130 Western Live-stock Management 



fed to range sheep, although it has been found that at times 

 when feed is very scarce and it becomes necessary to ship 

 or haul the feed for considerable distance, grain is more 

 economical than hay on account of the ease with which it 

 may be handled. Especially is this true where it is neces- 

 sary to haul the feed for several miles out into the range. 

 If the sheep have sage-brush to nibble on with an occa- 

 sional bite of grass, one-fourth pound of grain a day will 

 help greatly in pulling them through a bad winter. In 

 some of the range districts on the eastern slopes of the 

 Rocky Mountains, the sheep-men purchase corn in car- 

 load lots and hold it as insurance against short feed. In 

 other localities, cotton-seed cake and linseed cake are 

 used. The nut size cake is used the most as it can be fed 

 on the ground. It is given at the rate of four or five 

 ounces a head a day. In some localities it is necessary 

 to keep the ewes up and feed in corrals a great part of 

 the winter. In such cases, alfalfa hay is used. The cost 

 of wintering in this system is somewhat greater than 

 where some grazing is available. 



LAMBING 



The proper time for lambing is the earliest time of the 

 year that climate and feeding conditions will permit. 

 Lambs should not come before the green grass starts in 

 the spring, since green grass is quite essential to a maxi- 

 mum milk flow. The possibility of late storms is also 

 an important consideration, especially in the higher al- 

 titudes. The actual date of lambing varies somewhat 

 according to local conditions and according to the amount 

 of hay and feed room which the owner may have. The 

 larger part of the range lambs in the Northwest are dropped 



