30 Practical Sheep Husbandry 



Feed for 100-Pound Ewe Feed for 115-Pound Ewe 



RATION I 



Corn silage 9 



Clover hay 2.0 



Daily gain 



RATION II 



Corn silage 2 



Clover hay 4 



Pasture in clover and in corn 

 stalks 



Daily gain 



RATION III 



Corn silage 5 



Clover hay 7 



Pasture in corn stalks 



.06 



Daily gain 



.07 



RATION IV 



Shelled com 25 



Alfalfa hay 2.50 



Daily gain .17 



RATION V 



Shelled corn 30 



Alfalfa hay 1.50 



Oat stravir 1.25 



Daily gain .08 



RATION VI 



Shelled com 06 



Alfalfa hay 80 



Oat straw 25 



Blue grass pasture and com 

 stalks 



Daily gain .07 



Since starting to write this book, I have consulted a number of 

 successful sheep producers, and they as a whole advocate against feed- 

 ing ensilage to pregnant ewes, during the month or six weeks previous 

 to lambing. They claim that the ewes are inclined to lose their lambs, 

 and that neither ewe nor lamb is strong at time of birth. No doubt poor 

 ensilage was cause of complaints. Roots in limited quantities are con- 

 sidered by many good shepherds to be a good feed for pregnant ewes. 



During pregnancy, or through the winter months, ewes should not 

 be kept housed. They should have plenty of exercise and the shed or 

 barn they are housed in at night or on stormy, winter days, should 

 always be well bedded, dry and well ventilated, to avoid drafts. They 

 should have clean, pure water in abundance and access to salt. 



Henry reports that Carlyle and Kleinheinz at the Wisconsin station 

 recorded the amount of feed eaten by well-fed, pregnant Shropshire, 

 Dorset, Southdown, Merino and Shropshire-Merino ewes, ranging in 

 weights from 138 pounds to 157 pounds each at the beginning of the 

 trial. The ewes were divided evenly as to size and breed into lots of 

 12. The mixed grain fed consisted of equal parts of corn, oats and bran. 



The corn forage consisted of corn fodder and corn stover. The 

 table shows the average amount of feed consumed daily by each ewe 

 during the winter and the average daily gain of each lot. 



Feed required to maintain a breeding ewe one (1) day in winter: 



SINGLE TRIAL LOT I 



Shelled corn 5 



Mixed hay 2.0 



Corn silage 2.5 



Av. daily gain .23 



SINGLE TRIAL LOT II 



Whole oats 5 



Mixed hay 2.0 



Corn silage 2.5 



Av. daily gain .23 



SINGLE TRIAL LOT III 



Wheat bran 5 



Mixed hay 2.0 



Corn silage 2.5 



Av. daily gain .20 



SINGLE TRIAL LOT IV 



Dried brewers grain 5 



Mixed hay 2.0 



Corn silage 2.5 



Av. daily gain .24 



