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



class of sheep, but this is a rather heavy ration. The amount of roots 

 may also vary with the available supply and the amounts and kinds 

 of other feeds in the ration. During pregnancy the ewes of the 

 Government flock of Southdowns at Middlebury, Vt., receive 2 pounds 

 of turnips per day, and excellent results have been obtained. 



Turnips, swedes, and rutabagas are the best roots for all classes 

 of sheep. Sugar beets and mangel-wurzels should not be fed to rams 

 or wethers under any conditions, because of their bad effect on the 

 kidneys and bladder, and should not be fed to ewes that are far 

 advanced in pregnancy, as it is believed that their use may cause 

 abortion. 



SILAGE. 



Silage of good quality has been fed to all classes of sheep with 

 success. The use of this succulence for sheep has attracted the atten- 

 tion of most farmers only during the past few years, but some breeders 

 fed it years ago with good results. A great deal has been said of its 

 bad effects upon sheep, but these have arisen because a poor quality 

 of silage (acid, frozen, or moldy) has been fed. This succulence is 

 supplanting roots to a considerable extent because of its cheaper 

 cost of production. Three to 4 pounds per day is as much as should 

 usually be fed, though there are trials reported where as much as 5 

 pounds have been successfully given. 



The Purdue Experiment Station 1 reports, after three years of experi- 

 menting, that silage is an extremely palatable food and a desirable 

 form of succulence for breeding ewes and lambs. The pregnant ewes 

 receiving silage made larger gains than those receiving a similar 

 ration without it. Ewes with fall lambs also made larger gains when 

 fed silage. The gain with fall lambs was in favor of the silage-fed 

 lot. From 2 to 4^ pounds were fed to pregnant ewes. 



Clover silage has proved a very satisfactory feed, but the cost of 

 making and the difficulty of keeping were against it. Pea silage has 

 also been fed to a limited extent. Ensiled beet leaves have been fed 

 in' Germany, but they are not very nutritious. Emphasis must be 

 placed upon the importance of using silage of good quality, as the use 

 of a frozen, acid, or moldy product has often resulted fatally. 



Cabbage is largely used for feeding show sheep. Sheep like it very 

 much, eating it when they refuse all other feed, und it has a good 

 effect upon them. From 2 to 3 pounds per day give good results. 

 The cost of production is too high for it to be used for commercial 

 feeding. Another objection to its use is that its keeping qualities 

 are poor. 



1 Agricultural Experiment Station of Indiana, Bulletin 147, La Fayette, 1910. 



