﻿THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON THE FARM. 27 



CHILLED J -AM US. 



Lambs should never be allowed to become chilled, but sometimes 

 it is unavoidable owing to the ewe lambing unexpectedly. When 

 chilled the lamb should be given a bath as quickly as possible in 

 water as hot as the hand can bear. It should then be rubbed dry, 

 a dry rag wrapped about it, and removed to a warm place. A box of 

 warm, dry bran is a good substitute for the rag used in wrapping. 

 A half barrel bedded with straw in which a jug of warm water is 

 placed is also convenient. A few drops of whisky in a little warm 

 water makes a good stimulant for the lamb for such occasions. Con- 

 stipation commonly follows chilling, and it should be guarded against. 

 Castor oil should be given if this condition arises. 



Pinning of the tail sometimes bothers the young lambs before they 

 are docked. Diarrhea or a loose condition of the bowels causes the tail 

 to be plastered down to the hind quarters and a foul condition results. 

 Scraping or washing off the collected feces with warm water relieves 

 this condition. 



RAISING LAMBS BY HAND. 



If a ewe dies or if she is unable to supply her offspring with suffi- 

 cient milk, it becomes necessary to raise the lamb by hand. Cow's 

 milk, while it is not as rich in solids as ewe's milk, serves as a very 

 good substitute. The milk from the same cow should always be used, 

 and she should be one that has recently freshened. The milk should 

 be heated to about 92° to 94° F., but should never be boiled, as this 

 causes constipation. The lamb may be fed with a spoon for the first 

 few times, but this is too much trouble to continue for any length of 

 time. A nursing bottle with an ordinary nipple is convenient. The 

 secret of success in raising lambs by hand is in having the milk at the 

 right temperature and not boiling it, in feeding often, every hour or 

 two at first, and in having the utensils scrupulously clean. 



MARKING. 



Marking with labels. — Every sheep of the flock should be marked, 

 and there is no better time for doing this than when they are lambs. 

 If possible they should be marked the day dropped and then there 

 will be no danger of their being confused. Lamb-size labels are 

 sometimes used, being replaced with the regular-size labels at weaning 

 time. It has been said that using the sheep-size labels upon young 

 lambs causes their ears to droop, but some experiments carried on at 

 the Wisconsin station indicated that such is not the case. 



The breeder's label is first inserted. It should have upon it the 

 flock number and initials or name of the owner. The most popular 

 label is a metal band, and it has not only been adopted by most of the 



