610 Feeds and Feeding. 



It is shown ttat com meal alone proved a more economical feed 

 than in combination with oats or peas before weaning and of equal 

 value to these combinations after ■weaning. 



It is probable that corn meal will force the largest and most 

 economical gain with lambs both before and after weaning, the 

 protein they require being secured from the dam's milk and past- 

 ure graes. It is not prudent, however, to use com alone for ewe 

 lambs which are to be used later for breeding purposes, for this | 

 grain builds fat and not bone and muscle. 



777. Feeding grain to lambs before weaning. — At the Wiscon- 

 sin Station, ' Craig conducted trials with lambs receiving grain 

 before weaning, other lots fed in comparison getting none. Among 

 the conclusions reached are the following: 



" The continuous grain feeding from birth until the lambs were 

 about ten months old did not produce any noticeable difference in 

 the carcasses in respect to the mixture of fat and lean. 



"The lambs that were fed grain continuously from birth until 

 about ten months old sheared a heavier fleece of either washed 

 or unwashed wool than those that did not receive any grain pre- 

 vious to the third or fattening period. 



" The wool from the lambs that were fed grain from birth con- 

 tained more yolk or grease than that from those that had no grain 

 previous to the fattening period. 



"The continuous grain feeding materially influenced the early 

 maturity of the lambs. In three of the trials the lambs so fed 

 weighed as much per head seven weeks before the conclusion of 

 the trials as those that had no grain weighed at the end of the 

 trials. In the remaining two trials, the grain-fed lambs equaled 

 the average weight of those that did not receive any grain, four 

 weeks before. The cost of securing these (equal) weights did 

 not materially differ in most of the trials. 



"When the lambs are to be sold at weaning time in July, at 

 the age of three or four months, it is profitable to feed grain be- 

 fore weaning. 



"When the lambs are to be sold when about seven months old 

 in November, it will pay to feed them grain both before and after 

 weaning. 



> Rept. 1896. 



