256 



CARE OF SHEEP 



cracked corn, peas, and wheat bran. The grain may be 

 graduahy increased up to one pound daily. When the time 

 comes to yard them, they should be fed either alfalfa or 

 clover hay for dry roughage, some succulent feed such as 

 corn silage or roots, of which rutabagas are best, and a 

 grain mixture of shelled corn or corn meal, and a small 

 amount of linseed meal or cottonseed meal. Linseed cake 



Fig. 92. — Docking a lamb. 



and cottonseed cake broken into nut size gives better satis- 

 faction with the lambs than if fed in the finely ground form. 

 The grain ration may gradually be increased up to two 

 pounds daily when the lambs are about ready for market. 



Docking and Trimming. — Lambs should be docked at 

 about the age of two weeks. Docking is the removal of 

 the tail. This insures cleanliness, and docked lambs sell 

 better, to say nothing of their added comfort and better 

 gains. 



The outside of a sheep's hoof grows faster than it wears 

 off unless the sheep are kept on very rough ground. If not 



