FOREST AND RANGE RESOURCES OF UTAH 49 



SALTING SHEEP 



Salt fed to sheep should be of a kind that will allow each individual 

 to get all it requires in a very short time and without injury to its 

 mouth. Rock salt or block salt is very unsatisfactory for this pur- 

 pose. The broad hard surface prevents sheep from getting the 

 amount they require quickly, because the salt must be dissolved from 

 the surface by licking with the tongue. This slow process takes 

 much of the time which should be spent grazing or resting. The 

 sheep remain on the bed ground longer in the morning in order to 

 lick salt. During the day many of them return to the salt blocks, 

 because they are unable to get a sufficient amount during the night. 

 When rock or block salt is used the sheep are moving to and from 

 the salt throughout the night. This increases the restlessness of 

 the entire band and impairs their growth. Lambs are easily crowded 

 away from the few available chunks. A large percentage of them 

 therefore get only a very small quantity of salt, and, in their hunger 

 for it, eat quantities of dirt and clay. Under these conditions a 

 hard mass soon forms in the stomach which results in death. In 

 their endeavor to get salt with greater facility the sheep gnaw at the 

 hard salt surface. As a result, the teeth most valuable in securing 

 forage are shattered. With poor teeth sheep are unable to withstand 

 the rigors of range conditions. They must, therefore, be marketed 

 as culls at an early age. 



Ordinary coarse crystal salt and unrefined fine salt are commonly 

 used for sheep, and give the best results. Besides having all of the 

 qualities desirable for feeding purposes, these salts are easily trans- 

 ported and can be accurately apportioned. 



The demands of the sheep should be the basis for salting. In many 

 instances it is found to be an advantage to feed between 20 and 30 

 pounds of salt per band of sheep each evening. Longer periods than 

 seven days between salting interferes with the management of the 

 sheep, and impairs their condition. The method which seems the 

 most practical from the standpoint of convenience and the require- 

 ments of the sheep is to feed all the salt the sheep will utilize regu- 

 larly every five days. 



Most salt is fed on the range by distributing it over the area on 

 which the sheep will bed. Many small piles of about a double 

 handful each are placed upon flat rocks, bunches of sod, or in other 

 spots where it will be kept freest from dirt, and cafe is taken not 

 to distribute more than the sheep will eat. 



SALT CONTAINER FOR SHEEP 



In some places portable troughs, in which salt is placed every 

 night, are used to good advantage on the bed grounds. The dis- 

 advantage in using troughs is that the salt is not sufficiently distri- 

 buted for all the sheep to get it at once, but this disadvantage may 

 be overcome to some extent by having the salt on the ground every 

 night. 



WATER DEVELOPMENT 



Banges often abound in small seeps and springs that are highly 

 important because they are the only sources of water. Large springs 



4166°— 30 4 



