﻿THE MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP ON THE FARM. 43 



PUMPKINS. 



Pumpkins arc a very satisfactory stock food and arc readily oaten 

 by sheep. Their keeping qualities, however, are such that they can 

 be fed only through the fall and early winter. They should be cut 

 into small pieces and fed in about the same quantities as roots. A 

 crop of pumpkins can often be grown in the cornfield, and their 

 feeding value and the variety they add to the ration amply repay 

 the extra cost. 



SOILING CROPS. 



Little work has been done on soiling market sheep. Daintiness 

 on the part of the sheep in refusing to eat feed that is in any way 

 unclean, the variety desired by the sheep, and the extra amount of 

 labor necessary preclude this practice. Henry, at the Wisconsin 

 Experiment Station 1 soiled a lot of sheep on green-corn fodder and 

 clover, and produced gains at a reasonable cost, but it is hardly 

 possible that soiling will ever be important in commercial flock 

 husbandry because of the difficulties mentioned. Show sheep are 

 more often soiled, as more time and attention can be devoted to 

 them. 



CONCENTRATES. 



Although sheep are eminently adapted to digesting large amounts 

 of roughage, they also can use grain to good advantage and under 

 many conditions give the best results only when they receive it. 



Corn. — Corn has been fed more to fattening sheep in this country 

 than any other grain. The ears are sometimes chopped and fed in 

 this way. More often it is fed shelled, cracked, or ground into meal. 

 Corn-and-cob meal is also used. The value of the cob lies in the fact 

 that it lightens the ration. It should be ground fine or the cob will 

 not be eaten. While corn is an excellent grain for fattening stock, 

 it is suitable only in small amounts for breeding and young stock. 

 It is too carbonaceous in character to form more than a small part 

 of their ration. 



Barley. — Barley is widely used hi fattening sheep outside of the 

 corn belt. In the West and Northwest it has gained its widest 

 popularity, and the results from its use have been quite favorable as 

 compared with corn. 



Oats. — Oats are an excellent grain for growing sheep or for breeding 

 stock, especially when fed in connection with other grains. When 

 fed alone for fattening purposes oats are not generally as satisfactory 

 as corn or barley. However, some western trials report very satis- 

 factory results. 



Wheat. — Because of the continued high price of wheat it is of little 

 importance as a feed for sheep. Damaged wheat and screenings are 

 fed to sheep, but not to as great an extent as formerly. 



i Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin, Eighth Annual Report (1S91), Madison, 

 1892. 



