The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1899-05-17


raised god lambs. The ram should be
thoroughbred and as good one as we
can get. 1t does not pay to save a few
dollars on the price Of ram and loee IL
on every lamb we raise. lie should be
not less than one year old.
Early lambs bring the best prices from
Christmas 10 the middle of February,
and to haye them ready for market dur
ing this period they should be weaned
during November and December. This
necessitates the ewes being bred in June
or July. The Dorsets will readily breed
at this time unless they are sucking
lambs. 1t is not 30 easy TO induce other
breeds TO take the ram before August or
September, Ewes will, however, usually
come to heat while their milk is drying
of, and il we can time it 80 as to haye
them wean their lambs in June they
will be more apt TO breed about that
time.
The ewes should have plenty OF feed
through the fall 80 as to keep in good
condition, but not too fat. They should
be brought to the barn As soon as the
lambs begin to arrive, and be kept in
all Of the time before snow comes. II
they rub themselves and appear to be
troubled with ticks they should be
sheared as soon as they are put in for
the winter. This will dispose of all the
ticks before many OF the lambs arrive
and prevent their getting onto them.
The ewes should be watched very close.
ly at this time and as soon as any Of
them are ready to lamb they should be
placed in a small p,n by themselves and
kept there until we are sure that the
lamb has sucked and the eve will own
it. It is we'll to start the ewes milk
with the thumb and finger, as the teats
are sometime constructed 80 the lamb
cannot start it.
The ewes should all be numbered with
metallic ear marks and each lamb tagged
when it arrived with the same number
as its dam, or with a different number
and record kept, 30 we can tell at any
time which lamb belongs to each eve.
This will save much trouble and con-
fusion at times il we have many ewes
together. The ewes that have lambs
should be kept in a separate pen from
the others and fed all they will eat of
grain, rowen hay and roots or ensilage.
Do not feed more than they will eat
at any time, but increase the feed grad
ually as the lambs grow, 30 as to force
them as fast as possible. Wheat, bran,
corn, oats and linseed meal are as good
as any grain l know of. Cottonseed
meal and gluten are dangerous.
The lambs should have a CRIB pro-
vided for them where they can be fed
grain away from the ewes. They will
begin to eat when few days CID and
they should have all they will eat up
clean several times day.
Do not feed more at time than they
will clean up in few hours, as they are
very dainty and will not eat any if it is
at all stale. have tried nearly all kinds
of grain, including the best oatmeal,
costing two or three cents pound, and
have found nothing they like 80 well as
good wheat bran, and it is probably as
good as anything Tor them. Worms is
a common source of failure in raising
lambs at any season and unless we wish
to see are lamos drOOp and die be fore
they are old enough to sell we must
take some measures to prevent this
scourge. 1t is said that all lambs are
born with worms in their stomachs, and
think there is much truth in it, unless
we prevent it by keeping the ewes free
from them. The best preyentiveI know
of is to keep good powder mixed with
salt before them constantly.
AS rule the lambs should be sold as
soon as they are fat and weigh from &c
to 60 pounds alive. Whether it is besi
to sell them sliYe or dressed depends on
the market and the distance we are from
it. We should study the different mar.
kets and find what they require anC
where we can get the most fer or pro
duct. The very early lambs usually
bring the best prices in the large cities
and the later ones in the smaller citiet
and town. Whenever we sell we can,
not expect fancy price unless we have
fancy article.