﻿30 BULLETIN 20, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



an average 2.25 per cent in live weight and 4 per cent in dressed weight 

 more than did the buck lambs. 



The bucks become coarse as they grow older. Their increase in 

 weight is confined more to the fore quarters, neck, and head, which 

 are the lower-priced parts of the carcass. Their frames are coarser 

 and they do not have as deep a covering of flesh. Wether lambs, on 

 the other hand, develop more in the loin and back, the region of the 

 high-priced cuts. For these reasons ram lambs are sharply dis- 

 criminated against as soon as sex character develops, and, generally, 

 the older they are the sharper is this discrimination. 



Upon the Buffalo market the difference in price between ram and 

 wether lambs has ranged from $0.65 to $1 per hundred pounds in 

 the same month in favor of the wether lambs. Quite often ram lambs 

 grade as culls and sell for as much as $2 per hundred pounds less. 



Ram lambs can not be profitably kept to wait for favorable market 

 conditions, as they cease to make satisfactory gains after they have 

 reached a certain age. Another reason for unsexing all ram lambs 

 not desired for breeding purposes is that there is danger of getting 

 the ewes in lamb to the poorest one in the flock. The ewe lambs are 

 also often pregnant under these conditions when they arrive on the 

 market, which is another objectionable feature. 



Age of castration, methods, etc. — Castration should be done when the 

 lambs are from 2 to 4 weeks old. If they are allowed to become older 

 the operation is more severe. The quarters should be as clean as 

 possible for the operation. One of the best methods is to cut off the 

 lower third of the scrotum with a clean, sharp knife, and force the 

 testicles down. They can be grasped by the thumb and two fingers 

 and pulled out, one at a time, with the spermatic cords attached. 

 If the lamb is rather old and the cords will not pull out, they can be 

 cut or scraped off above the testicles. Many shepherds use their 

 teeth for drawing out the testicles, but this is a disagreeable practice 

 to many people. A pan of clean water containing a 2 to 3 per cent 

 solution of some good disinfectant should be used by the operator in 

 washing his hands and the knife, and the wound should be disinfected 

 after the operation. Ointments, such as carbolized oil (20 parts 

 sweet oil, 1 part carbolic acid) and pine- tar salve (equal parts pine tar 

 and pure hog lard), are also recommended for dressing the wounds, 

 but it is impracticable to use disinfectants or ointments when the 

 flock is large. 



Lambs are sometimes unsexed by cutting off the scrotum close 

 to the belly with heated shears or with a special emasculator, but 

 this method is not very satisfactory. It is seldom advisable to cas- 

 trate an aged ram; the difference in value of the carcass is scarcely 

 worth the trouble. 



