The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-10-09
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
Winter Treatment of Breeding Ewes.


Tho winter treatment of the ewes is
q matter of great Importance. and yet
one concerning which many of us fail
to do the proper thing. The animal
should be we'll fed, and yet not fed too
much. 1t is probably the case that a
vast number feed too literally. Few
feed too little. But in our observation
We have found serious defects in tho
winter management of breeding ewes
in other directions than feeding. There
is one thing that we have often men,
toned, and that is lack of attention
to cleanliness of quarters. Give them
good clean quarters by all means The
next important thing is exercise. Lack
of exercise is the cause of much
danger. The ewes ought to have two
Or threo hours exercise in the open
air every day. 1t is natural for a
sheep to hunt it's own food. 1t de-
lights in it. and if the owe is furnished
with opportunity to travel for her food,
and pick it up, she will get all the ex-
erciso she needs, and will turn from
good hay in the rack to do it. Corn
stubble is first rate for this purpose.
A piece of woods is good. Old blue
grass sod will answer. The food that
they get may be OF little value, but the
exercise is of great value. Now if in
addition to this the animal has plenty
of good, pure water, the general con-
ditions of properly treating the eve
will be complied with.
Until about the fourth month of
pregnancy the eve will not require a
grain ration if the hay is first-class
and fed generously. If she can have
plenty of corn fodder at the same time
she certainly will not need grain. A
few roots or oil meal occasionally fed
will always prove useful. They keep
tho digestive machinery in good
shape. The animal should not be al
lowed to become very fat. In the
early stages OF pregnancy there is a
tendency in that direction. Guard
against it. Remember that the
breeding eve never should be too fat
or too poor. A few weeks-say six
before lambing feed some grain and
roots, or oil meal, for preparation
must now be made for lactation. About
a week before lambing feed bran mixed
with oats, in about the quantity of a
half bushel of bran mixed with fifteen
pounds Of oats or corn. In feeding
roots, to which reference has been
made, they may be pulped, cut up or
fed whole. But such food must be fed
with care, for too much cold, watery
food, like roots, may cause abortion.
In the matter of cleanliness of quar-
ters, let it be understood that while
pure sheep droppings, trodden solid,
do not throw up much ammonia in
winter, where they are mixed with
bedding. they do. A very harmful
amount of ammonia may be thus given
off, and yet the flockmaster not notice
it when he enters the stable. It is not
| safe, therefore, to trust to our own
noses to indicate the need of cleaning
out the stables. unless We can bring
| our noses as close to the source of am
| monia as the sheep have theirs; and it
would scarcely be convenient to bring
our noses there; if we did we could
soon tell whether ammonia was being
| given off or not. We had bet
4 ter clean the stables frequently.
Then we shall be on tho safe side.
If we permit the sheep to breathe an
air laden with ammonia. among the
troubles that will likely ensue will be
still-born lambs, no milk, and an ami
NAL generally out of condition. We
| ought not to await for the animal to
give us signs of the presence of am
monia, for the cleansing should be so
frequent that ammonia, in any con-
siderable quantity should not be
present. But if we will not do that,
and if we find the animal scratching
and digging his belly with his hind
feet, VIC may know that it is being af-
fected with ammonia.
Ventilation and Cleanliness in Stable.
| When winter approaches the
thoughtful man begins to think of the
dangers of an unventilated house in
which he is to live, and the vast ma
jority Of our houses have nothing that
can be reasonably called ventilation.
He knows that the house is to be shut
up, and that all the impurities owill
be confined; and he will not rest until
he secures such ventilation as will
make the house as safe to live in as it is
| in the summer when the windows and
doors are open. But there are many
who never think of the stables
in which the animals are kept. These
are closed up in winter, too. They
have no ventilation, and the horse is
| in them a much larger proportion of