WESTERN LAMB FEEDING. 267 



FEEDING MATTJEE WETHEES. 



There are advantages in feeding wethers 

 that lambs do not possess. They are big and 

 strong and hardy. They do not die so easily. 

 They do not need shelter so much as the lambs 

 need it. They will thrive quite well on com 

 and com stover with little hay. They are 

 adapted to a ruder, rougher style of sheep hus- 

 bandry than the lambs. 



There are, however, some few essentials to 

 successful wether feeding. First and most im- 

 portant is to buy the right class and to buy 

 them cheap enough. With the lamb one can 

 afiford better to pay too much, since the gain 

 in weight may be so great that the excess of 

 cost may be offset by the good gain in weight 

 and profitable price for it. With mature sheep 

 much smaller gains can be had and if there is 

 not a material advance in selling price over cost 

 loss is apt to ensue. 



In lamb feeding there is often most profit in 

 buying small, immature lambs. With wethers, 

 on the other hand, the bigger and better 

 matured they are the better the chances pre- 

 sumably are for profits in feeding them. That 

 is, if they have been bought low enough so 

 that the selling price will be materially better. 

 There is thus the deserved gain on the first 

 cost besides the pay for what weight is put on. 

 Opinions differ as to what advance in price the 

 feeder of mature sheep must have in order to 

 make a profit. Certainly it depends much upon 

 the selling price; if that is high there is need of 



