Summer Management of the Flock 209 



be used to maintain the supply of summer feed. 

 Cabbage affords a large amount of the best of feed, 

 and when it can be raised and fed in a suitable 

 place, is a very valuable feed. 



Alfalfa is one of the most valuable forage crops. 

 It can be used to carry sheep all through the season 

 or for use when none of the other crops is ready. 

 If it is to be used as one of several crops for such use, 

 it is likely to be much more satisfactory to cut it 

 and feed it green on other ground. By carefully 

 getting sheep accustomed to running on alfalfa and 

 having a clean pasture to use in conjunction with it, 

 some flockmasters get along with little loss. This, 

 however, is when it is used for some length of time, 

 and not when the sheep are being changed from one 

 crop to another. 



Weaning. — There is considerable variation in the 

 ages at which lambs are weaned, but at four months 

 of age is the standard time. It is not often considered 

 necessary to take out the older ones first, though if 

 some of the lambs are much younger than the others, 

 it may be advisable to leave them with their dams 

 after the older ones are weaned. With good fall 

 management to insure a short lambing season, the 

 lambs are all ready for weaning at the same time 

 and the ewes uniformly prepared for breeding and 

 another short lambing time. Weaning may be done 

 at ten or twelve weeks, though such is possible only 

 when there is plenty of good green feed available 



