28 Pkactical Sheep Husbandry 



of experienced sheep men through the central states, who favor the 

 older ewe. They buy an old, solid toothed set of ewes, strictly heavy 

 shearers, big of frame and strong, and breed them to a pure bred ram. 

 In selecting old ewes, the ewes' teeth must be carefully examined, 

 udders examined for lumps, other defects, etc. Old ewes make good 

 mothers and throw and raise a big per cent of lambs. These men get 

 a fresh set of ewes every fall. The quality of the lambs, from a mar- 

 ket standpoint, is excellent, and if fat, they sell at top prices. 



Farm Flock Reommended 



I do not favor the latter system of laising sheep, although it is all 

 right and a money maker. This man must send his ewes back to mar- 

 ket fat, as they are too old to go to the country again. These old ewes 

 he has to keep through until fall, so for a short time he has two sets 

 of ewes on his place, his fresh set and the old ones, that are kept to be 

 made fat on the late fall feeds. My advice to the layman is to buy a 

 younger set of ewe£, allot them a place on his farm and breed them 

 up from year to year. He will soon learn to love his flock, take pride 

 in it, and to be ever zealous for its welfare. The possibilities of money 

 making are just as great, or greater, than the other way, but aside from 

 this, there is that about developing and bringing an article up to a cer- 

 tain state of perfection that is gratifying to any producer. Just get- 

 ting money does not constitute successful achievement. The gambler 

 may be in possession of a lot of money, but I never knew one who was 

 really happy. To produce something that will be of benefit to one's 

 fellowman spells success. 



Most Important Periods 



One often reads or hears someone say something regarding the 

 most important period between the mating of the ewe and the market- 

 ing of the lamb. It is my contention that there is no most important 

 period. There is no numljer from 1 to 9 that is most important. We 

 have feeders who are "cracker jacks" six days out of the week, but are 

 failures because they miss one day. 



Mating 



I will try to cover the whole period, and while, for lack of space, I 

 can only touch each period, I will try to give the reader a few important 

 fundamentals. 



(a) Ewes should be in flushed or gaining condition when ram is 

 placed with them. 



(b) Shear ewes around the rear parts and see that dung does not 

 collect there. 



(c) Ewes should be dipped at least a month before mating. 



(d) Use one good, strong, young ram with every twenty-five to 

 forty ewes. 



(e) Feed the ram a pound of grain each day. 



