The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1912-11-08

BY w. F. STEVENS, LIVE STOCK CON-
MISSIONER, PROVINCE OF ALBERTA,
EDMONTON, ALTA, IN THE Dry
FARMING CONGRESS BULLETIN.


EDMONTON, ALTA, IN THE Dry
FARMING CONGRESS BULLETIN.
As swine growing is the natural
adjunct of dairyinR, so sheep is the
natural accompaniment of extensive
wheat farming. The ability to utilize
and turn to account what would 9TH
erwise be waste products is the de-
termining factor in each case.
The by products of the wheat farm
are weeds, volunteer grains and
grasses, weed seeds, shrivelled grain
and straw. The first four the sheep
will utilize to better advantage than
will any other kind of live stock, and
only beef cattle and horses will sur
pass sheep in turning wheat straw to
account.
Another reason why sheep should
appeal to the extensive wheat farmer
is that once he has installed the pro-
er equipment such as fences, open
sheds and watering places, they in
terfere little with his field work. In
fact, it is very doubtful if the extra
work they occasion during the busy
season is not more than offset by the
labor they save on the summer fall
low in the way of soil packing, weed
eradication and the spreading Of
manure.
Another fact worth considering is
that the presence of flock of sheep
on grain farm does not necessitate
material reduction in the area de-
voted to grain growing, but on the
other hand it never foils to insure a
larger yield Of better grain, and it
makes possible the growing Of grain
for longer period of years than can
be done without them, or some other
kind Of live stock.
Start of raising Sheep.
A certain amount of technical know
ledge regarding sheep, their habits,
etc, is necessary to success, but the
same is equally true'of all classes of
animals, and amateurs should acquire
this knowledge with a small flock in
order that their mistakes do not cost
them too dearly.
The first step to be taken when
embarking in the business Of sheep
raising is to enclose at least one field
with coyote-proof fence. Addition
al fields similarly enclosed should be
provided as occasion requires, or as
ones means permit An effective
dog and coyote-proof fence can be
made by using woven wire fence
and attached to the inside of the
posts. A strand of barbed wire
should be run along the surface of
the ground and another six inches
above the top woven wire fence.
These should be attached to the out
side Of the pests. This arrangement
makes burrowinR under and vaulting
over the fence very difficult. A wo-
ven wire fence SO inches high with
one strand of wire above it is usually
sufficient for inside or cross fencing.
The next step is to secure the
right kind of sheep. When selecting
these two things should be kept well
in mind. They must be of breed
that are noted for being quick to get
on their feet after being LANDED else
they will require great deal of at
tention at Landing time, which com
ing as it does in the midst of the
seeding, the farmer can i'll Oxford to
give, and they must be we'll wooded
on the under line. else they will spend
too much time about the shelter dur
ing the winter months; they will re-
quire much more hand feeding and
be much more likely to contract di-
sease than they would if they got out
every day on clean ground and in the
clear air and sunlight.
Managing q flock.
In managing a flock of sheep it
should be remembered that avariety
of feed is indispensable. When they
are on succulent feed, they should
have daily assess to dry roughage,
when they are on dry feed they
should have occasional assess to some |