Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-03-22
Some suggestions about sheep.r.i.ina

some suggestions about Sheep.raiAing
So few of the farmers of New England are
keepers of sheep, that l have said but little
about them lately, although l am firm be-
lever 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
milking every day in summer; no grooming /:
little work to feed and water 4 little care at
lambing time, and IA little pains taken with
the young lambs, seem to be about all the la
Dor expended upon many hocks 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 "cossetng"
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 Feb
ruary 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 Il believe in watering
sheep, and more ut this season than when
they have plenty of grass wet with the morn
ing dew) and IA few roots, if you can get
them. Grain l would not give before lamb
ing time, unless l was feeding very poor hay
and no roots, and even then l would about az
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, ana 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, or would frequently change
from one shed to another if possible. 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 examin-
ed 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 remainder of
the flock.
After the lambs are few days old their
dams will be the better and grow better lambs
for having little meal or corn. and as soon
MS 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 as much meal as they want to eat if in
tended for the butchers. If intended 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 possibly be saved
by putting them in pail of warm water Gas
warm as you can bear your hand in it, nearly,
and giving thorough warm bath, ending
with good dry rubbing and few spoonfuls
of warm milk and water in which is the ''least
taste, Us Pat says, of whisky.
Almost every sheep owner knows the old
methods of making sheep own her lamb or,
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 lost combining her with the
lamb M Of piS,l,t Df a1I oil, ii.
er expedients, some one of which may sue.
coed when others fail but if none succeed il
is not difficult task to bring young lamt
up by hand, Very little trouble will learn
them TO drink. either from bottle with rub
Der 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 seOun. which il often fatal among