Fattening Sheep 255 



experiment was tried in feeding rape alone against 

 rape and pasturage. Thirty lambs comprised the 

 two lots, the one being put on an acre of rape and 

 the other given a similar amount with pasture. 

 In fifty-eight days both lots had eaten their respective 

 acres, but the 15 on rape alone gained an average 

 of 22.93 pounds per head, and those receiving rape 

 and pasture 28 pounds per head, thus showing the 

 advantage of having pasturage for the sheep to 

 graze when being fed on rape. 



Precautions necessary in feeding rape. — When 

 sheep are being herded on rape, there is danger of 

 bloating or diarrhea from excessive eating. Pastur- 

 ing the sheep for a few hours previous to turning 

 them on the rape, or allowing them to have the range 

 of a small piece of pasture at all times, will assist 

 in preventing these troubles. The use of the trocar 

 and cannula is the most efficient method of relieving 

 bloat in urgent cases, while in mild attacks the 

 giving of ammonia, a teaspoonful in three times as 

 much water, will usually bring relief. 



Shearing lambs before fattening them. — When 

 lambs are being fattened early in the fall or in pre- 

 paring them for winter fattening, it is a profitable 

 practice to shear them before the fattening begins. 

 At the Ontario Experiment Station, 10 lambs 

 sheared in January made practically the same gain 

 in weight as 10 others not shorn and similarly fed. 

 At the Wisconsin Station, no advantage has been 



