26 
RAISING EARLY LAMBS. 
Record for the Spring of 1896. 
1 
1 
Dam 1 
Sire 
No. of Lambs. 
Average Date 
of Birth. 
Average Date 
of Sale. 
Age in Days at 
Time of Sale 
Live Weight. . 
Pounds. 
Dressed Weight. 
Pounds. 
Selling Price 
Per Head. 
Shropshire 
Shropshire 
13 
t eb. 1 
April 20 
79 
47 
22 
$3 30 
“ 
Dorset 
10 
“ 3 
“ 25 
82 
48 
22 
3.30 
Dorset 
Dorset 
15 
9 
“ IG 
G7 
47 
22 
3.30 
“ • •• 
Shropshire 
9 
Jan. 22 
“ 3 
72 
51 
23 
3.45 
Total and Average., , 
47 
Feb. 1 
April 16 
74 
48 
22 
$3.30 
The reason that the dressed weights are so nearly equal, 
is that we sold from week to week, selecting the lambs as 
soon as they were large enough to dress over twenty pounds. 
We finally sold 47 lambs from the 50 ewes, of which 25 came 
from the twenty-five ewes that were served by Dorset bucks, 
while 22 were from the twenty-five ewes served by Shrop- 
shire bucks. 
In the matter of rapidity of growth the ewe seemed to 
be the controlling factor, rather than the buck as might 
naturally have been expected. The lambs from Dorset 
ewes dressed 22 pounds by the time they were 69 days old, 
averaging 49 pounds live weight, while the lambs from 
Shropshire ewes required eleven days longer to reach the 
same weight. 
Taking the whole experiment through, the Dorset ewes 
served by Dorset bucks gave the best results, giving us 
fifteen lambs from fifteen ewes that sold for $3.30 per head 
at 67 days old. 
The average for all classes is January 30 for date of 
birth and April 16 for the date of sale when they were 77 
days old, weighed 48 pounds alive, 22 pounds dressed and 
sold for $3.30 at the farm. 
As fast as the lambs were sold the ewes were taken off 
from grain and when the last lambs were gone, the ewes 
were sheared and turned out to pasture on native grass 
until the next winter. 
1 he same method of procedure was adopted in 1897, 
except that as the lambs were dropped a little earlier, they 
were allowed to grow a little larger before they were sold. 
1 his season all the ewes were served by Shropshire 
bucks and though the lambs sold are one more than 1896, 
the difference in favor of the Dorsets is larger than in i 80 . 
