Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-07-13
LIV E ST 0CK.
SHEEP BREEDING.

mature enough for breeding until fully two
or three wears old. Other breeds which ma
ture more quickly are ripe for breeding as
yearlings, but there is nothing gained by
suffering any sheep less than a year old to
reproduce. A young ram in its second year
may be allowed to serve a few ewes, if he is
vigorous and we'll grown. a ram at W
wears may serve thirty ewes in a season, and
after that from fifty to sixty or seventy, ac-
cording to the manner in which he is kept,
and if he is restricted to no more than one
or TWO services of each eve. The strength
and vigor of the lamb certainly depends on
that of the ram by which it is sired, as well
as on the condition and character OF the eve.
Eve lambs of less than a year old should be
kept in a separate flock by themselves where
they may not be disturbed by the rams.
The second year they are capable of breed
ing, and if they have been well cared for,
will produce as large lambs and as many
twins as older sheep. The young ewes hav-
ing their first lambs are apt to be nervous,
and need careful attention at yeaning time !;
it is then that the great convenience result
ing from having a docile and friendly flock,
well acquainted with, and confiding in, their
shepherd, is manifest. The young ewes
should not be put to the rams until the older
ones are served, so that they will not drop
their lambs until the spring is well advanced,
and the pressure upon the shepherd becomes
lighter. AS a rule they are poor nurses,
and if the season is cold, will lose many
lambs. If they are not allowed to have
lambs until April or May, SO much the bet
ter; it will then be necessary to keep them
from the ram until November and Deem
Der. Difficulty in parturition is sometimes
experienced with young ewes, and assist
ance is often needed. This should be given
with the utmost gentleness and tenderness.
When the presentation is all right and natr-
raj, and the fore feet appear, but difficulty
occurs in ejecting the head, a very slight and
slow drawing upon the feet may help the
eve in expelling the lamb. Sometimes in
her nervous struggles the head may be turn
cd backwards, and does not appear when
the fore legs have protruded. In this case
the lamb should be gently forced backwards,
and the hand or fingers, well oiled with lin
seed Oil, and the finger nails being closely
pared, are inserted, and the head gently
brought into position, when it will be ex-
PEELED without further trouble. For more
difficult and abnormal presentations, the
services of an experienced shepherd will be
needed, but such cases are very rare, and
will very seldom occur if the flock has been
~ ,,aG,l1xy o%fo,,Ial tn or,1 hoe not Hoo,, oxyo,,
driven, or worried by dogs, or knocked
about by horned cattle. When a eve loses
her lamb it is best to make her adopt one Of
another ewes twins. This may be done by
rubbing the skin of the live lamb with the
dead one, removing the dead one and shut
ting up the eve and live lamb together in Il
dark pen. When a lamb loses her dam. it
may be given to q eve that has lost her
lamb, or from which her lamb has been ta-
ken, or with care it may be brought up by
hand without difficulty. In every considera-
BILE flock it will pay to have a fresh COW on
hand at the lambing season, to fill the place
of foster mother to disowned or abandoned
lambs, or to assist those whose dams for any
reason are short of milk.-Stuart's Shep-
herds Manual.
MIR. GEORGE w. HOMER. OF Massachu-
sets. has the following sensible remarks in
the National Lire Stock Journal, for June
Pedigree sells trash at fancy prices, but a
performer can not be termed trash: and
with these self-evident qualities in brood
mares, rather than so much pedigree and
little else of value, / at least will take my