Feeding Farm Sheep 211 
the amount they eat, but too much exercise in the case 
of fattening sheep may make the cost of a hundred pounds 
of gain a little greater. 
FALL SHEARING 
The question of fall shearing is one that has caused 
considerable discussion in the feeding operations of the 
West. In many localities where the climate is mild, 
sheep that are shorn before being placed on-feed will 
oftentimes make larger gains than if unshorn. Taking 
all in all, it is very questionable whether the practice of 
shearing would be profitable to the farmer, since shorn 
sheep are docked on the market so as to compensate 
the buyer for the loss of the wool. 
CONCENTRATES 
The concentrates used to the greatest extent in the 
feeding of sheep throughout the West are corn, barley, 
oats, wheat, speltz, peas, cotton-seed cakes, linseed oil 
meal, and bran. They all have their merits and their 
limitations. , 
Corn. 
Corn has been fed more to fattening sheep in the United 
States than any other grain, but plays its greatest part 
in the feeding operations of the Corn-Belt. The western 
states being removed from the region often have to rely 
on other grains. Wherever it is successfully grown, corn 
possibly makes the best concentrate for fattening sheep. 
It can also be used with good success when fed in limited 
amounts to breeding and growing stock, although it is 
too carbonaceous in character to form more than a part of 
their ration. It may be shelled and cracked, or ground. 
