10 
FAHMEKS' lU'LLETlN 840. 
well if well cared for, but the yield is less than when ew^es with 
some mutton blood are used. The sheep from the range are less 
often infested with internal parasite than are farm sheep, and in the 
large shipments there is opportunity for closer selection. 
AGE OF EWES. 
Yearling or 2-year-old ewes are preferable to older stock. Ewes 
Avith ''broken mouths'' — that is, those that have lost some of their 
teeth as a result of age — can be purchased cheaper than younger ones, 
but are not good property for inexperienced sheep raisers. 
Until a sheep is 4 years old its age can usually be told within a few 
months. The lambs have small, narrow teeth, known as milk teeth. 
At about 12 months of age the two center incisors are replaced by 
two large, broad, permanent teeth. At about 24 months two more 
large teeth appear, one on each side of the other pair (see fig. 3). An- 
other pair appears at 3 years of age, and the last, or corner teeth, come 
in at about the end of the fourth year, and the sheep then has a full 
mouth. Heavy or light feeding has considerable effect upon the exact 
time of appearance. After a sheep becomes 4 years old the exact age 
can only be estimated. As age advances, the adult teeth become 
shorter and the distance between them increases. The normal num- 
ber of teeth may be retained until 8 or 9 years of age, but more often 
some are lost after the fifth year. 
In buying ew^es, particularly those from the range, it is desirable, 
when possible, to examine the udders to see that they are free from 
lumps that would prevent the ewes from being milkers. It is 
necessary to guard also against buying ew^es that are useless as 
breeders because of the ends of the teats having been clipped off 
at shearing. 
SIZE OF FLOCK. 
Persons wholly inexperienced with sheep will do well to limit the 
size of the flock at the start. A beginner can acquire experience 
quite rapidly with 8 or 10 ewes. It is very doubtful, however, 
whether anyone should make a start with sheep unless the arrange- 
ment of the farm and the plan of its operation allow the keeping of 
as many as 30 ewes, and in most cases 60 or riore w^ill be handled 
better and more economically than a very small flock. The number 
of ewe lambs that can be kept for breeding each year should be about 
one-half the number of breeding ewes. Old ewes should be discarded 
when 5 years old. ^Yhen this is done and the poorest of the ew^e 
lambs are sold a flock will ordinarily doubii in size m three years. 
After two seasons' experience it will be a good plan to buy more 
ewes when good ones can be obtained at a fair price. 
The economical disadvantage of a very small flock lies in the fact 
that the hours of labor are practically the same for a dozen or 20 
