Fattening Range Lambs in Winter 161 



fancy names go so far as to claim, in some cases, that the 

 ground hay is fully equal to, if not better than, the com- 

 mon grains. 



Grain for sheep does not need to be ground, cooked, or 

 treated in any way. There is no class of animals better 

 able to grind its own grain than sheep. There is a pos- 

 sible exception to this rule, however, in the case of old 

 ewes with bad teeth. 



SHEARING FOR FEED-LOT 



In regions where the winter climate is not too severe, 

 the practice of shearing sheep for the feed-lot is more or 

 less common. The object of shearing is to increase the 

 gain, the idea being that shorn lambs will thrive better 

 and have better appetites. There is usually no profit to 

 be obtained on the operation of shearing itself. Shorn 

 sheep are docked to such a degree as to account for all 

 possible profit. A few figures gathered in the range dis- 

 trict will prove this contention. On an average, 100 

 pounds of lamb will yield eight pounds of wool, which 

 will bring 18 cents in the grease. 



8 pounds of wool ©18(4 S1.44 



Cost of shearing and marketing this 8 pounds wool . . .15 

 Net income from wool $1.29 



Were this wool marketed on the sheep's back, it would 

 bring at mutton prices 7 cents a pound, or 56 cents. This 

 leaves a net difference of 73 cents in favor of marketing 

 the wool off the sheep's back. However, the dock on 

 shorn sheep is usually $1.00 a 100 pounds. In this case, 

 the dock more than accounts for the profit which might 

 arise from shearing. These figures were gathered in 

 1914. Since that time prices of mutton and wool have 



M 



