farmers' bulletin 840. 
PREPARING LAMBS FOR MARKET. 
ADVANTAGES OF EARLY MARKETING. 
Uiulor oixlinarv farm conditions lambs should bo made ready for 
market at from 3 to T) months of age. When young they make a 
higher rate of gain and ^vill put on the same amount of flesh for less 
cost than when they are okler. Then, too, they will make but small 
gains during the heat of summer, and at this time parasites are most 
troublesome and they are thus more liable to losses from this cause. 
Eisk of accidents is always higher when the lambs are held for a long 
time. More feed is saved for the breeding flock, and less labor is 
needed, if the lambs are sold early. Better prices are obtained in the 
spring because of not having to meet the competition of the western 
lambs that are marketed during the summer and fall, and in addition 
the grower gets the use of his money sooner by pushing the lambs to 
a marketable condition as fast as ])ossible. 
TEACHING THE LAMBS TO EAT. 
Every effort should be made to keep the lambs growing from the 
start. The first essential is to teach them to eat. Liberal feeding of 
lambs dropped before pastures are ready is profitable under any ordi- 
nary grain prices. This is best done through the use of a small 
inclosure known as a " creep," to which the lambs have access at all 
times, but into which the ewes can not come. The creep should con- 
tain a rack for hay and a trough for grain, so arranged that the 
lambs can not get their feet into them. 
All feed given, especially ground feed, should be clean, fresh, and 
free from mold. The lambs will begin to nibble at the feed when 
from 10 to 16 days of age. Pea-green alfalfa of the second or third 
cutting is one of the most relished feeds. Flaky, sweet wheat bran 
probably ranks next. For the first few days these are the ideal feeds. 
A little brown sugar on the bran at first will make it more palatable. 
Linseed meal is also good when mixed with the bran. Lentil the 
lambs are 5 to 6 weeks old all their feed should be coarse ground or 
crushed. The Ohio Experiment Station ^ has found that for young 
lambs that are to be marketed a grain ration of corn is of about the 
same value as one of corn 5 parts, oats 2 parts, bran 2 parts, and oil 
will be safe for spring use and, if plowed and sown to rape or other 
meal 1 part. Oil meal is especially relished by lambs at this time and 
would be especially valuable in promoting growth rather than fat. 
Such feeds as middlings are too floury for extensive use. Eye is 
less palatable than oats or barley. Soy beans may replace the lin- 
seed meal if they cost less. Cleanliness is an important factor in 
keeping the lambs growing. Always feed to an empty trough, and 
if it beco:::es soiled scrub it out with llmevv-aler. 
1 Ohio Experiment Station Bulletin 270. 
