128 LIVE-STOCK 



r 



sheep is 150 days or roughly 5 months. The lambs can be 

 weaned when 3 to 6 months old. Rams are not castrated 

 until they are about a year old, but lamb castration per- 

 formed a fortnight or a month after birth is probably 

 desirable. The weight of a lamb at birth is about one- 

 twelfth of the weight of the dam. A sheep attains its full 

 growth and weight at the age of three years. About two- 

 thirds of the weight is attained in the first year and the 

 greater part of the remainder during the second year. 



Feeding.— The sheep are fed on pastures only and are 

 kept out in the open air all the year round. In the hot 

 weather when the pastures are bare, the animals fall in 

 condition considerably. No provision of any artificial food 

 or of any fodder, green or dry, for such seasons is made. 



Shearing. — In India the sheep are clipped once yearly 

 either in the hot and dry part of the year, April to May, or 

 in the cold dry season, January to February. They are 

 clipped for the first time when they are a year old. The 

 sheep are washed generally before they are shorn. The 

 washing is done on the same day or the day before. 



Dentition. — The dentition of the sheep resembles that of 

 cattle as to the number of teeth and their position. The 

 teeth of the sheep are also similar to those of cattle but 

 much smaller. As in cattle, the front part of the upper jaw 

 has no teeth and has, in their place, a dense fibrous pad. 

 There are two sets of teeth, milk and permanent. The milk 

 set consists of eight incisors in the front part of the lower 

 jaw and three molars (known as premolars) on each side of 

 each jaw, that is 20 in all. All these are replaced later on by 

 permanent teeth and three more molars on each side of each 

 jaw behind the premolars come up once for all. so that the 

 total number of permanent teeth is 32. 



Dental formula for milk teeth. 



0—0 3-R 



Incisors -— - premolars J-f- Total 20. 

 4-4 3-3* 



Dental formula for permanent teeth . 



Incisors^ premola rS |^? molars fcL. Total 32. 



Note.— The top figures in each formula show the teeth on 

 each side of the upper jaw, and the bottom figures, the teeth 

 in the lower jaw. 





