Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1901-08-24
Care and breeding of sheep.

Care and breeding of Sheep.
John Howat, at the Iowa State
Farmers Institute. spoke on the breed
ing and care of sheep. In part he
said:
In breeding sheep the first necessity
Is knowledge of conditions and an
understanding of what market demand
you want to meet. If you expect to go
iato business as breeder of fine stock
to supply the market for breeders, then
you need the best there Is to be had
at reasonable figures. If you expect to
raise fat lambs for the market, then
you may be satisfied to get your ex-
perience with common sheep. Good
natives make very satisfactory foun-
dation. But be sure and use a good
mutton ram of known family. Avoid
buying cheap RAM We have seen
men pay $4O0 for a bull and $25 to SIS
for boar pig, and So for ram. The
longer the leg, the poorer the wool,
the more mongrel the appearance, the
better he suited. We have never seen
the arguments for breeding to goo6
stock SO thoroughly fortified as in
breeding a half hundred native ewes to
Shropshire ram and having every
lamb bearing on its face the image OF
it's sire.
Will Say IudL IN p0TSOndi cAPCii-
ence the April lamb is the lamb for
Iowa conditions. The early lamb needs
too much feed before the grass comes
and the late lamb gets the stomach
worm and the hot weather. Breeding
sheep is a simple matter, but caring
for them is different. They need the
closest watching.
In building sheep barns or sheds, we
always have the doors in the ends and
never less than eight feet wide. Sheep
are the most gentle and docile animals
on earth, and yet are .ne biggest FOOLS
in creation. 1t makes no difference
how well fed and cared for they may be
they will wedge themselves in a door
way or gate and strain and pull and
cause abortion. We have never been
able to go through season without
some cases Of abortion, especially in
young ewes.
We rarely shut our breeding ewes in
the shed, except at lambing time.
Unless the wind blows hard the coldest
nights will find the bulk of the flock
in the open, yards. Avoid close sheds;
sheep must have an abundance of air.
If a man will go into a close shed
where a flock of sheep has been penned
over night, the stencil will almost
sicken him. Even in the open yards,
in moist muggy, heavy weather the
smell is foul. Fresh air is the first
great requisite.
In going around among your sheep,
go quietly; don't hustle things and
make them jump and-run We often
go through our sheep with lantern.
and scarce sheep gets on its feet, but
if a stranger be along they get on their
feet with a bound. We have lain
among them by the hour, watching
lambing ewes, but a quick movement
will get them up in an instant. The
lambing season is a delicate time with
the shepherd. Where it. is possible 1t
is profitable to have some one with
them all the time, especially at night
Lambs are apt to come at all hours.
We have heard men say at stock
breeders meetings that sheep were safe
from 10 D. m. till a. M, but we have
to confess we have never in our ex-
perience had the pleasure of handling
sheep possessed of such capabilities or
good manners. We have sometimes
thought that daybreak was the most
popular time with the ewes. but we get
experiences that confirm us in our
opinion that a eve drops her lamb
whenever she gets ready. On one oc-
casion we had seventeen lambs dropped
between the hours OF IL midnight and
1:30 a. m.
When the lamb Is dropped it is nee
essary to see that the eve milks freely.
A black, stringy matter fills the teats,
and In many cases the lamb cannot
start the milk. 1t should then be done
by hand The long ends and tags of
the wool surrounding the udder should
be clipped so the lamb won't get them
in its mouth. We let our lambs run
with the ewes till August, when they
are weaned.
The Young koaL