LAMBS FROM BIRTH UNTIL WEANED I05 



much increased, as the lamb which she owns will get 

 more than its share of the food. It may be necessary in 

 some instances to allow the lamb to nurse occasionally 

 some other ewe which has an ample supply of milk. (5) 

 The ewe is confined in a stanchion. This may be tem- 

 porary or permanent. When temporary the ewe is con- 

 fined by driving two stakes down into the ground, one on 

 each side of the neck, and two more, one on each side 

 of the hip. In both instances they are tied at the top. 

 The lambs are thus put in a position to help themselves 

 and when they get strong the ewe will in time allow 

 them to nurse. Where a large flock is kept it may be 

 profitable to have a permanent stanchion with feed man- 

 ger in front of it in which to fasten such ewes in case 

 of need, ^^'hen thus fastened the ewes can still lie down 

 and rest at will. 



When a ewe loses her lamb or Iambs she may be 

 made to adopt another by removing the skin from her 

 dead lamb and tying it over the body of the other lamb 

 for a time. This plan is usually more successful when the 

 strange lamb is thus clad with the skin of the other while 

 it is yet warm. Where this plan does not succeed the 

 ewe will usually come to allow it to nurse after she has 

 been made to suckle it for a number of days. The aim 

 should be to have every ewe of breeding age in the flock 

 suckle a lamb, not only because of the food which she is 

 thus made to furnish, but because of the favorable influ- 

 ence which it has on her future breeding. 



Rearing lambs by hand — Lambs may be reared suc- 

 cessfully that are hand fed. The cost of such rearing, 

 however, is so much that in many instances it exceeds the 

 value of the lambs when they are reared for meat pro- 

 duction only. In the counties of Dorset and Somerset, 

 England, such lambs are reared regularly by certain 

 dairymen who obtain them from flocks in which an ex- 

 cess of lambs have been produced. It will, of course, be 



