Range Sheep 129 
in regular order. The permanent incisors are consider- 
ably larger than the milk teeth and aresomewhat broader 
in shape. The first pair of permanent incisors appears 
in the center of the mouth when the sheep is about twelve 
months old. The next pair appears, one on each side of 
the first pair, the following year. The third pair appears 
when the animal is three years old and the fourth pair 
when it is between four and five years old. This method 
of determining the age of a sheep is quite reliable, although 
feeding may cause a little variation in the time at which 
the permanent teeth appear. 
BREEDING 
Breeding on the range usually occurs somewhere be- 
tween October first and December first. The exact time 
depends on the spring climatic conditions. As the ges- 
tation period of ewes is about five months, breeding should 
begin five months before the lambs are wanted. The rams 
are turned in with the ewe band at the rate of about one 
ram to forty ewes. They are left sufficient time that 
all the ewes are bred, which is usually from sixty to ninety 
days. 
WINTER MANAGEMENT 
Sheep-men estimate the cost of wintering, including 
labor, from 50 cents to $1.00 a head. It is generally con- 
sidered that the price of the wool will easily pay for the 
cost of wintering. At the present time, practically no 
sheep-men attempt to run their sheep through the winter 
without hay. The amount allowed varies considerably, 
but usually runs from seventy-five to two hundred pounds 
a head. One hundred fifty pounds a head would doubt- 
less be more nearly the usual average. Very little grain is 
kK 
