62 
BULLETIN 1271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The unit requirements for sheep are presented in Table 42. Since 
the enterprise includes all ages and weights of sheep from young 
lambs to aged ewes, the requirements have been computed on an 
animal-unit basis. 15 
Table 42. — Unit requirements per animal unit per year for sheep, 1921 
Farm number > 
Head 
Corn 
Small 
grain 
Tame 
hay and 
alfalfa 
Wild 
hay and 
fodder 
Silage 
10 - 
Number 
6 
12 
16 
22 
23 
29 
30 
43 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Pounds 
15 ,_ . 
549 
528 
3,437 
6 _ ... 
252 
243 
609 
287 
17 
73 
219 
14 ... ... 
1,435 
13 
1,603 
166 
159 
355 
20 
219 
is 
59 
5,804 
Average: 181 sheep, 1921 _____ 
23 
43 
52 
124 
360 
164 
142 
1,099 
90 
347 
1. 961 
391 sheep, 1920 . _____ ... 
871 
Farm number l 
Pasture 2 
Total 
grain 
Total 
dry 
roughage 
Labor 
Production 
Man 
Horse 
Wool 
Mutton 
10 
Days 
289 
209 
160 
139 
161 
247 
212 
226 
Pounds 
Pounds 
Hours 
21 
33 
22 
13 
41 
30 
10 
29 
Hours 
Pounds 
56 
43 
51 
31 
61 
52 
53 
48 
Pou nds 
338 
15. 
549 
1.137 
4.9 
4.6 
6.7 
2.1 
299 
6 
252 
325 
17 . 
316 -' 287 
395 
14. . 
219 
1,603 
166 
218 
141 
13 . 
355 
20 
345 
3.3 
2.5 
387 
18.. . . 
89 
Average: 181 sheep, 1921 
391 sheep, 1920 
203 
201 
412 
288 
232 
1,446 
25 
29 
2.8 
4.5 
49 
50 
264 
352 
1 Farms are arrayed in order of number of sheep per farm, beginning with the lowest. 
2 See footnote 2, Table 37, p. 49. 
FEED REQUIREMENTS FOR SHEEP 
The feed requirements for sheep vary widely, because of the 
chance amounts of feed that the sheep salvage about the farm and 
farmstead of which it is impossible to keep any record. Where silage 
is fed, usually little other roughage is used. On most farms grain 
is only fed for one to three months prior to and during lambing, but 
on farm 13 the ewes were fed a liberal grain ration for six months 
beginning in December. 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS FOR SHEEP 
Very little labor is expended on sheep except at lambing time. 
The rest of the year they receive attention irregularly as- they need 
it. The tendency for labor per unit to decrease as the size of the 
enterprise increased that was noticed in case of other classes of 
stock does not obtain with sheep. It is offset by the fact that the 
larger flocks can not shift for themselves as do the small ones, but 
must have some attention from the farmer. 
15 See footnote 6, p. 14. 
