The advocate., 1897-08-18
Oounling the Flock.

the ewes must be coupled if full profit
is to be made from the flock, "he says
"The early lamb is worth twice as
much as a late one, and is more safely
reared, so that the choice of the ram
and the introduction to the flock is
a timely matter for consideration. If
the flock is pure-bred, of course this is
to be kept up; then get ram from an
other flock than your own. Close
breeding is disastrous with sheep, and
the best results are obtained by ChOOs-
ing sound, well-fOrmed, vigorous an
imal rather than a bigger one without
these qualities. The fleece is to be
studied, for the lambs will take after
the ram in respect to wool mostly, if
the animal is from good flock. But
choose well-formed, sOlidbodied ram
with short legs and small, well-shaped
head. The age of the ram is of the
greatest Importance, however, for upon
this will depend the sex of the lambs.
"There are many supposed rules as
to laws of breeding, but one of them
is provision of nature for the preser-
vatiOn of the species and it's best pros
perity. We may be sure that if there
is any law in this respect it must act
for this end, for natures first law is
for the preservation of life. We may
believe that where any race is in dan
ger Of determination from any cause,
this law will operate to secure the ex-
tension of it's existence in some way.
When food is abundant and the race
is vigorous, then we may expect it to
increase most rapidly. Then the young
males active and full of energy, mo-
nOpOliZe the females and drive off the
old males. What then happens? Ex-
perienCe, study and experiment in this
direction go to prove that these condi-
tiOns will always result in a much
greater proportion of female births
than of male, even to the extent of
three to one. On the other hand
ewes served by old rams produced the
same proportion of male births, thus
tending to show that nature preserves
races when they are most vigorous and
best fed, while the number tends to de-
crease under opposite conditions. This
experience is renewed constantly, and
thus the breeder who wants his flock to
increase will choose young, well-fed
rams and feed the flock literally, so
as to preserve the conditions suitable
for rapid increase of the stock. The
breeder, on the other hand, who makes
his profits from the young rams he
sells, will follow the opposite course,
and SO increase his income from a
surplus of these to be disposed of.
"The cheapest lamb is the Christmas
or New Years gift to the owner, and
it should be the effort to have the
lambs as early as possible. The risks
OF the weather are then the least The
cold begins to strengthen, as the old
adage goes, when the days begin to
lengthen, and there is more opportu-
nifty to care for the newcomers at
mid-Winter than later. In every way
the New Years lamb is the most
desirable, except in a few instances,
when those coming in May will be the
most welcome. No hOt-house, either,
is needed for these early lambs, if
ordinarily good care is given, a warm
shed provided with separate small pens
for the lambing ewes and close atten-
ton given at this time of leisure. AS
a rule, there are more lambs lost in
March and April, by the cold rains or
chilling winds, than in mid-winter
OF course, the arrival of the lambs
is a matter for consideration now.
What will most help in this way is the
most important thing to consider.
Good feeding from this time on for
the ewes, and the presence of a sturdy |
young ram under 2 years Of age; it is
not desirable to use a younger one,
unless it is a very early one, and we'll
grown and matured. would not hest |
tate to choose one which is 8 months |