Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-03-17

attention is being given to one lamb,
the other frequently, if strong, gets up,
and, being confused from it's new stu
alton, wanders about among thu flock,
gets chilled, and is lost unless carefully
taken and put with its mother, and
she with her lambs placed by them
selves.
L am well aware that many breed
ers think one lamb for q eve sufficient,
and If the ewes are not well cared for
this may be the case, but when g. pair
of twin lambs will bring double the
price single one will command when
sold to the butcher at 4 to 6 months
old, | much prefer my ewes to bring
forth twins, as So or $40 for the year
in lambs is better compensation
than Sd to SIS for ewes In addition to
their feeces.
In my practice have number of
box stalls or pens for incoming ewes,
6x8 feet. These can be divided for
two ewes, where both have twins, un-
til the mothers and lambs get fully &C.
quainted with each other SO there will
be no mistaking each others lambs
for their own. Two ewes with single
lambs can usually occupy such pen
without disturbing each other. These
separate pens must be where it is
warm, especially If the lambs come in
cold weather, which is sometimes an
object where early spring lambs arede-
sired for the early butchers trade. In
such cases a watchful shepherd is re-
quired, and one who is willing to give
his ewes good keeping and kind atten-
tiOn from the time the cold storms be-
gin in the fall until the month of June;
then O. portion of his care and watch
fulness can be given to other duties
more pressing during the busy spring
season.
In many localities early lambs can
be sold the last of May and in June
to the best advantage. Where such
is the case, all that are fit for the mar
ket should be disposed of, and the
ewes also may be soon fattened and
sold for mutton also. To farmer
who prefers this method of sheep
farming, for certain localities such q
course is without doubt the best.
But such practice will not admit OF
general adoption by all sheep farmers,
and especially by anyone who takes
pride in breeding flock of fine sheep,
or by one who will only sell such num-
bers of his flock as he does not wish
to retain, keeping at all times his best
eve lambs to improve the quality of
his flock for future breeding. No
sheep breeder can succeed in
producing fine flock of sheep
if he continually sells his best
sheep, especially the ewes, to any per-
son who wishes to buy, whether the
purchaser De butcher or breeder.
If the first, then the sheep or lambs
are destroyed for breeding; if the lat
ter, then some other person can, if he
will, breed a fine flock, while the party
selling his best must be content to 60
on breeding only second-class sheep.
In my own case, in the winter and
spring of 1885, the lambs came most
ly in March, and the weather was un-
usually cold for the season. Most of
the ewes produced twins: the first one
dropped triplets. We were prepared
with a basement stable and stalls for
our ewes, to which they were generally
removed before they yeaned their
lambs. Occasionally q lamb or
pair of twins would be dropped in the
sheep barns, but they were removed
to the pens in the basement as soon
as discovered; then they were left to
care for their lambs, which they did
in almost every instance without any
further care except feeding and water
ing. After few days, when both
ewes and lambs were well used to each
other, they were removed to larger
pens to make room for newcomers.
By such management and by care
frrI l0 he ,ot,
night, did not lose a lamb from the
effects of cold or exposure through
neglect. | lost three or four lambs
where the ewes had twins and one por-
ton of their bags had been spoiled in
the weaving of their lambs the year
before. Not having examined them [
did not know of the injury until too
late to remedy the evil. AS soon as |
discovered the defect fed portion
of such twin lambs with milk from
COWS fresh IN milk, and thus saved
two or three, for very soon the cake
would be removed from the mothers
bag and the half with one good teat
would produce milk enough from a
well-fed eve to raise her twin lambs.
The true way is to watch all ewes
when their lambs are sold or weaned,
and if necessary to milk them and not
permit their bags to get spoiled at
first. If that is not attended to at
the proper time, some valuable ewes
are partially injured so that it re-
qllires care when they wean their
lambs again, or when they drop twins,
to enable them to rear them both. I
mention this occurrence to show the
necessity of constant vigilanceins ecur-
ing the best results with flock of
breeding ewes. In sheep husbandry,
as in other branches OF farming, the
best results are the most paying
ones.
If q flock of breeding ewes has been
well fed and cared for until they
have dropped their lambs for an early
market, then they should be well fed
with roots in connection with their
grain rations twice day, andif warm
mash is given them they will soon
learn to eat or drink it, as the case
may be, depending upon whether the
slop is thin or thickened so as to be
L l. L