The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1894-12-20
SOME F7Ei> .FL-S iN FEEDING
AND SOlNG Sii.EP.

Summary of a. Al irSss Eeivered be.
fore tne Stud .nt.. OF tis School of Agri-
CULTURE, of rhe Ohio state CniSersity,
Colum pus, by J fremoat Hickman.
-Asrieultari>t Z. til. OhiS Agricultural
Experimental station. Wooster. ..
PAEr IL
In NIL our sip lreeiinJ absolute
caution and care must be exercised In
selection of the sre, not forgetting
that he is to be the parent OF from
thirty 10 fifty OF the future flock. not
that an imperfection in his
makeup may materially affect the en-
tire flock in the course Of four or i've
years 1 have in mind an illustration
of n slight deficiency in 4 sire which
,,l most ruined an entire fock. The
dam of the s.re in question was poor
milker, this weakness was transmitted
the sire an inherited to such
a degree by his progeny that the ent'-s
1iock became known as small milk pro-
ducers. 1t is possible to have L sheep
with too great predispositioa to lay
on fat. in whica case we must not over
look the support given to the 'foctus
in utero.' on. that has many analogies
and af,in.tics 10 the yield OF milk at
1orded to the youa- animal after its
birth. A good ,niliSer will pro,.u &c her
offspring fatter, finer ana in better
con iitioa than poor or bad mixer,
while puny lamb tells Us in no M
certain terms of mother which has
an overpoweriny disp Is t.oa for
the formation of fat. The successful
breeder and feeder must be capable OF
balancing these competitive tendencies
SO as to secure an adequate supply OF
milk. To do this he will find three
things necessary: first. to secure sire
w hose dam was high milk producer;
second, feed the breeding eve milk
producing foods. such rs roots and en-
silage; finally. eliminate some OF the
lightest mixers fiom the breeding
flock
The feeding OF sheap tcgins win the
mother. My preference as breeder
was to have our ewes at breeding time
in only good thriving condition; as
soon as brei to tegin at once increasing
their food by giving each eve one-half
pound per day. of corn, oats and wheat
Lran in equal parts by weight; this
amount, increased slightly, SO that it
would reach three-fourths of pound
per day in six weeks after breeding,
would pm. ordinarily thrifty ewes in
good condition by lambing time. From
this time on no better food can be pro-
vided than either roots (mangel wur-
zels) or ensilage. on, to three pounds OF
the roots per day, or from two to three
pounds of the ensiiagc; aided to this
two pounds of good clean clover hay,
and ewes will do well. The lambing
season is the critical period Of the year.
A man may be a COOL feeder and a
good breeder. but as 4 c:re-tak2r he Is
now pressed into service. The Hook
from this time rcq'lires almost constant
watching. Suitable places should be
provided so that the ewes can be sepa-
rated from the main fl oc's. The expe-
rienccl shepherd can by careful watch
ing determine as to those that are soon
to become mothers. When such are
discovered they should be caught and
put into the apartments provided for
them After the arrival of the lamb, II
The uOCS nv siNC tAC cSa SAico sAA
to properly care for it the attendant
should, with a careful hrnl, rub 1t with
cloths an assist it in getting on its
feet and nursing for the first time. In
this case he should wet his thumb and
forefinger ami start with care the mil k
on both sides Of the sack. If the par
ent and progeny are then capable OF
-4..1;,r . i1r, , III <ao,pod racon nci1ed TO
one another they are not likely to need
further attention of special kind; un-
less it should be discovered that the
mother is not capable of providing suf-
ficient milk for her offspring, in which
case, if it is possible, furnish the lamb
with milk from fresh COW. watering
the milk slightly and adding to it
little su ,ar; then it sho ll1 b, warm,d
and fed from bottle with al ordinary
gum nipple. Fo: the first five weeks,
under nominal con lit:ols. the lamb
will subsist entirely upon the food fur
nishcd by the mother, but as soon as
the Oldest lanb has reached this age
provision should BE- nalie by partition
ing Of an apartment into which the
lambs can have free All easy access.
In this. apartn at ticy my be FED
wheat bran, groan1 oats, ensilage OF
any other ten Ter o. succulent food
whice may be available If the lambs
are to be prepared for the market this
provision becomes a the more import
ant, and further, til, previous prepara-
ton of some suitable food for forcing
these lambs as rapidly as possible u
the lambs are i1tel Id for WOOL pro
ducers or for stock sheep. the breeder
who is careful of his flock will take
this means of outstanding the strength
of the mothers, but will, of course, uss
it only as an assistance in that direc
ton. The breeder who uses this ad
junct to his breeding and feeding pen:
will find fewer difficulties to contend
with at weaving time, and will be able
to make the transfer from the dam t.
the feeding trough without materiall.
disturbing the equilibrium of eithe
parent or off ,pring, because the lam
has learned to depend less and less upol
the mother, and she in turn has provide
less for her young, and. again. tn
young stomach has by degree IS becom
accustomed to digesting and ass;muia,
ing other foods.
SUMMARY.
Reviewing this paper, we gather tn
following more important deductions
That it does not seem practica ole t
produce the highest grade of wool an
the finest quality of mutton from tn
same flock.
That while it is possible to obtai
both these pro lucts from the sam
flock, either one or the other will be c
inferior quality.
That the production of q superio
quality of mutton from the merino
not practicable.
that the breeder, if fully qualifie
for his business. can breed to suit b
fancy That the sire is the more i'll
portant factor in breeding and shoul
be the production of the most Garrett
breeding for series of years; he shoul
lave all the qualifications of mode
possible to unite in one animal
That the dam must have, first of al
a goo |, strong constitution. next. d.
Gle DISPOSITION. and finally, the powt
of transmitting these to her progeny
a marked degree. That the productio
of a cross breed can not be relied upo
for reproducing fiyel type;
The ram in all cases must hive II
hest of care at breeding time, husban;
ing his strength and requiring OF hi
the least possible eXertion.
= I'M firpo cho-,ld N