The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-09-08
AGREAT SHEEP RANCH
Modern Methods IN the Wool
Raising Industry.

Modern Methods In the Woo
Raising Industry.
DETAILS or THE BUSINESS,
The Summer and Winter Ranges, the
Landing Period and the Work Of ths
Docking crsws-How the Flssss Il
ahorn, oraasd and Packed.
a modern sheep ranch today b most
interesting and involves q great deal
Of detail unknown to most people. Al
1 spent some time on a big sheep ranch
In Idaho year ago, some account Of
my observations may be OF interest
Unlike cattle, which can. except In
certain seasons. be left to themselves,
sheep have to be herded the year
around. The country IL divided fnto
several sections. a winter and summei
range. The latter ID generally In the
hills, mountains and in parts Of the
forest reserves, permits for which have
to be had from Washington. Only %
many sheep are allowed In 1t, and the
government charges about 5 cents a
head for the summer season. which
opens In Idaho about June Is. The
winter range is in the valleys and
plains n near the ranches, where hay
can be had when the snow becomes
too deep.
The hardest season ID perhaps the
Landing period, which comes IN Idaho
during Nay. A band Of 1900 TO $500
ewes is taken out under q lambinG
boss. who has with him two or three
herders. q night herder, a night shoot.
er and b cook. AZ . as any Of
the lambs are born they ar gathered
together In a small band and Ragged
that is, a pole with a red flag II placed
near, so they can be easily banded to-
gether and that the mothers win suckle
their young. When 500 or 600 ewes
have LANDED they are all driven to-
gether in a band and taken on to a
new section a mile or 81 away, where
they remain until all the band has
LANDED. Then they are divided again
into two bands, under q herder and
helper, and wait until docking and
shearing begin before they go to the
summer range. The ewes are herded
each night by a herder, whose duty 1t
l{c f0 3lyaar %hnyn an %hnfn hn1 rRvs111~Nol
while the night shooter, either afoot or
horseback, rides around, shooting
blank cartridges every little while to
scare away coyotes or other animals.
He generally places two or three red
lanterns on prominent places as guides
for his nights work.
About the middle Of May the dock
ing crew is made up, which generally
consists of a boss, cook and five or sew
en- men. Starting at some convenient
point, they put out with two wagons,
one containing the tents, provisions
and beds, while the other holds the
corral. The corral is made of laths
and wire and can be put up in thirty
minutes. The ewes and lambs are
driven into it, the lambs cut out and
put into the triangle shaped fence,
where two or three men hold them by
all four feet while another cuts of
their tails and slices the ears of the
eve lambs. They are branded with
the outfit and flock brands, while ewes
are also marked and counted. In this
way the percentage of the lambs is
taken. Sometimes three or four bands
are treated that waysin a day, the cor
raj being taken up and put down wher-
eve the next band is, but two bands
are all that most crews can do in a
day when they are very near together.
This goes on for ten days or two
weeks until all the sheep under whose
foreman they are have been treated.
About May 25 or June i shearing
begins. A large outfit will have per-
haps two OF: three shearing plants stu
ated conveniently in different parts Of
the country. a large plant will have
thirty OF forty shearing machines with
steam for power. while a smaller one
Of sixteen machines will have q gaso-
line engine. Blades have been given
up mostly now, and nearly all modern
outfits use the clippers. The shearers
are paid by the sheep. 16 cents for
rams and 8 cents for all other sheep
and a dollar per day board. A high
roller will shear 200 sheep in ten.
hours, but these men are far and few.
The average Is a little below a hun
dred sheep per day. Each foreman
knows beforehand just about what
time to have his sheep on hand. and it
Is remarkable how thousands Of sheep
can be handled and timed SO that
none will mix up. A band Of ewes
and lambs will come In by sunset and
are ~corralled and the lambs cut out
and counted, while the ewes are put
through a chute into an alleyway and.
i've or eight put IN each shearer's pen.
Az each pen is refilled and the shorn
sheep put out the alley man, and shear
or toll up their account. The shorn
sheep are put down another alley and.
branded with the outfit brand and flock