The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-04-22
Care of Arrivals at Landing Time
Especial to the Farm Magazine.)

Especial to the Farm Magazine,)
HE Spring of the year is the shep-
herds harvest. After the long Win
ter Of ceaseless toll and care the
Landing time is the joy and fruit of the
shepherds labors. To him it is the great
est pleasure to welcome each newborn
babe whether he be single, twin or trip
let. Landing time, like the grain har-
vest. is not a time of ease. The success
full shepherd must be very skilled and use
the best judgment in feeding and caring
for the flock at this time.
Feeds.
About month of SO prior to Landing,
the eve should be fed a little grain. A
mixture of one and one-half parts oats
to one part bran makes a good grain mix
ture when fed with some roots or silage
and alfalfa, clover, or oat and vetch hay.
About one-half to three-fourths of a
pound of the grain mixture and two
pounds of roots or silage, with whatever
hay the ewes will eat, makes a good daily
ration for a pregnant eve. Such a ration
will tone up her system and bring her
strongly in milk at Landing time. In
beginning to feed grain or any feed care
must be used in starting with small guam
titles, and gradually increasing the
amount until a full ration Is reached.
During the Landing season the ewes
should have the run of good pasture and
access to a good shed. Ewes, like the
females of other species, require consid-
cradle exercise during the period of preg-
nancy. Lambs from ewes properly exer-
cised are dropped easier and are much
stronger at birth.
Care of Flock at Landing.
The eve flock should be watched very
carefully to see that the lambs are pre-
scented properly and owned by their
mothers. Perhaps the best way of nam
ding the eve at Landing time is the
method using the Landing pen. This pen
is nothing more than two panels -four feet
long and three feet high, made of
l by 4 inch lumber, and hinged together
in such a manner that they will open
and close, forming the letter l. when
open. A small pen 4 by 4 inches can be
easily made by standing a set of these
panels open in the corner of the shed.
The walls of the shed form two sides of
the pen, and the panels the other two.
Whenever a eve shows signs of being in
the labors of Landing she should be sep
arated into one of these pens. Here she
should be kept during Landing and until
proper maternal relationships have been
well established.
There are several distinct advantages
in the use of the Landing pen. They
can be enumerated as follows:
l. The eve and newborn lamb are sep
arate from the rest of the flock and are
in no danger of being trampled upon
2. The ewe in the pen requires less at
tention than she would If she were out
with the rest of the flock.
3. Ewes are more apt to own their
lambs. This is especially true with twins
and ~triplets. In such cases, II the eve
were left with the flock she would very
likely disown one of them, because the
first lamb born usually Is the strongest,
and would wander off, looking for its
first meal while its mother was giving
birth to the other lamb. 1t would thus
be surrounded by other ives and the
mother would lose its scent and conse-
uuently disown 1t.
Tagging.
Right after Landing the ewes should be
tagged. BY this term We mean the clip
ping of wool away from the udder. This
practice gives the LAMBDA good chance at
his first claim on life. Many lambs have
been killed by sucking locks of wool in
stead of the nipple which was intended
for their use. A lamb should suck a few
hours after birth. If he does not do it
of his own accord he should be helped.
The ewes udder should be examined
every few days in the beginning to see
whether or not the lamb Is using all the
milk which the eve produces. Neglect In