Sheep Farms and their Equipments 15 



sheep need no protection against cold if kept dry and 

 sheltered from wind. There should be at least two 

 square feet of glass windows, through which the sun 

 can shine at some time upon the floor, for each one 

 hundred square feet of floor space, and twice that 

 amount would be better. It is dark, damp, and poorly 

 ventilated stables that are responsible for the some- 

 what widely prevalent notion that sheep will not 

 thrive in confinement. 



At present prices of material and labor, new barns 

 for sheltering sheep and their winter feed may be 

 built for about $300 for each hundred sheep — 

 the larger the barn, the less cost per cubic yard of 

 space inclosed, up to a certain limit in height 

 and width. Forty feet is an economical width 

 and any desired multiple of 14 in length. When 

 greater width is desired, the economical way to pro- 

 vide it is to attach lean-to sheds 14 to 16 feet in 

 width. The plank, truss frame is the most economi- 

 cal in both lumber and labor. With the advent of 

 silage as a sheep feed, less storage room for hay is 

 needed. For fattening sheep and young stock, low 

 sheds open to the east or southeast are very satis- 

 factory, though they call for storage room for feed 

 elsewhere. Should silage prove satisfactory as ex- 

 clusive roughage, then the silo and a low, open shed 

 would be a satisfactory combination of storage and 

 shelter. The writer has used silage extensively, but 

 has not used it as an exclusive roughage. 



