THE B HEEDING OF SHEEP 417 



Sore mouth. — Often lambs are troubled with a kind of conta- 

 gious sore mouth, which affects the teats of the ewes as well. 

 These sores form scabs along the edges of the mouth, and small 

 sores on the teats of the ewe. This often becomes so serious 

 as to interfere with the thrift of the Iamb. The treatment is 

 to rub off the scabs and apply undiluted coal-tar dip, of which 

 there are many kinds on the market, such as are mentioned on 

 page 426. This will effect a complete cure. 



Sore eyes. — Like sore mouth, this is a contagious disease; 

 and, while often interfering seriously with the thrift of the lambs, 

 is very easily cured. One of the coal-tar dips diluted with forty 

 parts water used as a wash will work a rapid cure. It is well 

 to see that a little of the diluted dip gets into the eyes ; this may 

 start the tears, but it has the desired effect. 



General care of lambs 



Feeding the lambs. — Lambs early begin to nibble at hay and 

 grain, and advantage should be taken of this to encourage them 

 to eat solid food. During lambhood the digestion is more 

 thorough, and lambs make larger gains from a given quantity 

 of food, than at any other time. Encourage the lamb to eat 

 food, in addition to that furnished by the dam. Furthermore, 

 this extra feeding renders weaning a very easy task. At the 

 age of ten days to two weeks lambs will begin to eat grain, and 

 special provision should be made for them. For this construct 

 a creep (page 392). Grain should be put down twice daily, 

 and no more than the lambs will consume, as it will become 

 stale if left in the boxes. Lambs that have been well fed in 

 every way always mature to be much larger and stronger with 

 heavier fleeces than the others. 



Weaning the lambs. — Weaning is more a matter of prepara- 

 tion than of actual separation. When lambs have been accus- 

 tomed to grain as suggested and when they can have access 

 to the creeps after the ewes are removed, there will be very little 

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