S^Lnlmary. 
Colorado has 1,200,000 sheep, and raises 200,000 lambs per year. 
Most of her surplus lambs and sheep are sold to local butchers or 
shipped to Nebraska feeders. Most of the 117,000 sheep fattened 
for the Chicago market came from without the State. 
Lambs, yearling wethers, old wethers, and old ewes are fattened 
in Colorado from four varieties of sheep: Old Mexican, New Mexi¬ 
can, Merino, and sheep of the improved mutton breeds. 
Most of the native sheep of Colorado are raised on the open range,, 
with no shelter, and but little extra feed through the winter. The 
cost of ranging a sheep for a year varies from 30 to 80 cents. The 
return is about 50 cents worth of wool, and a lamb worth from 75 to 
90 cents. 
The wether lambs are usually sold in the fall, but are sometimes 
kept and sold as yearlings, or even older. The ewes are sold at five 
to six years old and enough ewe lambs raised to keep the numbers 
good. 
Sheep are brought to the feeding yards by railroad or by driving. 
The latter is the cheaper method for large bands of old sheep. The 
railroad is usually used for lambs and for all small bunches. 
The Chicago market is the best for well-fattened sheep. The 
poorer grades are sold for local consumption, or sent to Nebraska to 
be fattened. Most of the sheep are fattened for the spring market, a 
few for the Christmas market, and fewer still are used for the pro¬ 
duction of early lambs for the spring market. 
The Chicago market-price is lowest in November and gradually 
rises until it reaches the highest point in May. Eastern sheep are 
marketed first, then those between the Mississippi and Missouri 
rivers, and lastly those from Colorado and the far West. 
The average prices are given for the Chicago market from November- 
to May for the last four years. They show that the best time for the 
Colorado feeder to sell lambs is from April 15 to June 1; and the- 
best single w^eek about the middle of May. Older sheep are best sold, 
a month earlier. 
Fattening lambs are usually fed nothing but hay for two months;; 
then a small amount of grain, gradually increasing to full feed of ones 
j)Ound per head per day by the middle of March. A lamb eats about 
400 pounds of hay and 120 pounds of grain. 
