240 Animal Husbandry 
lambs, and the disadvantages of dressing and marketing, many 
sheep owners prefer to grow spring lambs. There is much profit 
in selling lambs afoot in May and June. Usually the highest 
prices are obtained in June, as at this time the supply of winter- 
fed western lambs is exhausted, and the summer-fed lambs are not 
yet on the market in any considerable number. 
The foundation stock and the management should be much the 
same as that suggested in growing winter lambs. The ewes should 
be mated in August, September, and October, as the lambs should 
be dropped in late January, Feburary, and March, not later than 
Fig. 100. — Flock of Southdown lambs. 
March. The lambs should be provided with creeps and fed grain 
in the same manner as advised for winter lambs; for if they are to 
be marketed in a thick fat condition at the age of four or five 
months, they must be forced from the beginning. It is rather 
difficult to fatten lambs for the spring market if they once lose 
their baby fat. 
Lambs dropped in February and thus cared for should make a 
weight of approximately eighty pounds by the middle of June. 
As this is the weight demanded of this class of mutton, it should 
be the aim of the sheep owner to supply it. When there are several 
lambs, or when one is located convenient to market, it may be 
advisable to make two drafts, selling the larger and fatter ones 
say the first of June, and the remainder of the lamb flock the latter 
part of the month. 
