The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-03-22
Sheen HushaudrY.

known breeder of sheep, read a useful essay
before the Vermont Board of Agriculture,
| from which we make few extracts:
| Good sheep husbandry costs less than
poor, and pays threefold more. Good sheep
husbandry consists in great measure in do
ing the right work at the right time. Thus,
ii we shear sheep, we do it in season; do not
let them wear their fleece month af.er it
has become burdensome to them. June is
one Of the best months in the year for sheep
to thrive, if they are shorn. 1t costs less to
house a flock OF sheep that are just shorn,
before a storm, than it does to cart them to
the barn when they are benumbed and chill
ed. 1t costs less to mend the fence before
the sheep get into the habit of being unruly,
as we call it. It costs less to cut and cure
the hay in season and when the sun shines,
than it does to do it ont Of season and in
rainy weather. If from any cause our hay
is poor, it costs less to feed some grain in
season, than it does to let the sheep lose
flesh and get poor, and then spend our time
in nursing and doctoring them. 1 think
there is proyerb which is, that good food is
cheaper than doctors. Without pursuing this
subject further, repeat that good sheep
husbandry costs less than poor, and pays
threefold better.
A flock of sheep require but little care dur
ing the Summer months, except that they
have plenty of good feed aud salt, and are
seen to that none of them are sick or dis
eased. The principal work to be done in
this season is to raise suitable quantity Of
roots, &C., and cut in the proper season, and
cure we'll, and store the necessary supply OF
hay and grain. Roots. apples, and pump
kins are necessary, to some extent, for the
sheep in Winter, not only on account of the
nourishment they contain, but to supply the
lack OF green food, and to keep the sheep in
healthy condition.
The cutting of the hay in proper season,
and curing well, and storing the same, is
one of the essential points of good sheep
husbandry. If, from any cause, we fail to
do this, our sheep the next Spring are poor
and weak, and we have bad luck in raising
lambs, the sole cause OF which is, that the
sheep during the Winter have been eating
poor hay, and vainly endeavoring to obtain
from the same their necessary amount Of
nourshment which the hay did not contain.
Coarse and rank timothy makes fair sheep
hay, if it is cut a few days before it begins
to blossom, and is well cured.
Nearly all kinds of low lands and swamp
hay are good sheep hay, if cut in season and
well cured. Sheep prefer a variety OF good
hay, instead of being confined to one kind
only.
Lambs should be wcaned when they are
four months old, and turned into good feed.
Ii they are fed daily, in addition to good
grass and hay, one pint of oats and shorts
apiece, until they are turned out to grass
next Spring, they will have a good staff to-
ward making sheep with a good constitu-
ton. 1 believe it to be a fact, if we would
raise sheep with good constitutions, we mutt
supply them literally during their growth
with that kind of food that will furnish
them with the necessary amount OF bone,
muscle and strength.
Sheep. and lambs in particular, should be
housed during cold storms in the Fall aud
be fed with hay, which they should learn TO
eat before they are entirely deprived OF
grass. All kinds of sheep, and breeding
ewes in particular, should come to the barn
in good condition in the Fall. This is neces-
sary in order that they may be able to we'll
develop their lambs. All kinds OF sheep
should be allowed to run out upon the
ter, as long as the ground is bare. This is
necessary for their exercise, which promotes
health, strength and vigor. reasonable
amount Of exercise is necessary for sheep
during the entire Winter and Spring. Sui
phur and ashes should be fed to sheep with
their salt during the Winter. Sulphur is
healthy for the sheep, and is offensive to
vermin. si
Ashes are also healthy and are essential
for breeding ewes. presume that some OF
you have seen lambs that when they were
first dropped were strong, their dams gave a
good quantity of milk, yet, in a few days,
the lambs would begin to droop and finally
die. If you were to open the stomachs OF
such lambs, in some cases you would find
them packed and distended with hard curds,
which were the cause of their death. The
remedy for this is to feed the breeding ewes
with some kind Of a mild alkal, like ashes,
for some time previous to their being
dropped. rs
Sheep should be turned out upon the
ground daily, as soon as there is spot bare
that is large enough for them to stand upon,
for the air in their pens and stables is gen
orally impure, and no amount of good, feed
will supply the lack Of good air and exercise.
There are various diseases which sheep
and lambs sometime have, and troubles to
encounter in breeding sheep. There are
causes for all these. 1t should be one OF the
| studies Of the sheep breeder to learn what
those causes are and how to avoid them;
when we do that we shall have good luck in
| sheep husbanory. sst,esf
Keeping Stock Clean. M
1t ought to be the duty of the stockman to
see that all cattle tina. are kept CONSTANT y
tied up should receive a thorough brushing
6aily. Stock that are accustomed to have
their heads tied get very dirty about the
neck and shoulders unless they receive a
careful sseroomng.'' Cleanliness is very es