Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1897-04-30

A contributor to American Sheen
Breeder says: Let us first consider the
mother. From her the lamb gets, by all
odds, the most important, the most in
dlspensable part of his food. She di-
gests the crude, raw food stuffs in her
large stomach and prepares the con-
centrated, easily digested and perfect
mothers milk. In the abundance and
regularity of this supply of milk de-
ponds your hopes of good lambs. You
must feed the mother generously; yet,
the food must be of the right sort to be
turned readily into milk, and this
brings us to consider what milk is
made of and why. Not to go specific
ally into details, the milk is very rich
in heterogeneous materials, in what we
call protein. This protein is the stuff
that muscle and brasn-stuff and nerve
stuff and blood is made Of 1t is exact
ly what the young animal needs to
make his frame grow and build up his
young tissues. Now to produce this
milk in abundance the eve must be
fed foods that have in them the ele
ments of milk. They must be foods
that are somewhat rich in protein OF
course. there is fat in milk, and the
animal system burns a good deal OF
carbon, so we don't want a food free
from the starchy principles that are
made of carbon; yet, for milk produc-
ton, you do need a greater proportion
OF protein to starchy food or fat-form-
cot
the mother. This bars out the large
use of corn in the diet. Corn will not
make milk satisfactorily, no matter in
what amounts it be fed. have tried it
by keeping ewes on full diet of corn,
with clover hay, too, but the lambs did
not generally thrive. l did not expect
them to thrive, l was fattening their
mothers for sale. Now there are any
number of combinations of foods that
will be good for the eve, but we will
consider what is easiest and cheapest
to you. Mix up the following fixture,
by weight: 100 lbs. cornmeal, 100 lbs.
wheat bran. 25 lbs. oilmeal: shovel it
over until we'll mixed, then give the
ewes little of it. Each day increase
they have all that they will eat; then
would make a self-feeder, if 1 were
you, and let them run to it all the time;
they like to eat little and often; they
Will not eat too much while sucking !
their lambs after once accustomed to |
it. 1t is true that they will rapidly |
gain in flesh sometimes when fed this |
ration. Well, if not too valuable, keep |
up the food for few weeks, or less, |
after the lambs are sold and sell the |
mothers too. Now the lambs will be |
getting what milk their mothers are |
capable of getting, yet they will soon
want to be eating themselves. 1 know
of 20 better food for them than this
same mixture that l have advised for
the ewes. Let them have all that they
will eat of it, and they and their moth
ers will want clover hay of the best,
and in abundance, too. Have it so that
they can all get it, but not get on it
with their dirty little feet. A lamb is
more dainty about his eating than a
baby. To have the lambs do their best
they must be allowed to eat at their
table, IN SpeardIe pen lTOm Tue ewes,
SO that whenever they feel hungry
there will be nothing to prevent their
eating in peace. There ought to be
plenty of sunlight, too, in which they
IAN lie and sleep. Some way or other
you must see that they are perfectly
lappy-no fear, no disturbance, no
weakening from sleep, no dog running
through them, no hunger unsatisfed,
10 thirst unassuaged. 1t is the happy
amb that grows and causes your bank
.ccount to grow. 1 think that lambs
hat are to spend their lives on the
arm rather than coming to'a early
cath at the butchers block will need
uite a different treatment from the
ne outlined above. l would not feed
early so strong; would like the eve to
o her best in milk-giving, but the
amb had better have but little corn, if
ny.
ShrODShire - MerinQs - ChrOOShirA