378 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



such excitement, and all unnecessary noise must be avoided., 

 To avoid startling the sheep, herdsmen often make it a prac-^ 

 tice to whistle or talk to them as they approach. 



Sheep are the most susceptible of farm animals to the: 

 ravages of parasites, both internal and external. These para- 

 sites in some one or more of their many forms are responsible 

 for the larger number of failures in this country. No part of 

 our land is free from them all. In certain localities one form 

 will be the more destructive, in other localities another form is 

 to be dreaded. For example, in the corn-belt the stomach 

 worm (Strongylus contortus) is by far the most serious, while 

 in the far West, scab is the more troublesome. As a rule little 

 attention is given these parasites; the flock becomes infested, 

 many of the sheep become ill and die, and the others fail to 

 thrive, and sometimes the owner does not know what causes the 

 trouble. 



Sheep possess a very dainty appetite. The food must be at- 

 tractive when placed before them or they are likely to refuse it. 

 Any food left in the feed boxes must be removed as soon as the 

 sheep are through feeding. If such food is left, it undergoes 

 sUght change, becoming sour, and when the fresh food is placed 

 in this, the sheep refuse it entirely. Sometimes the trough in 

 which the grain is fed is placed beneath the hay-rack in such a 

 way as to collect the dust, dirt, and chaff that sifts from the 

 hay. This construction, while economical of material and 

 space, is objectionable because the grain trough cannot be 

 kept clean as it should be, with the result that occasionally 

 the sheep refuse the grain. 



While sheep can withstand the cold without suffering much 

 inconvenience, they cannot endure the rain or snow that satu- 

 rates their wool, nor dark, damp, and poorly ventilated quar- 

 ters. Such conditions lead to colds, running at the nose, 

 catarrh, inflammation, diarrhea, and all kinds of sheep diseases. 

 From this it follows that if sheep are to prove profitable, they 



