Feeding Farm Sheep 211 



the amount they eat, but too much exercise in the case 

 of fattening sheep may make the cost of a hundred pounds 

 of gain a httle greater. 



PALL SHEARING 



The question of fall shearing is one that has caused 

 considerable discussion in the feeding operations of the 

 West. In many locahties where the climate is mild, 

 sheep that are shorn before being placed on feed will 

 oftentimes make larger gains than if unshorn. Taking 

 all in all, it is very questionable whether the practice of 

 shearing would be profitable to the farmer, since shorn 

 sheep are docked on the market so as to compensate 

 the buyer for the loss of the wool. 



CONCENTRATES 



The concentrates used to the greatest extent in the 

 feeding of sheep throughout the West are corn, barley, 

 oats, wheat, speltz, peas, cotton-seed cakes, linseed oil 

 meal, and bran. They all have their merits and their 

 limitations. 



Corn. 



Corn has been fed more to fattening sheep in the United 

 States than any other grain, but plays its greatest part 

 in the feeding operations of the Corn-Belt. The western 

 states being removed from the region often have to rely 

 on other grains. Wherever it is successfully grown, corn 

 possibly makes the best concentrate for fattening sheep. 

 It can also be used with good success when fed in limited 

 amounts to breeding and growing stock, although it is 

 too carbonaceous in character to form more than a part of 

 their ration. It may be shelled and cracked, or ground. 



