes in winter, as it is too fattening. Breeding ewes 

 should have abundant exercise, and should always be kept in good 

 condition, carrying more flesh than most American farmers think 

 proper. To winter them on straw, or straw and hay with no grain, 

 is to perpetuate a flock that will gradually but surely degenerate. 



774. The ram. — The ram is half the flock, and money invested in 

 a vigorous, first-class, pure-bred specimen will be soon repaid. He 

 should be strong, well built, full of vim, and a good getter. A ram 

 of such character will care for 40 or 50 ewes. At the Wisconsin Sta- 

 tion* yearling rams proved less prolific than 2- or 3-year-old rams. 

 During the breeding season it is best to turn the rams with the ewes 

 for but a short time daily, or only at night. Rams should be kept 

 in a good thrifty condition on muscle-forming feeds, but should 

 never be made fat. All rams that have won prizes at exhibitions 

 should be studiously avoided, as should all that have for any reason 

 been made really fat, for such high living quite generally renders 

 them impotent, or at least greatly lessens their procreative powers. 



775. Date of lambing. — The lamb dropped in late winter or early 

 spring is far more valuable than one coming later. Under good man- 

 agement the early-yeaned lamb comes into the world wdth comfort- 

 able surroundings and a kind master in attendance to give atten- 

 tions conducive to comfort and growth. With the coming of spring 

 the young thing is of sufficient size and vigor to pass out with its dam 



^ Epts. 1900, 1901. ^ Epts. 1902, 1904. 



^ Wing, Sheep Farming in America, p. 106. * Ept. 1907. 



