174 Sheep-Farming 



bred on this plan may serve two or three ewes both 

 morning and evening for a limited number of days, 

 and a well-cared-for mature ram so handled can get 

 one hundred ewes in lamb in a season. 



Marking the bred ewes. — Whether the ewes are 

 bred in the field or the barn, some plan of marking 

 is necessary in order to keep track of when the lambs 

 are due. For field breeding the common practice 

 is to paint the breast of the ram each day. When 

 this is done, it is easy to tell which ewes are bred 

 and to take their flock numbers and record the date 

 of service. If the color of paint used is changed at 

 intervals of ten days, it is possible to know which 

 ewes have come in heat again and how sure the 

 ram is. 



When hand-breeding is practiced, that is, when 

 the ram is not allowed to run with the flock, the ewes 

 can be marked as bred. Those bred the first week 

 may be given a small mark on the left shoulder. 

 Those bred the next week upon the left side, those 

 the following weeks upon the right shoulder and 

 side or other places. This makes it possible to go 

 into the flock at lambing time and readily separate 

 out those due to lamb in any week and place them 

 in suitable quarters. 



