Show NEED BUNCH OF SHEEP ON EVERY FARM t xeo I 1 gr 4 mtv T inq ej I 1 41 0 V p k A VW I 1 0 7 V V LAMBS ON SOY DEAN BEAN AND CORN PASTURE by P G HOLDEN former dean of lowa iowa agricultural college in good farming allow nothing to go to waste on many farms every year grass and weeds around buildings in barn lots along fences and roads in corn or stubble fields go to seed and become waste material these weeds could be turned to good account it there was a bunch of sheep to eat them no farm animal will respond more readily to care and feed than sheep they T I 1 y need but little attention it if such as they require Is given them at the right time there Is a world avide shortage of sheep the consumption of mutton Is on the increase the wool supply of the world Is about exhausted pat fat lambs and wool bring good figures not on account of the war but from a genuine demand of the people there Is wonderful erfal interest in sheep graving everywhere but the demand for mutton and wool Is so great that producers cannot annot c meet it there should be sheep on every farm sheep need a change of pasture turning them from one field into another furnishes this change and keeps the sheep healthy expensive housing Is unnecessary warm shelter Is essential only when the lambs are very young the roof Is the important part of the sheep house keep the sheep dry during the winter season and the fleece will provide the warmth A bunch of good ewes will return good profits their requirements quire ments are simple and their returns in fleece and fat lambs will surprise you there Is ie to no better winter feed for the ewes than good silage and alfalfa hay A good ewe will give more milk for the feed consumed than will the best dairy cow her lamb will do the milking and by converting the ml milk ik into fat lumb the farmer can get much more per pounds tor for the ewes ew es milk than for the cows and in addition the ewe furnishes a fleece each year to sell care should be taken not to feed sour or moldy silage to sheep it will kill them large ewes raising lambs can be fed sweet silage up to tour four or five pounds per day after they have become accustomed to it during the winter before the lambs arrive the e ewes aes it in good condition at the start need only a light silage ration with alfalfa hay and corn fodder sometimes CL a feed of bright straw Is relished by the ewes sheep kept in muddy yards for long periods are almost sure to get sore feet give them dry footing and there will be no trouble raising lambs lamb profitable select a bunch of rugged mutton shaped ewes and mate them in the fall with a purebred sire of good form and fleece have the lambs born la in march if there Is plenty of good teed feed for the ewes and warm shelter for the lambs otherwise the lambs had better not arrive until later when the weather Is warmer and the ewes can get some grass to increase their flow 0 of f milk some farmers have the lambs born in january or february and fatten them for earlier markets this necessitates much core care abundant feed and warm shelter but it Is a profitable business when well managed when the lambs are ten days old they will begin eating grain and hay fix a creep for them so they can have a trough apart from their mothers give them some wheat bran and cracked corn and continue to feed them all they will eat while on pasture it if they are to be fattened and sold three or four months old the dest best time to sell the lambs Is before they are one year old some good farmers allow the ewes and lambs to graze during the summer with little or no grain wean the lambs in august and turn them into the standing corn there Is no place where a lamb will fatten taster faster than in a cornfield eating grass and weeds and weed seeds and the lower blades of corn lambs should not be kept on ol 01 pastures that have been grazed by older sheep there Is danger of stomach worms however if tobacco dust or stems steins are kept before the sheep at all times they will not be troubled with internal parasites throe three hundred farmers reports give as the average cost for keeping a ewe and lamb iamb as against 1015 as the average return in wool nearly all good sheep men keep a few of the best ewes each year to add to the ewe flock and take the place of the older and discarded ewes |