The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-03-13
PROFITABLE SHIPMENT BY THE
ExPERIM EMIT STATION. /.
ALL RECORDS ARE BROKEN
Fancy Prices Realized for Sheep
Finished at Home for Chi
ago Market.

AS the matter OF feeding sheep for
market is one in which a large ma
jority of the people of this part of the
state are becoming more interested
yearly, The Gazette takes occasion to
give an account of the results that
followed an experiment made by the
Montana Experiment station at the
state agricultural college, not only in
feeding, but in finishing as we'll. The
lot selected was shipped to Chicago
and arrived there in time for the
market of last Friday, March 6, and
was composed of lambs and wethers.
On what was considered a bad mar
ket the lambs brought 1925 and the
wethers Sc, both being the highest
prices ever paid for Montana-bred an
imals.
The lambs numbered 1O1 head and
averaged in weight 50 pounds. The
wethers, 112 head, averaged 1876
pounds. The previous highest price
paid for lambs finished in the state
was $685., realized. last year, while
the wethers brought 81 over the previ-
Gus record price for Montana stock.
Part of the wethers were bought for
shipment to Bermuda, where they will
furnish mutton of the grade suited to
the epicurean taste of the British
army officers stationed there.
Professor Linfield, under whose d.
rections the animals were fed, says
they were bought from a bunch of
range stock, the lambs costing $3.50
and the wethers $3.50 a head. They
were run on the station hay and
grain fields for about a month last
fall, after which they were put up
for. feeding, the feeding test begin
ming November % and continuing IS
days. For feeding purposes the sheep
were divided into two divisions, n
of lambs and the other of wethers,
the latter being two-year-olds. Then
each division was separated into lots
Of %, each. The roughage feed was
clover hay, each animal being given
all it could eat. This was continued
for 10 days, when grain was added to
the rations, about a month being con-
sumed in getting up to the full feed.
The feed for the two divisions of
five lots was as follows: Lot 1, good
wheat screenings; lot 2, whole
wheat; lot 3, oats; lot 4, barley; lot
5, a mixture of the grain fed to the
other lots. About one pound of hay
was fed daily in addition to the
grain. After the required amount of
grain had been reached the full ra-
ton was fed until the animals were
shipped to market. The amount of
hay fed per day was about three
pounds for the lambs and about four
pounds for the wethers, the wethers
eating one-third more hay than the
lambs. From Is to 20 per cent OF
the hay was waste, or rather it was
not eaten by the sheep, being fed to
to- the station hogs and cattle after it
was removed from h feeding pens.
AS it was readily eaten by the other
animals there was really no waste.
The gain of the lambs was re-
markable, being on an average ~
pounds. The wethers did not do so
we'll, as they gained only 81 pounds
during the time of the test. While
given the same amount of grain as
the wethers, the lambs were fed one
third less hay, but still gained about
% per cent more in weight.
The cost of feeding the lambs is
estimated at about $1.75 and that Of
the wethers at. about 81.