The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-06-05
Sheep Harvesting Their Own Feed and
Saving Labor for Their Owner.

cornfields. This practice has proved
very satisfactory in many states. 1t,
OF course, necessitates purchases in
the fall and marketing in December or
January, and is, therefore, adaptable
on large scale only TO such farms or
sections as are in a position to make
a practice of speculative feeding of
live stock, as few farms at present
raise a sufficient number of lambs to
harvest the grain from large acreage
Of corn.
A larger use of forage crops for fat
tening meat stock can be adopted with
a saving Of labor. This plan permits
the putting on of large gains with
crops which are harvested entirely by
the animals themselves.
In many sections fall-sown wheat
and rye can be grazed by sheep, there
by making great saving in winter
feed as well as in the labor of feeding.
In sections such as Tennessee this
practice has become very general, and
is found to work exceedingly well in
the production of winter wheat.
Self-feeders for the feeding of hay
to fatten sheep and lambs can be used
to good advantage. Although their
use in the feeding of grain to hogs will
prove very satisfactory in the saving
Of labor, it is not recommended that
they be used in feeding grain to sheep
and lambs.
In range sections considerable win
ter labor can be economical and great
er safety secured by the distribution
of supplies of feed to strategic points
on the winter range. Corn, cottonseed
cake, or velvet beans can be stored
in metal granaries at points which will
permit of their ready distribution to
the stock in case of storms, which COM
monty make it impossible to get feed
to the stock from the nearest railroad
points. In the event Of a very open
winter this feed may deteriOrate dur
ing the following summer. In most
sections, however, the climate is suf-
ficiently dry to allow it to remain in
storage for use in good condition dur
ing the second winter.
In the past, injury has been done by
advocating sheep raising on lands
where little or no labor or attention
is needed and farms are thereby
cleaned Of weeds. So far as their ap-
petite for weeds is concerned, sheep
may be regarded to some extent as
scavengers. They will eat most weeds
and on any farm will reduce greatly
the amount Of land labor needed to
hold weeds in check on the areas of
pasture and grain crops. 1t is a mis-
take, however, to advocate the raising
of sheep where the main interest is in
weed control.
While the labor required for sheep
production is continuous, it is not
heavy, and if properly supervised can
well be performed by boys or aged
men incapable OF other kinds of farm
labor, and by girls and women. Sheep
management can be learned and IN
derstOod and the labor performed by
anyone who is willing to observe care
fully and think and attend to the de-
tails as attention is required.
It must be understood, however, that
sheep raising should not be engaged in
with an idea that little attention ! re-
Quired. The wants of sheep are numer-
GUS and varied, and frequent attention
is required to fOrestall conditions that
will result in i'll health or lack OF
thrift. At lambing time frequent at
tendance day and night is necessary to
avoid losses Of ewes and young
lambs.
Corn for aHoooino OFF,