St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-03-29
Some Suggestions about Sheep-raising.

So few of the farmers of New England
are keepers of sheep, that have said
but little about them lately, although l
am Il firm believer in sheep as profitable
farm stock and have kept them most of
the time for eight years past, although
| have none now. Sheep as farm stock
will get along with as little care during
the year as almost anything. No milk
ing every day in summer; no groom
ing; little work to feed and water. A
little care at lambing time, and little
pains taken with the young lambs, seem
to be about all the labor expended upon
many flocks which yet do well and yield
good returns to their owners. Perhaps
more care would pay better, but |
sometimes doubt it, thinking that with
sheep, poultry and children too much
"cosseting" may possibly be worse than
too little care. AT no time of year does
the shepherd need to look so carefully
after his flock as from February to May
in this region. Now, or soon, the lambs
will begin to drop, and before they
come the ewes should have plenty of
good hay and clean water / believe in
watering sheep, and more at this season
than when they have plenty of grass
wet with the morning dew, and a few
IOots, if you can get them. Grain |
would not give before lambing time,
unless | was feeding very poor hay and
no roots, and even then | would about
as soon take my chance with the ''bog
hay lambs" as to try to make up by
feeding grain now. They should have
plenty of straw to sleep upon, and every
day when it did not rain they should be
allowed to run in the fields. | would
even encourage them to do SO by giving
them their roots as far from their shed
as possible. Would prefer that they
did not stay in the shed much during
the dry days, OF would frequently
change from one shed to another if pos
sible. They want pure air and plenty
of it, and not much matter how cold it
is if they are kept dry. Every day or
two the flock should be examined and
those ewes which will lamb soon should
be placed by themselves where they
will not be crowded, and where the
young lambs will not be hurt by the re-
mainder of the flock.
After the lambs are a few days old
their dams will be the better and grow
better lambs for having a little meal or
corn, and as soon as the lambs can be
learned to eat it, they should have a
trough by themselves, to which the
sheep will not get, where they should
have us much meal as they want to eat
if intended for the butchers. If intend
ed for raising, oats or bran would be
better than meal for them.
If any lambs are weak or appear
chilled when first found, they may pos
sibly be saved by putting them in a
pail of warm water las warm as you can
bear your hand in it, nearly and giving
thorough warm bath, ending with a
good dry rubbing and few spoonfuls
of warm milk and water in which is the
''least taste," as Pat says, of whisky.
Almost every sheep owner knows the
old methods of making a sheep own her
lamb, OF, when desired, one which is
not her own, such as sprinkling the
lamb with salt'tO get the old one to lap
it; covering the lamb which you wish
to make her adopt with the skin of the
one she had lest; confining her with
the lamb, out of sight of all other sheep.
and other expedients, some one OF
which may succeed when others fail,
but if none succeed it is not a difficult
task to bring a young lamb up by hand.
drink, either from a bottle with rubber
tube, or directly from pan, and once
learned they need but little care, just
to give their milk about as warm as il
would be from the COW, and give little
and often. Have care for the scours
which is often fatal among lambs al
well as among calves, and usually pro.
ceeds from the same causes, giving fooG
too warm, too cold, at too long interval,
and too large quantities at a time, o.
from being allowed to lie in damp
cold place. If noticed, give a little
pulverized charcoal, and if accompanied
by shivering and weakness, give littl'
stimulant, ginger or spirits, and avoit
the cause if you can ascertain it. Ii
this way it is easy to raise good lamb
and make sheep pay good profits
"Young Farmer" in Boston Journal.