The Globe-republican., 1901-08-15
Care and breeding of sheep.


John Howat, at the Iowa State
Farmers Institute spoke on the breed
ing AID care of sheep. In part he
said.
In breeding sheep the first necessity
IS knowledge of conditions and
understanding of what market demand
you want to meet If you expect to go
into business a 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 tat lambs for the market, then
you may be satisfied to get your ex-
perlence with common sheep Good
natives make very satisfactory foun-
dStIon- But be sure and use good
mutton ram of known family Avoid
buying a cheap RAM We have seen
men pay $500 for a bull and S25 to SIS
for boar pig, and So for a 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 gooo
stock so thoroughly fortified as in
breeding a half hundred native ewes to
a Shropshire ram and having every
lamb bearing on its face the image or
its sire.
I will say that in personal expert
ence the April lamb is the lamb for
Iowa conditions. The early lamb needs
too much feed before the grass comes
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,
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 the biggest fools
in creation 1t makes no difference
how We'll fed and cared for they may be
they will wedge themselves in door
way or a 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 coolest
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 a lantern,
if a stranger be along they get on their
feet with a bound. We have lain
among them by the hour, watching
lam bling ewes, but a quick movement
will get them up in an instant. The
1ambing season is delicate time with
the shepherd. Where it is possible it
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 p. m. till a. m, but we have
to confess we have never in ex-
perience had the pleasure of handling
sheep possessed of such capabilities or
good manners. We haye 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
100 a. m.
When the lamb is dropped it is nee
essary to see that the eve mi1ks freely.
a black, stringy matter fills the teats,
and in many cases the lamb cannot
start the milk 1t should then be done
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.