50 Practical Sheep Husbandry 



Kinds to Buy 



Kinds to buy depends on the feeds that are available. Thin natives 

 should never be taken out as feeders from a market, for they do not 

 fatten evenly, and if wormy, cause trouble. Native sheep or lambs 

 should be made fat by the man who produces them. If thin, they have 

 to sell to the packers as culls at low prices. In this country lamb meat 

 is favored, but in England and some other countries, mutton is equally 

 favored. Lambs are generally the most economical class to feed. 

 First, because of the premium paid for them over mutton ; second, 

 because all the tests show that lambs consume less feed for the amount 

 of gain than do older sheep. Some feeders favor oMer sheep where 

 roughage is the principal consideration, and if it is to be fed in the field. 

 The claim is made by these men that older sheep will come nearer get- 

 ting fat running in a field than lambs. The writer gives this argument 

 some consideration, as any young animal is harder to fatten than an 

 older one, if given exercise. Where a large amount of roughage is to 

 be consumed, a bunch of old ewes, too old to go as breeders and that 

 have been suckling lambs all summer, will put on a big gain, and often 

 can be bought at a price so low that they are to be preferred to lambs. 

 Aged wethers, which, however, are seldom over three or four years 

 old, are always good plant scavengers, make good corn buskers and 

 are easy to handle and fatten. Yearling wethers, if of handy weights 

 when fat, say under a hundred pounds, sell as lambs to the butcher, 

 providing their front joints break, which is one way of convincing 

 the butcher that he is buying lamb. (Desirable weights change from 

 time to time.) They are also, as a rule, robust and hardy, but are a 

 little harder to finish than older wethers. 



If the farmer has cutover brush land or wild pasture he wishes 

 tamed down, goats should be used, or big, strong wethers, thin in flesh. 

 Ewes with lambs at their sides should never be used for this purpose. 

 Southwestern desert goats make ideal brushers. 



It is generally advisable to dip sheep or lambs being taken out as 

 feeders from the market, and if not prepared to do it at home, the pur- 

 chaser can have it done at the market at a nominal cost. 



Starting Sheep on Green Feed 



Great care should be exercised in starting sheep or lambs on green 

 feed. In most sections of the range country it gets pretty dry during 

 the summer months and the grass is short, although good. Placing 

 these sheep on rank, green feed, especially after they have had no feed 

 at all for twenty-four to thirty-six hours, is likely to produce disastrous 

 results. Sheep should first be placed in a dry lot and given all the good 

 hay they can eat. Next morning they can be turned out for a couple 

 of hours and then brought back on the dry feed again. This should 

 continue for about a week, extending the time a little longer each day. 

 Scours, caused by sheep gorging themselves on green feed, should 

 receive immediate attention, and the only cure is to place them on dry 

 feed until the scours are dried up. If sheep that have the scours are 

 allowed to run on green feed they will get very weak, and may die. 



