SHEEP UNDER FARM CONDITIONS I59 



If it is impossible to change the sheep from one 

 pasture to another as the grass becomes poor, then 

 the feed supply may be increased with some of the 

 first cutting of clover or alfalfa, and later in the 

 summer the green corn may be cut and fed in the 

 open pasture with good results. It is easy to pro- 

 vide plenty of good green feed for autumn by sow- 

 ing quick-growing crops in the stubble field, or in 

 the growing corn, and pasturing this in September 

 and October. By this means the lamb will receive 

 no setback in its growth from the time of its birth 

 to its arrival in the fattening pen. This change 

 from pasture conditions to the feed lot is a critical 

 period, and should be made gradually. The lamb 

 should be weaned some time previous to its removal 

 from the pasture to the feed lot, so that its milk 

 ration and the green feed of the pasture shall not 

 be taken away at the same time. If good, green 

 grazing has been provided for the period just fol- 

 lowing weaning there need be no bad effects notice- 

 able when this change is made. 



DOCKING 



Docking young lambs is an almost universal cus- 

 tom. The only section of the country where this 

 is not commonly practiced is the territory of New 

 Mexico, where the wether lambs are often left un- 

 locked. A flock of long-tailed sheep in the stock 

 yards is put down at once as New Mexico stock, 

 so prevalent is the docking custom in all other 

 sections of the country. The tail is a useless ap- 

 pendage, hard to shear and of more nuisance than 

 benefit to the animal, and this is the reason for 

 docking. The lambs are usually docked at from 

 ten days to three weeks old, because at that age the 



