6 
farmers' BULLETIN 840. 
The cheapest and best feed for sheep is pasture such as described, 
or sown forage crops of cereals, rape, etc. Frequent changes of 
grazing ground are necessary to health and maximum thrift when 
})astures do not oli'er a wide range. This calls for fencing to sub- 
divide permanent pastures, or for tight fencing around large runs in 
which they are to be kept. ^lovable fences may be largely used for 
carrying sheep on smaller areas of forage crops. 
Grain feeding is seldom profitable when good grazing is to be had. 
Under some conditions flocks can be kept in good condition and lambs 
marketed without the use of any grain. One hundred pounds of 
grain in a year for one eAve and her lambs is the maximum that is 
likely to be used profitably under any conditions. The largest 
quantity may be used with ewes dropping lambs before pasture is 
ready and for the lambs at that time, but the feeding that is most 
economical and most likely to keep the flock in good condition is that 
which provides frequent changes of good pastures and grazing crops 
and winter rations mainly of good leguminous hays, with some suc- 
culent feeds, reserving what grain is to be used to feed in winter 
and after the lambs are born. 
Silage or roots furnish cheap feed and are especially useful in 
keeping ewes in good condition during the winter. Too free use of 
roots for ewes in lamb is sometimes considered to increase the losses 
of young lambs, and the exclusive use of silage as a roughage has 
been shown to be unsafe, either for the ewes themselves or for the 
lambs to be dropped.^ 
BUILDINGS AND FENCES. 
In any part of the United States the main essentials of sheep 
barns are dryness and freedom from drafts. Unless lambs are to 
be dropped in cold weather, no expense to provide warmth is neces- 
sary, as the buildings should seldom be closed. Protection from 
winter rains and heavy snowfalls is desirable, but the best results 
may be expected when ewes are allowed access to a dry bed in the 
open. 
Fences to hold sheep should be of woven wire, boards, or rails. 
Barbed or smooth wire can not be used satisfactorily, though a 36- 
inch woven-wire fence at the ground with two or three strands of 
wire is commonly used. 
The construction, planning, and cost of a variety of barns and sheds 
for sheep and of dog-proof fences is discussed fully in Farmers' 
Bulletin 810, " Equipment for Farm Sheep Raising." 
LABOR. 
The amount of labor required to keep a farm flock in the condition 
necessary to insure maximum returns and lowest cost of production 
1 Pennsylvania Experiment Station Bulletin 144. 
