10 Sheep Management, Breeds and Judging. 



Therefore, the up-to-date sheep breeder never uses 

 ram lambs for breeding, or at least only in rare 

 cases. For instance, a breeder buys an exceed- 

 ingly good ram lamb for a high price, which he 

 intends to use as a yearling in his flock, and he 

 may be very anxious to see the off'spring from it. 

 In such a case, it might be allowable to breed this 

 ram lamb to three or perhaps even five ewes, but, 

 of course, it would be better if the lamb is not 

 used at all. The reason why so many ram lambs 

 are used for breeding is that farmers can purchase 

 a lamb a little cheaper than a yearling, but the 

 few extra dollars saved in the purchase price are 

 doubly lost at the other end. In the writer's opin- 

 ion it is far better to buy a yearling ram instead 

 of a lamb, because tlie yearling has nearly reached 

 full development and with proper care will not 

 change his form. In the case of the lamb, how- 

 ever, its future development cannot in all cases 

 be correctly predicted, as lambs often change 

 markedly in conformation. Indeed, the best of 

 lambs have often turned out to be poor yearlings. 



THE CARE OF THE RAM IN SUMMER. 



To let the ram run with the flock during the 

 summer and fall is not the best practice. The ram 

 is more or less restless when in company with 

 breeding ewes, and ewes often become pregnant 



