206 MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF SHEEP 



preferred to those that are older, as they will then take 

 the market at weights under rather than over loo pounds. 

 Weights even lighter than those named are preferred to 

 those that are heavier. Sheep of the medium and smooth 

 types are also preferred for fattening to those that are 

 larger. Heavy-weight lambs and wethers, such as were 

 much sought for years ago, are no longer in highest favor 

 with dealers or consumers. 



The favorite age at which to turn off feeding lambs 

 is not a matter of so much importance as the weight 

 which the lambs reach when marketed. It is necessary 

 to sell lambs of the large breeds at an early age, lest they 

 become too heavy for the market demands. The weight 

 attained by mature sheep will vary, of course, with the 

 breed. The plan of fattening wethers at an age under one 

 year is continually growing in favor. The maintenance 

 of wethers for a longer period is now mainly confined to 

 the western ranges, and even on these it is growing less 

 in favor, as the maintenance of breeding ewes is thought 

 to be more profitable. 



The age at which lambs shall be marketed is of much 

 less consequence than the weight which they possess. 

 The aim should be to have them reach the market as near 

 as may be possible to the favorite weights. To accom- 

 plish this it will be necessary to sell lambs of the large 

 breeds at an earlier age than those of the smaller breeds. 

 Shearlings make gains more quickly than sheep that are 

 older, and they call for a somewhat more nitrogenous diet 

 to aid in advancing development, though not so much so 

 as in the case with lambs. The older the sheep, the more 

 the food that is called for to make increase, and the more 

 carbonaceous may the ration be. The older that breed- 

 ing ewes are, the more expensive is it relatively to fatten 

 them and the less the price that is paid for them in the 

 market. 



The condition of the sheep and lambs at the time of 

 purchase has an important bearing on the resultant profit, 



