16 Sheep-Farming 



Racks and troughs. — When silage is used, the 

 rack described in Figure 1 is very satisfactory. A 

 cheaper and Hghter rack for both grain and hay is 

 shown in Figure 2. It may be used for feeding silage 

 also. It is 2 feet in width, inside measurement, and 

 may be any convenient length. The posts are 30 

 or 32 inches high, depending upon size of sheep to be 

 fed. The floor of the trough should be elevated 8 to 

 10 inches above the foot of the post. The side boards 

 are 6 inches wide. When made for feeding small 

 sheep, the perpendicular slats should be 12 inches 

 from center to center. They are made of 5- by 2-inch 

 stuff, thus leaving a 10-inch feeding space between. 

 For larger sheep, more room at the rack must be pro- 

 vided. This can be done by putting the upright slats 

 wider apart. The feeding spaces are closed, while feed 

 is being distributed by a panel of 2-inch slats, spaced 

 the same distance, that is arranged to slide half the 

 width of the feeding space, as shown in Figure 3. 



For feeding hay and dry grain, the rack shown 

 in Figure 4 is highly satisfactory. With this rack 

 empty, grain may be poured into both troughs at 

 the same time, as the slats sloping toward either 

 trough are equal in number and width. Two inches 

 is the proper width to make the slats. The figure 

 will make the construction clear. 



The simplest provision for feeding hay and grain 

 is to do so in separate racks. For the hay, a simple 

 box rack shown in Figure 6, and for grain, the 



