&2 BULLETIN 790, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



herder's bed and salt for the sheep should be moved to the new loca- 

 tion. A site comparatively open, free from down timber and brush, 

 and larger than the actual bedding space required should be selected. 

 On an open site the lambs can find their mothers with the least diffi- 

 culty ; there is least danger from attack by predatory animals, and 

 there is less danger of a " pile up " or crippling of sheep in case the 

 band is frightened during the night. 



High, dry ground on mounds or ridges furnishes the best sites for 

 bedding grounds. Sheep bedded in canyons with adjacent inter- 

 mediate ground open or comparatively free from dense timber and 

 brush have a tendency to leave the bed ground and drift to the ridges. 

 They rarely drift far from a ridge into a canyon. 



Where heavy timber and brush extend over large areas of the 

 range, small openings are of vital importance. Their location should 

 be known, and grazing should be planned so as to use them to best 

 advantage. 



In gathering the sheep in the evening it is especially important 

 that the herder circle the outermost tracks made by the sheep during 

 the daj. Tracks are the best indicators of where the sheep have 

 been. From this outer circle the sheep should be turned toward the 

 site selected for bedding. Stragglers and isolated bunches should be 

 driven to the main band. By about 6 o'clock the sheep should be 

 collected into a loose band near the bedding ground. They may 

 then graze in this formation until they bed for the night. Mean- 

 time, the herder should move about them, counting the bells and 

 markers and watching the ewes and lambs. Lambs that can not 

 find their mothers or ewes that can not find their lambs in a reason- 

 able time may be indications that the sheep are not all in. Care in 

 rounding up the sheep at night can not be overemphasized. The 

 greatest losses occur from leaving small bunches away from the 

 band, subject to attack by predatory animals. 



WATERING. 



The length of time sheep may be away from water depends upon 

 the character of the forage and the weather. On high mountain 

 summer range within National Forests sheep have been grazed suc- 

 cessfully during the entire summer without water. Ordinarily, 

 when the vegetation is succulent, the weather cool, and heavy dew 

 frequent, sheep do not require water oftener than every three or 

 four days. During hot, dry days they will do best if shade, forage, 

 and water are convenient. Areas of succulent feed near water and 

 shade should be reserved for this period. In late summer and fall 

 cool weather and storms ordinarily make watering oftener than 

 every three or four days unnecessary. 



