CHAPTER XXXVIII 



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SHEEP AND LAMB 



FEEDING 



Sheep and Lamb Feeding Conducted in Autumn and 

 Winter. — By far the greater part of sheep and lamb feeding is con- 

 ducted in the autumn and winter. There are two reasons for this. 

 One is that many persons are not prepared to feed except at this 

 time of year, the other is that feeder sheep and lambs are not 

 shipped from the range to the markets in large numbers until the 

 autumn months. 



Feeder sheep and lambs reach the markets in largest numbers in 

 the autumn, because the moving of the sheep at this time from the 

 summer range in the mountains to the winter range on the plains 

 furnishes one of the best opportunities to dispose of surplus stock. 

 Often it is absolutely necessary to dispose of part of the stock being 

 moved out of the mountains on account of the winter range not 

 being sufficient to maintain all of it. Of the number which owners 

 are obliged to sell, a fair percentage is classed as feeders. 



As a rule the autumn and winter are the best seasons for farmers 

 to feed sheep and lambs. At that time the general farm work does 

 not require so much attention and feeding can be followed to an 

 advantage because it furnishes a means for retaining the regular 

 force of laborers on the farm. 



Types of Sheep and Lamb Feeding. — The Dry Lot. — Feed- 

 ing altogether on harvested or stored feeds is commonly referred to 

 as dry-lot feeding. It is practiced in various places in the West, in 

 Michigan, and to a certain extent, in Ohio and New York. In 

 Michigan it is the common practice to place the sheep or lambs in 

 barns and keep them there continuously through the feeding period. 

 In other places the plan is frequently modified by providing a run in 

 an outside lot in addition to the shelter, and in the West, where the 

 fall and winters are usually dry, the animals are kept entirely in 

 open lots. 



As a rule, Michigan feeders produce the necessary roughage and 

 store it in the bam where the feeding is to be done, but the greater 

 part of the concentrates required are purchased. Just what con- 



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