Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-04-21
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 busi-
ness.
The lamb depends for its growthupon
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. n.- XII
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 a good constitution, it
will make the monthly gains mentioned
in steady, natural growth. l'i
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 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
after it has a summers run on good
pasture. But then it brings only SIZE
to 81 25, instead of selling for So to sic
at three months old. And all this loss
is occasioned for the want of little cx-
ira food to the eve during the first three
months after yeaning. One-half to one
pound of new process linseed mea
would have kept the eve healthy ant
strong, with such yield of milk that the
lamb would have grown into fine pro
|, portions, attracted the eye of tht
, butcher, and secured liberal price
J And this extra food would cost about 81
a sum fully compensated by the bette
condition of the eve herself, beside
paying ioui-ipiu III thv Naiuc VI tn
, lamb. .o4f...e... .I..- .af..
When the eve has Just food enougl
, to keep her from losing flesh withou
yielding any milk, great change i
produced by feeding SO small an extr
, amount as mentioned This all goes II
the production of milk, and the milk +
a the growth of the lamb We mentio
linseed meal, because this contains s
: large a proportion of muscle-formin
: matter, and phosphate of lime to gro'
1 the bones, or, in other words, contain
Just what poor diet lacks But thi
!, extra food may be made up of two part
i of bran or middlings by weight and on
i of corn. or corn and oats, hitf and hal
!. or one of cotton-seed meal TO two {
corn. Corn alone has too much stare
to produce the best result; but one pir
!. of corn with nice clover hay, answer
" very well. The sheep grinds bette
a than the OK, and mastcatcs corn quit
a. well. But no valid excuse can be give
|, for poorly feeding breeding ewes. SUI
II cess never comes to poor feeder. I
Y. him who liberally gives, shall come
d liberal reward, -National Live StOt
10 Journal.