The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-09-08
STARTING SHEEP FLOCK,
Good Advice to Those Contemplating
Going Into the Raising of Sheep.

"A mans liking for any business is
more or less controlled by the finan-
cial return from the same This is
especially true of the sheep-breeding
business. From my own experience
/ wish to say that if good judgment is
used at the beginning. no class of
farm animals will return as great
profits on the investment as will
sheep.
In starting a flock of sheep some
advise the purchase Of pure bred ami
mails such as bunch of eve lambs.
This means heavy outlay at the be-
ginning with not much income dur
ing the first year. A eve should be
two years old before she drops her
first lamb, thus the only source of
income from the eve lamb is her
wool clip, which should pay for her
keep.
For the man who has had no ex-
perience in the raising of sheep and
wishes to start a flock, L believe a
much more profitable and economi-
cal method would be to purchase the
so-called old ewes which have been
discarded from the flocks Of sheep
men. When a eve has reached the
age Of five years many people con-
slider her to be old and undesirable.
Such a eve, if a good breeder, will
not appear so nice to the eye of the
visitor as the eve OF two or three
years of age. Still if her udder Is
good, >there is no reason why she
should not be profitable from a
breeding standpoint until she is eight
or ten years old. She Is just the kind
of an animal for the beginner in the
sheep business to handle. During
the months Of July. August and
September each year there are hun
dred Of just such ewes sent to the
markets. when they are a drug on
the market.
A eve which has reared a good
lamb or perhaps two lambs is always
rather thin in flesh, and the butcher
does not want her. except at a very
low price. They can usually be pur-
chased at from SO to IS per head at
any Of the leading livestock mar
kets.
In selecting such ewes get those
which show good breeding and have
good fleeces. It Is we'll to have them
dipped before leaving the yards; and
(better stilD after they arrive home,
ss safeguard against scab. vermin
and other troubles
Having secured flock of old ewes
for small amount Of money, you
can now afford to spend some money
in the purchase Of a good SIRE, He
cannot be too good from mutton
and wool-producing standpoint 1t is
not necessary to have all the fancy
points of his breed, such as color
markings, wooling Of the head and
legs and other fancy points. 1t is
very important. however, that he
does have good mutton form, a
good heavy fleece of wool, and u
strong constitution, as indicated by
width and depth of chest. He must
Ge right In than half the entire flock.
The ewes should be we'll fed dur
ing the mating season, also during
the winter months. The next fall some
culling out should be done. Those
'ewes which are the Oldest and least
prolific should be separated from the
rest Of the flock and fattened for the
market, to be sold in December or
January, (not September, when the
market is generally overstocked with
such animals.)
number of the best eve lambs
should be selected to replace the old
ewes which have been discarded. in
ms way selecting the foundation for
the future breeding flock. If this
method Is followed up, in a few years
all of the old ewes will be replaced
cy younger ones of better type and
breeding. At the same time the flock
will pay larger dividends on the cap-
ital invested than any other class of
stock on the farm.
*Your complexion as we'll AS your