Range Sheep 131 



between March first and May first and in the Southwest 

 somewhat earher. 



At lambing time, a number of extra men must be hired. 

 During the other seasons of the year from 1500 to 3000 

 sheep are handled in one band, but during the lambing 

 season each one of the larger bands must be divided into 

 a number of smaller ones. As far as possible, the older 

 and more experienced herders are put in charge of the 

 lambing pens, and the owners and managers in this sea- 

 son of the year are obliged to give the flocks the closest 

 personal attention. There are two principal methods of 

 lambing : namely, the open range and the lambing shed 

 or tent. 



Lambing on the open range. 



Lambing on the open range differs from that in the shed 

 primarily in that the sheep are herded on the range during 

 the day and corralled at night. In different localities 

 lambing on the open range varies somewhat, but the 

 following may be taken as a fair example. At lambing 

 time a night herder is placed in charge of the band. As 

 soon as the lamb is born, it and its mother are removed 

 from the corral and placed in a lambing pen and kept 

 there until maternal relationships are well established. 

 A lambing pen is a pen just large enough for a ewe and 

 her lamb. Some sheep-men vary the above procedure 

 by bedding the drop bands just outside the corrals. The 

 lambs which are born during the night are, under this 

 system, not disturbed unless something Is radically wrong. 

 The next morning the ewes which have no lambs move 

 away from the bedding ground leaving the ewes and 

 their young lambs behind. When the ewes have been 

 bedded outside, this separation is comparatively natural 



