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BULLETIN 20, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



that the lambs can suck without getting it into their mouths. Swal- 

 lowing wool frequently causes death, as many as 50 wool balls having 

 been found in one lamb. 



Sore teats and udders are of rather common occurence among ewes 

 suckling lambs. Where an inflamed condition has arisen, the udder 

 should be milked out, bathed in warm water, and treated with some 

 antiseptic ointment that will not injure the lamb if taken into its 

 stomach. Carbolated vaseline is excellent for this purpose. 



EWES THAT HAVE LOST THEIR LAMBS. 



Sometimes it happens that a ewe loses her lamb. If she has a 

 good milk flow, she can be taken care of most readily by giving her a 

 lamb from a ewe that has no milk or from one that has had twins. 

 Several methods have been used for making such a ewe claim her 

 lamb. Among these are, tying up the ewe so she can not butt the 

 lamb about, sprinkling some of her milk over the lamb, and placing 

 the skin of the dead lamb over the one to be adopted. 



Fig. 6. — Priming shears or sheep toe clippers used in trimming the feet and also for docking lambs. 



SHEARING THE EWES. 



Under ordinary conditions, shearing the ewes should take place 

 after lambing. It is also desirable to shear them before turning out 

 to pasture. Otherwise the. wool becomes unnecessarily dirty and the 

 ewes remain outside in weather that is too severe for the lambs. 

 Unfortunately, this is not practiced in many flocks. Shearing before 

 lambmg is practiced where the ewes are to lamb late, but it requires 

 much more care and experience in handling them, and it is neces- 

 sarily much slower than shearing afterwards. 



TRIMMING THE FEET. 



The feet of the entire flock will ordinarily need attention about 

 twice a year. The hard outer shell grows under the soft part of the 

 feet, inclosing more or less filth and making it difficult for the sheep 

 to walk. This superfluous growth should be trimmed away and care 

 must be taken not to cut back too far into the tender parts. Pruning 

 shears, such as are used in docking lambs and trimming small shrubs 

 are valuable for this puipose (see fig. 6) . A sharp knife can also be 



