St. Landry democrat., 1882-05-13
Spring Care Of Breeding Ewes.

The care of breeding ewes relates not
only to their own welfare, but that Of
their lambs The successful growing
of lambs has the most important bear
ing upon the profit of the sheep bust
ness.
The lamb depends for its growth upon
its mothers milk, and this milk is pro-
duced from the food. When the early
lamb raiser takes this business view OF
it, he is successful. In growth of ami
mails, it is so much food for SO much
growth-and there is no getting some
thing for nothing there must always
be an equivalent.
Let us see how great demand there
is upon the dam. A lamb intended for
the early market, should reach a weight
of forty pounds or more at the end OF
three months. The growth will usually
be: First month, ten to twelve pounds;
second month, thirteen to fifteen
pounds. This will require the dam to
yield from three to four pounds Of milk
per day. A good milking eve, with
good keeping and comfortable quarters,
will yield this amount of milk; and then,
if the lamb has good constitution, it
will make the monthly gains mentioned
in steady, natural growth.
The eve cannot yield this necessary
milk without generous feeding of rich,
milk-producing food. A large mixer
will yield this amount for short time
on a poor diet, but it is produced by a
rapid waste of her own flesh, and She
soon falls off in milk, and decreases
rapidly in value; while the lamb, de-
prived of its full rations, is checked at
once in growth, and only starts again
after it is able to eat fodder or grass.
This sort of lamb is not wanted for the
spring market, and can only be sold
pasture. But then it brings only $1.75
to S2.25 instead of selling for Sc to $40
at three months old. And al this loss
is occasioned for the want Of little ex-
ira food to the eve during the first three
months after yeaning. One-half to one
pound of new process linseed meal
would have kept the eve healthy and
strong, with such yield of milk that the
lamb would have grown into fine pro-
portions, attracted the eye of the
butcher, and secured a liberal price.
And this extra food would cost about 81,
a sum fully compensated by the better
condition of the eve herself, besides
paying four-sold in the value OF the
lamb.
When the eve has just food enough
to keep her from losing flesh without
any milk, great change is
produced by feeding SO small an extra
amount as mentioned. This all goes to
the production of milk, and the milk to
the growth of the lamb. We mention
linseed meal, because this contains so
large a proportion Of muscle-forming
matter, and phosphate of lime to grow
the bones, or, in other words, contains
just what poor diet lacks. But this
extra food may be made up of two parts
of bran or middlings by weight and one
of corn, or corn and oats, half and half,
or one of cotton-seed meal to two of |
corn. Corn alone has too much starch
to produce the best result; but one pint
Of corn with nice clover hay answers
very well. The sheep grinds better
than the OK, and masticates corn quite
well. But no valid excuse can be given
Tor poorly feeding breeding ewes. Sue
cess never comes to poor feeder. To
him who literally gives, shall come a
liberal reward. Liue Stock
Journal. |