The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1909-01-02
SHEEP RAISING ON
IRRIGATED LANDS
IDAHO RiNCHER VERY SUCCESSFUL
D. @. Mullen, of Nampa. rells How
He Started-lllustrates Many
Interesting Points.

The following article, by D. c. Null
len, of Nampa, Idaho, is one of three
contributions to the Boise Capital
News made by that gentleman, who is
a rancher near Nampa:
The editor Of the Capital News hav-
ing kindly encouraged me to write a
little more on the subject of sheep on
the farm, will try to give few fig.
ures on what | have done in small
way These articles are not written
for entertainment, but are strictly for
business My sheep are Landing now,
and | have but little for anything
but business. Work on the farm at
any time is anything but lazy mans
job, but winter finds us with the most
spare time, and | like TO have the
lambs come early, so can give them
full attention.
The one time that you must look
after sheep is in lambing. If weather
is cold they may chill to death; occa-
sionally a mother will not own her
lamb, and in case of twins you must
see they keep together at first. We
have little pens to put them in, where
there are twins or mothers are in
clined to leave them. However, they
are generally the best of mothers. and
grieve over their dead lambs in a way
to make your heart ache. On the
ranch there are none of the dreadful
cries of starving orphans that you
hear one the range. My first sheep
was one of these orphans. We made
one visit to the lambing ground, and
that was all | ever wanted. | can
hear those cries yet and the time will
come when such things will not be
tolerated. There will be laws to
cover this, just as there is for feeding
and watering stock in shipping. These
orphan losses in a financial way are
also favorable to ranch sheep. We al
ways have a few for some unavoidable
reason. but we raise them on cows
milk like calf. Rangemen tell me it
is better to have lambs some later, SO
they will have green grass to eat, and
| that they do better. We do not find
it So The lambs will begin to nibble
at the hay when three or four days
old, and soon eat as well as their
mothers. They are all started and
care for themselves when spring work
is on, when most farmers are worked
to death. The rangemen forget that
when they are Landing that is all they
have to do, while farmer has many
other things to attend to.
Conditions Differ.
l find in nearly every way thai
sheep on the ranch and range are en-
tirely different businesses. The range
man. from a money point of view, JUS
lets his orphans die, loses stray sheer
in the brush without bothering abou
it. and the sick must get well them
selves or die But such methods OF
the ranch would be a disgrace. w,
will expect to keep a better grade. o.
even pure breds, and so cannot affor'
such losses. Here is where | suffered
When | started in on sheep. only on
man that | knew of was handling then
on the ranch, and had no one to asl
advice of when in trouble except tn
range man, and all he knew was t.
let them die could do that withou
any help, so just had to blunder alon
! reading all l could find in papers o.
the subject and studying my owr
/ | forgot to say how little | knew Q
stock, and of farm work except wha
| had read, until l came to the ranc
here eight years ago. | scarcely kne'
sheep when | saw one, so it is yer
evident if | could make it pay at a
| that any farmer raised to the bushes
| ought to make a big thing of it. Dis
; cussions on sheep in the papers hav
, been a great help to me, and may W
, hope these lines on my mistakes ma
J help some other farmer from goin
the same rough road Let us consul
together and profit by others mi:
takes.
Sheep Vary.
Before l give my figures l woul
like to say that my sheep are the ord
nary scrub, range sheep, that | hav
picked up anywhere from one to ha
a dozen. They are all sizes, and coars
and fine wool of ali grades. The on
trouble in getting started on the ranc
is that range men don't want to sell
hundred or two, so you have to pic
them up wherever you can. So min
> are in no way a selected lot. Til
simply emphasizes what | said abov
about my making any profit. Pure
: bred sheep or good grades. like an
other stock, will pay better tina
scrubs. and can say right here
don't intend to always have scrubs
= but they proved both cheap and prof
4 able, and are especially good to pra
/. tice on, for a beginner is bound
i lose more or less, and, in fact, any or
\ in stock must expect some losses.
g l will only give my last three year
!. receipts:
19O5-Average fleece, 10 pounds,
4 153c, S1.55.
1sO6-Average fleece. 7 pounds,
n zoe, S1.4O.
9 1sO7-Average fleece. 81 pounds,
19c, Sf.24.
{ This is a bad showing, as every ye
my average was lower, but let me e
plain. In 1905 my sheep were all goo
ewes, only one old range sheep in Il
It lot, and that sheared AZ pounds. Thu
O averaged just a trifle less than
pounds. The next year | made a b;
= break buying some old range pelter
d l figured that the wool and Ian
i would pay the bill and would n
e count the old sheep anything. But
o didn't pan out They only SHARED
r and Al pounds. and some died. mo
Tns Brainy Buncb.
3 Mr.. Slnic-Do you see those thr
= people walking together down therei
,s Mrs Getup-Yes; who are they7
Mr.. Sinic-One is a somnambulii
opa &c a l-Iaufomoufac and ono Is