Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-04-16
General Management of Sheep.

General Management Of Sheep.
Iu discussing the management Of flock
of sheep the topic naturally divides into
three divisions tho housing, breeding,
and feeding, the last Of which is the
most important perhaps at the present
time. The prerequisite for satisfactory
housing is building which Is we'll ven
tilated but free from drafts, 1t should be
we'll lighted and free from moisture.
The sheep is naturally equipped for cold
weather and will stand most any degree
of cold 80 long as it has place to stay
in that 10 dry and sheltered. Plenty of
room should be allowed each sheep at
the feed rack. Crowding results 10 the
smaller and weaker sheep not getting
their share of the food, and II the ewes
are heavy with lamb, abortion and other
difficulties may be caused.
To the man that now has sheep OF
mixed breeding or to the beginner we
would say endeavor to have as uniform q
flock as possible. 1t is not necessary to
have registered flock In order to have
a successful one, in fact but very
small percentage of the sheep in this
country are registered. The first idea
should be to determine upon the type of
sheep you wish to breed and in deter
mining this take account OF the gen.
eral environment and market demands,
for the majority of breeders in this state
probably one of the down breeds will be
fully as satisfactory. Then select pure
bred ram of the type you desire, and
grade up the flock, always taking pains
to keep a pure bred of the same breed
at the head. 1t seems little expensive
at times to do this but the advantage Of
having better lambs and uniform flock
more than offsets tho difference. For
the beginner it is better to 60 slowly and
gain experience as you 60 than to start
too large and make failure. 1t may be
better to start with ewes that have
lambed before as less difficulty will be
experienced. The eve flock should be
carefully culled each year and any eve
that is a shy breeder, poor feeder, that
has bad udder or broken mouth should
be discarded, ewes in this class are not
profit bearers and will bring greater re-
turns at this time than at any other.
The usual breeding season for ewes Is
from tho first of September until the
end of the year; the CESSATION period be-
ing about 140 to $50 days. If the ewes
are In rather poor condition or the ram
is allowed to run with large flock and
no attention is paid to the breeding 1t
will result in long lambing season and
frequently part of the ewes getting by
without settling. A little attention how
ever on the part of the owner will pre-
vent this difficulty. Where large flock
is to be bred by one ram. II he is allowed
with the flock only one hour or SO each
morning or evening, and is fed additional
oats, q handful of linseed and some
succulent feed-the results will be far
satisfactory. The ewes also should be
in a gaining condition. The English
flock master plans to have field Of rape
or clover to turn his ewes into at this sea-
son, or else puts them on grain ration.
II the ewes come to the barn In the
fall in good condition little difficulty
will be experienced in carrying them
through the winter In good condition on
clover hay, turnips, or mangels. Man.
gels, however, should not be fed to the
rams. Timothy hay is never a satisfac-
tory feed for sheep. Corn silage Is now
being used with good results when 1t
is carefully fed, but 1t should not be
mouldy, or fed too freely two to four
pounds per day for each eve generally
gives good results).
II the flock is lacking in condition, no
time should be lost in starting them to
gaining. 1t may be desirable to separate
the flock into several smaller ones In Or
der to give them all the best care as the
smaller and thinner ewes may require
additional feed also those heaviest with
lamb can be watched more carefully
when separated from the others.
1t is always we'll to keep salt handy
where the ewes can get 1t at will. Hard.
wood ashes may be mixed with the salt
to act as sort OF vermifuge, or tobacco
stems soaked in salt water for q short
time and placed where the sheep can get
at them easily will help to keep down
the stomach worms.
As the lambing season approaches
greater attention should be given the
ewes. The lamb at birth is small be-
ing, and may seem to be Of no conse-
quence, yet it is these small beings that
keep up the sheep industry and bring
success to the sheep man. II the ewes
are to lamb In the winter time 1t is desir-
able to have place that can be heated.
As the eve approaches lambing she
should be removed from the flock and
placed in a small pen by herself where
she can be watched by the attendant. In
this way there is less danger of losing
the lamb or the eve refusing to own 1t.
The attendant must use considerable
Judgment In handling the ewes. A thin
eve will give but little milk, will have
small lamb and frequently refuse to own
it. A eve excessively fat produces
lambs which are large, that cause diff
cult parturition, and are lacking In vital
ity, so that the percentage OF loss 10
usually large. The eve in just the right
form will be between these two ex.
tremes, will have good sized lambs and
be a free mixer. 1t must be remem.
bered that the eve Is milking animal
and should be so fed as to produce .
maximum flow. As soon as she is In
normal condition she may be put with
the other ewes and lambs, the lambs
having creep provided for them so that
they can get additional feed in the form
of grain, or II it is pasture season they
can 90 to the pasture with the dams.
II 1t il in the winter time the ewes may
be fed oats, bran, cornmeal, linseed oil
meal. Oats, corn and linseed should
form the basis for the lamb feed. II the
lambs are to 60 on the winter market as
shot house" lambs, they should be
grown to weigh at least 60 lbs. alive; the
best prices usually coming from the
middle OF February until Esster.
The time of shearing the flock will de-
pend somewhat upon the weather con.
dition. Where the shelter is satisfactory
they can be sheared In April. A sheep
shearing machine is the most satisfactory
method of shearing, 1t gets more wool,
produces less cuts, and with q little
practice is much quicker than the old
hand shears. Dipping should be q regu-
lar practice on every sheep farm, ticks
and other parasites create lots OF trouble
for the sheep man, unless they are con-
tiuually kept in oheok, Professor P. A.
Campbell In Farmers' Week Course.