374 SHBEP HUSBANDRY. 



HOW TO TELL THE AGE OF SHEEP AND OTHER 

 USEFUL FACTS. 



Teeth as an Indication of Age. The sheep has eight incisors 

 or cutting teeth, which are all found upon the lower jaw. The remain- 

 der of the teeth, twenty -four in number, are divided among the upper 

 and lower jaws equal!)'. While there is a general rule as to dentition iu 

 sheep, yet there are few breeds that mature early, and what would be 

 correct in judging the ages of one class of sheep, would not be accurate 

 in another. The following are the accepted periods of dentition, and 

 may be found useful in dstermining the age of a sheep : 



At one month there are eight temporary front teeth or incisors, atid 

 three temporary molars on each side of each jaw. 



At three months there will be added a permanent molar to the three 

 temporary ones. 



At nine months there will appear the second permanent molar. 



At twelve months the first pair of permanent incisors appear. This 

 is often delayed till about the age of fourteen months. 



At eighteen months the third permanent mol.-^R appears. 



At twenty-one months there will be four permanent incisors. 



At twenty-seven months the temporary molars drop out and perm:i- 

 nent ones b^gin to show. 



At thirty months there are six permanent incisors. 



At forty months all the eight permanent incisors have appeared. 



Relative Weight of Carcass. The result of experiments in 

 which sheep were weighed before slaughtering, and the carcass weighed 

 after, .showed the value of dressed meat less the caul fat to be a little 

 over one-half the live weight. 



Ticks on I/ambs and Sheep. Ticks often appear on lambs and 

 sheep late in the spring, and are annoying to the animal and injurious 

 to their constitution. The best remedy for this pest is to dip both the 

 sheep and lambs into water into which coarse tobacco has been steeped, 

 in the proportion of four pounds of tobacco to twentj' gallons of water. 

 When thoroughly steeped add one pound of flowers of sulphur. The 

 liquid should be kept warm while dipping the animals, by adding fresh 

 hot liquid. A temperature of 120° F. is necessary to kill the tick. The 

 liquid that drips from the sheep should be caught and reheated and 

 used again. 



