* 
Vol. LXV. 
No. 
2919. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY 6, 1906. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR 
QUESTIONS ABOUT SHEEP. 
Sheep for a Small Farm. 
I have a farm of 35 acres of clear land and about 15 of 
timber. I wish to fertilize the ground, and at the same 
time to get a certain income for a living. I think sheep 
will answer the purpose, but I do not know how to care 
for them and how to feed them, as they require a special 
kind of food. How many sheep can I keep on 30 acres 
of land? How much net profit will a sheep bring per year? 
How much does it cost to keep her the Summer on pasture 
and the Winter in good quarters especially made for them? 
Will 50 sheep bring a net profit of $200 a year? Do they 
stand different conditions, like cows, or are they liable to 
starve and die from different causes, like chickens in many 
places (though I had a good success with poultry)? Do 
sheep need any grain feeding even in Summer, like poultry, 
will they thrive on a pasture without that? What pas¬ 
ture will do, a planted pasture, or clear land, where many 
grasses and weeds are growing? H. J. P. 
Millville, N. J. 
I believe with but 35 acres of cleared land that it will 
jiot be well for the questioner to go i-nto sheep, par¬ 
ticularly as he has no knowledge of the business. Such 
land, I am very sure, could be used to better advantage 
and profit for poultry, even if both were entirely new, 
but there seems to be in this case some knowledge of 
the latter. Under ordinary conditions 30 good-sized 
sheep would be all that could be kept on 
30 acres. They would eat about seven or 
eight tons of hay, which would probably 
require as many acres to grow it. Then 
the sheep and their lambs would need at 
least 15 acres—probably 20 —for pasture. 
This would leave at best but seven or 
eight acres for corn or roots, which to 
be sure would reduce the hay needed. 
All the eggs would be in one basket, al¬ 
ways a poor plan. Of course that amount 
of hay might be grown on less than half 
the acreage mentioned, and the pasture, 
if it were first-class and fenced so the 
sheep would be frequently changed, could 
also be materially reduced. But these are 
ideal conditions and I do not believe they 
exist with the questioner. 
Fifty sheep may bring a net profit of 
$200 a year, but are not likely to in the 
hands of a novice. A sheep will starve 
as quickly as any animal if it has little 
or no food. They will also die from dif¬ 
ferent causes; a little more likely to than 
cows, not quite so liable to die as fowls 
that are neglected and badly managed. 
If the pasture is abundant, sheep will not 
need any grain with it. A pasture with 
a variety of grasses is better for any 
stock, and none relishes a variety so much 
as the sheep. If there are grasses both 
early and late, much more pasture will be 
obtained on the same ground, than from one or two va¬ 
rieties, particularly if these two are clover and Timothy. 
I have spoken so often of the different breeds of sheep 
in these columns, that I hesitate to say anything under 
this head. Yet I know there are always a lot of new 
readers coming into The R. N.-Y. circle, and the ques¬ 
tion asked is just as important to them as if it had 
never been asked before. Old readers interested in 
sheep can skip the following. There are the black¬ 
faced breeds; the Shropshire, Hampshire, Southdown 
and Oxford being most common, all good, each having 
some one or more particular points of excellence, as 
well as weaknesses; all excellent mutton sheep, and 
very good shearers. Then the white-faced mutton 
breeds, the Cheviots, Cotswolds, Leicesters and Lincolns, 
all less compact in built, and with a more open fleece 
than the black-faced. Then the Merinos, the Rambouil- 
let stands at the head, with the French Merino a good 
second, with the little American Merino chiefly noted 
for its wrinkles and wool. The first two are excellent 
sheep, not so large as the first two classes mentioned 
and particularly noted for their heavy fleeces of wool. 
Last the Dorsets a-nd Tunis, chiefly valuable as pro¬ 
ducers of early lambs. The former have horns, and 
will sometimes fight a dog. Both will breed during 
warm weather. The latter sheep are not so well known, 
and not particularly prepossessing at first glance, but 
they give very fat lambs, and shear a good fleece, with 
wool of long staple. I believe they are rapidly grow¬ 
ing in favor. Then there are the grades of all the above 
which constitute the bulk of the farm flocks. The 
nearer they are bred to a distinct type the more certain 
will be the results. A man in selecting a breed, should 
decide just what he wants to do and get the kind that 
will best serve his purpose; after that it is largely a mat¬ 
ter of individual taste. Of course it will pay him to get 
the experience of any successful sheep men within rea¬ 
sonable distance of his place. 
The Sheep-Killing Dog. 
Is there any way of keeping dogs from chasing sheep, 
such as putting bells on the sheep, or keeping goals in the 
field? Would you ad vise anyone to go into sheep raising 
in a community where dogs have been quite troublesome? 
Norwich, N. Y. k. e. p. 
I hardly know whether it would be well to go into 
sheep, in such a place. I certainly would not put them 
in a remote field and leave them there at night unpro¬ 
tected. If they can be kept in a nearby field, it may be 
safe. If a good cow bell is put on every tenth sheep, 
dogs are not so apt to chase them, and if they do, the 
bells will give the alarm, and the sheep saved, and the 
dog secured, which is in itself a source of satisfac¬ 
tion, and security. A surer way is to have a number of 
panels made (either of wood or woven wire), about 
seven feet high, which can be readily set up into hurdles 
where the sheep can be put at night. The writer used 
such one whole Summer, in a back field, where dogs 
had killed 60 ewes and lambs before they were pro¬ 
tected, and the sheep were not molested afterward. The 
hurdles should be moved from time to time before the 
ground gets foul. These may be set in the poorest part 
of the field, and so such abundantly fertilized. It is im¬ 
portant that the sheep be shut up as late as possible at 
night, and let out very early in the morning. In any 
case the sheep will not do as well so handled, as they 
like to feed in the latter part of the day and early morn¬ 
ing. Yet they will do much better than when worried 
by dogs. A pugnacious goat will often be some pro¬ 
tection, but in many ways a nuisance. If the modern 
woven wire fences are used, they are the best and cheap¬ 
est, and will not only keep sheep in, but dogs out. 
Hints on Fattening Lambs. 
Can you give me some information how to feed lambs to 
fatten for market? I bought 84 lambs in Buffalo; my 
farm is in Somerset Co., N. ,T. I like to have them fat 
about March or first part of April. I have plenty of second 
crop hay, cornstalks and oats. What grain should I feed? 
and what amount? h. l. 
First divide the 84 lambs into two flocks, the large 
and stronger lambs by themselves. There is no stock 
that needs so much careful attention as a lot of fatten¬ 
ing lambs. In the effort to get them to eat all the 
hearty feed possible, some are likely to lose their ap¬ 
petite, and get crowded out by the stronger ones. By 
dividing them according to size, the ration can be better • 
apportioned, and the poorer feeders put together, and 
any in the smaller lot that go ahead of the rest can be 
shifted to the larger. The amount of feed they will 
take depends wholly on the lambs. They should have all 
they will eat up clean, so they will come hungry to the 
trough next time. This is vital. If they once get over¬ 
fed and their appetite cloyed, it may take a week to get 
them eating again, and in this time they are not gaining. 
When a spell of mild weather comes after a cold snap 
when they have been eating greedily, is 
the time to look out for this, and slack a 
little on the feed. Should they lose appe¬ 
tite, the better way is to withhold grain 
entirely for a day. Then feed a small 
amount as they will take it. Every par¬ 
ticle of fodder or grain left should be re¬ 
moved before putting fresh in the racks, 
and the feed mangers swept thoroughly, 
each time before feeding. They should 
be protected so the lambs cannot get their 
feet in them. Then they should have ac¬ 
cess to water and salt at all times. It 
will also be wise to mix with the salt an 
equal amount of sulphur. 
Examine the lambs and see if they have 
any ticks on them. If there seem to be 
many get a gallon of some carbolic sheep 
dip. Mix according to directions, using 
warm water; on a mild day, lay the lambs 
on their backs with their feet in the air 
and with a teakettle or watering pot pour 
the dip the whole length of the lamb, be- 
particular to get plenty about the neck 
and shoulders. If it is poured over the 
back, with the sheep upright, much of it 
will follow the wool and run off, as na¬ 
ture intended water should. If the ticks 
are very bad, it may be wise to repeat the 
operation after a week or two. This is 
important, as the lambs will not grow as 
they should if they are full of them, and 
it is poor economy to fatten ticks. All of this and not 
a word about what to feed. I consider these things of 
first importance; unless they are attended to, all the best 
feed obtainable will not profitably fatten lambs. 
To do well, they should have roots or silage; without 
either best results cannot be obtained. If neither is at 
hand, give each lamb with its other grain feed from 
two to four ounces of old process linseed meal daily. 
It is high in price, but will help to keep them in good 
feeding condition. Cornstalks are not ideal feed for 
fattening lambs. Second-crop clover is all right if it is 
well cured. The aim should be to get them to eat all 
the grain possible. Therefore, I would feed them first 
thing in the morning, what they will eat up clean, of a 
mixture one-half corn, one-quarter oats and the other 
quarter high-grade distillers’ grains or cotton-seed meal. 
These are high in both protei-n and fat, and for what 
they really contain of the above are the cheapest grain 
foods on the market this Winter. After they have 
eaten the grain if it seems wise to feed the stalks, some 
of them may be put in a clean place, where the lambs 
can eat of them. At noon give of the clover hay what 
FARM BOARDERS THAT PROVIDE FOOD AND CLOTHING. Fig. 1 . 
