CHAPTEE XXXI 

 CARE OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY 



Condition. — Ewes should not be given a fattening ration during 

 tlie period of pregnancy, but they should be put in rather high con- 

 dition, for the following reasons : First, they are more likely to give 

 birth to strong, vigorous lambs, and to have the amount of milk 

 necessary to make their oifspring grow rapidly. Second, being well- 

 fed, and having an adequate supply of milk, they are less likely to 

 disown their lambs than are thin, improperly nourished ewes. 

 Third, when the lambs are born, the ewes should have a considerable 

 reserve of fat to assist in carrying them through the suckling period, 

 for this is a time when the demands on them are so great that they 

 usually fail to maintain their weight even though they are liberally 

 fed. So important is this matter of proper condition at lambing 

 time that in case a number of ewes are in very thin condition at the 

 close of the breeding season they should be taken out to themselves 

 and given an extra amount of feed (Fig. 163). 



Feed in Fields. — On most farms, particularly in the corn belt 

 of the United States, there are pastures, oat or wheat stubble, and 

 com stalks to be utilized in the fall of the year. It is the best 

 policy to make use of the stubble and stalks as early as possible before 

 they have deteriorated in feeding value through exposure to rains 

 and frosts. Bluegrass and timothy pastures and even old clover 

 fields can be left for use until late autumn and early winter in case 

 the stubble and stalks furnish an abundance of food. In fact, 

 pastures in the corn belt can be grazed with sheep most of the time 

 during all of the winter months, but they should not be injured by 

 over -pasturing and, unless they constitute a large acreage for the 

 number of sheep kept, they should not be depended upon as the only 

 source of feed during that time. 



If the amount of pasture is limited, some succulent autumn and 



winter feed may be obtained by sowing rye late in August or early in 



September at the rate of one bushel per acre. In the northern states, 



however, rye as a winter pasture should not be regarded as a feed 



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