Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-04-13
Sheep Jnterest.
BREEDING EWES IN APRIL.

There is nothing equal to good sup
ply of milk to make the work of the
lambng season light and pleasant. If l
were to draw two pictures of the lamb
ing season, and wished to have them in
striking contrast, one would be barn
whose corners and sides were ornamented
with ewes in pens-in durance vile for
not doing their duty to their progeny !;
the other would be the flock coming
home at night with the additions of the
day bringing up the rear, carefully at
tended by their mothers.
One is often tempted to think that some
ewes are naturally contrary and hard
hearted. Their first act on giving birth
to lamb is to run off and leave it. This,
however, is perverted action, and not
in accordance with the nature of the
eve. The love of the mother is strong
in the eve, and when she disowns her
lamb we must ascribe it to some other
cause than to defects in her constitutional
makeup. My observation is that, while
ewes occasionally disown their lambs
from other causes, the greater part of
those that disown their offspring do so
from lack of milk, and back of this, of
course, is lack of proper feed. The ewes
are sometimes mistreated for their own
ers' faults. Where eve has milk, and
yet does not own her lamb, plan that
can be recommended from experience is
to give feed of warm mash to increase
the flow of milk, and then feed the lamb
from another eve for two or three hours,
or until its mothers udder is full enough
to pain her; this will generally bring the
eve to her senses.
1t is an old and well-known device
and one that seldom fails-when eve
has lost her lamb, to make her take an
other by placing on it the skin of her
dead lamb One of our best shepherds
says that it will never fail, if the bladder
of the dead lamb be broken on the head
of the lamb that is to take its place.
Twins are not very desirable, and yet
much depends on the eve. Some ewes
can apparently raise two lambs as easily
and as well as others can raise one.
When lamb is needed to take the place
of dead one the twins will keep the
lambs equal TO the number of ewes. In
such case it is better to take the weaker
of the two lambs, for should the eve
the less. Give the best lambs the best
chance. A lamb should not be despised
because it is small. If its mother has
plenty of milk, and is attentive, it will
well repay the care necessary to give it
a start in the world. By weaving time
it cannot be told from the other lambs.
1t is important to try to save every lamb !;
even then enough will be lost. To do
this there should be no lack of help.
Suppose you are expecting hundred
lambs, and you attempt to attend to them
and your farm work at the same time,
and in consequence, lose five or six lambs
from lack of proper attention. You
have thus lost enough to have hired a
man to take charge of the farm work.
1t would be better to do nothing half of
the time, just to be where you are needed
the other half.
am not a prohbitionist, and yet
never saw much benefit in giving whis-
key to lambs. In the first place, lambs
should not be allowed to become chilled
to such degree that they require slim
ulant, and even then a warm bath or
warm place before the fire, will generally
bring them around all right. No lamb,
however, should be taken to the fire I'M
less it is absolutely necessary. When a
lamb has once been to the fire and re-
quires to be taken again, the last state is
generally worse than the first.
1t is well-known fact to almost every
one who raises sheep that hogs-especial-
ly sows-will devour lambs whenever an
opportunity offers; lesson well known.
and yet one that must be learned every
few years. No one who reads these lines
need learn the lesson again this year.
National Stockman.