﻿8 BULLETIN 20, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



inherently deeply fleshed should be selected, as he is more easily kept, 

 and his lambs will ordinarily have like tendencies. - 



Endeavor to secure a ram that is prepotent. It is impossible, of 

 course, to determine this in an untried ram, but a superior pedigree 

 is a good indication of it. The object should be to combine individ- 

 uality with good breeding. 



Overfitted rams are never desirable for breeding purposes. They 

 require a long time for reduction to breeding conditions, which should 

 be brought about by abundant exercise and a gradual decrease of 

 rations. By the time they are in breeding condition the mating 

 seaspn is far advanced and a late crop of lambs will result. Very 

 often these overfitted rams are infertile. The breeder should see 

 that the ram is entire (having two testicles) and free from goiter. 

 Never use a ram for breeding that is affected with this disease. 



AGE OF BREEDING RAMS. 



Ordinarily a yearling or a 2-year-old ram is most satisfactory for 

 breeding purposes. Ram lambs are used to a limited extent when 

 older rams are unavailable. The extent of their use varies with the 

 different breeds and with tneir age at the breeding season. It is not 

 usually desirable to breed ram lambs to more than 10 or 15 ewes, and 

 25 should be considered a maximum number. If bred excessively 

 they become stunted and frequently prove nonbreeders afterwards. 



Ram lambs are frequently purchased because they are cheaper 

 than older rams. A good ram lamb not infrequently proves a poor 

 yearling, and even with a yearling there may be considerable change 

 before maturity. Wisconsin 1 experiments indicate that the lambs 

 from a yearling ram averaged less in weight at birth than those from 

 older ones. No results were reported on the weights of lambs from 

 ram lambs. • 



Sometimes an older ram whose breeding qualities are known can 

 be secured very reasonably, where the breeder disposes of him to 

 avoid in-breeding. A ram of this kind often proves a bargain. In 

 a small flock a ram can be used for two seasons, which is as long as a 

 ram can be kept at the head of the flock without breeding him to his 

 own lambs, and this is generally not advisable. In a large flock a 

 ram can be kept longer without in-breeding. 



SELECTING THE EWES. 



With the ewes as much as possible of the ideal form is desirable, 

 but it is impossible to secure as complete an expression of this as 

 with the rams. The heavier demands made upon the ewes in repro- 

 duction prevent it. For this reason, too, much attention should not 

 be given to mutton form in selecting the ewes, to the exclusion of 



1 Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin, Bulletin 95, Madison, 1902. 



