VOL. LXII
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 14, 1907.
NO. 37
%%Tpzxizut*i gjeyartmjettt
SHEDS   FOR SHEEP.
Build High  and Dry.
1st Premium.—Pens and sheds for sheep
must of course, depend to a considerable
extent on the number of sheep that are
kept and whether it is intended for them
to be permanent or merely temporary.
Considering the present price of sheep and
the     desirability,       for -
many reasons, of having a flock on the place,
we think it good policy
to make the sheds permanent. In speaking
of sheep sheds, the picture of one rises before
us which, in its day,
was considered quite the
proper thing. It was ot"
hewed logs, about 18
feet long by 6 feet wide.
Three or four logs were
cut off one end for a
door, and it was covered
with flax. This merely
afforded shelter, and
the sheep were fed in
the yard. Today this
would hardly come up to
the requirements. Even
where one has a good
barn it is not usually desirable to keep the sheep
ii; it. A gooil portion
of the time it is not
necessary to keep them
boused and it is not convenient to have them
about the barn, and
there is also danger of
their being injured by
the horses. For this reason it is preferable to
have the sheds in a lot
apart from the other
stock. The size of the
shed should, of course,
conform to the size of =^^^^==
the flock. It should be made two stories
in height, the lower floor for the sheep
and the upper for the storing of feed.
This arrangement will make feeding much
more convenient, and to make it two stories will not occasion a great deal more expense. Sometimes a few loads of hay
g«t damaged by the rain, and this can be
put in the sheep shed and thus kept apart
from the other. The lower story should
be 6% to 7 feet in height that one may
stand erect in it without bumping his
head. A site for it should be selected
where there will be good drainage. We
prefer a shed without a tioor if it can be
kept dry. A good plan is to fill in and
ifiise the tioor to prevent the surface water
running  tn. A   very   necessary   feature
of the siieel i.s dryness. Good material
shoulil be used for siding, that the quarters may be warm, and arrangements
sb.mld be made for light and ventilation
Feeding may be arranged on oue or
more siib's. In order that grain may !,e
fed, a good plan is to make the bottom
tight. It may be 15 or IS inches wide
and should be raised a foot or so from the
floor. A six-inch board may nm along
the front and back of this, to guard
against a waste of the grain. Then slats
about three feet high should be arranged
on the front to hold the roughage. The
slats should be about seven inches apart,
to permit the sheep to eat with their heads
ir. the rack.        A  place should be parti
tioned off from the main part of the abed
where ewes that are expected to drop their
lambs may be separated from the others.
With an arrangement of this kind the
door of the shed may be left open in mild
weather and the sheep permitted 1e> go in
and out at their pleasure, while in cold
weather the door may be closed and they
can be warmly housed. Sheep are valuable property. It pays to have them
and to take good care of them and especially so during the lambing season.      R.
bin ami die trough caught all the blades
and leaves from hay and fodder. I also
had a salt box in that shed where the
sheep could get salt at will, as all stock
should. We can often shed to other
buildings cheaper than new buildings. If
nothing else can be done, put up a straw
shed. Stack   your  straw   by   the  side
and project the roof over the shed. As
you build and make additions they will
suggest where and how many pens yon
need. Do   not   tail   to   arrange   a   few
These Ladies Shucked this Wagon Load of C
for the benefit of their church on the farm of .1. (I. Cole, Wayne (
Protect From Dogs.
2d Premium.—In the management of
sheep how to procure the most profit from
a given number of sheep should be our
watch word. We must look well then to
the expense of pens and sheds that they
do not overshadow our profits. We may
put too little or too much money in them.
But good substantial sheds always pay
well. Refore     me   lies   a     shepherd's
manual in which the plans for pens and
sheds are so elaborate that most farmers
would give up the idea of starting even a
small flock if we had to follow these directions in buildings and expense. I
would not advise the young farmer to
wail in starting a flock until his purse will
enable him to make a spread in architecture.
Shells and pens you must have if you
have sheep. They will not only add comfort, to the sheep but money to the purse.
If you have geit or intend to get a few
sheep, le.eik over your farm buildings and
see if y,iii cannot add a shed that will protect yem- sheep from wet and cold, especially the wet, for the sheep will stand
much cold if dry under foot and over head.
All buildings for sheep should be well ventilated and have dry floors.
I once built a hay barn on the cheap.
It was ,80 by 3(5 feet, with a satisfactory
sheep shed the entire length, on the south
side, with trough and rack next the hay
bin and the trough caught all the blades
boxes nr stalls where you can confine the
ewes with young lambs to be cared for.
AU sheels and buildings where sheep are
Cdll_ne_ should be well protected from
dogs, by wire slats or otherwise, so tliat
some stray dog may not make a slaughter
house of your sheep house.
If it is possible the sheep should have
access to their sheds through the day when
on pasture.
I have not gone into the details of buildings. Farms and fanners are so variously situated that no two would desire or
could profitably build alike. There are
two things I should like all my domestic
stock to have at will-salt and water—
lend would arrange my barns and sheds to
that point as far as possible. Always
consider the convenience and cheapness of
handling both feed and sheep in any building that you may put up. The pens should
be on the south side of the buildings, and
there slu mid be a division in all the buildings where the lambs ean enter and eat by
themselves. I.   JJ.   C.
Provide Ventilation.
3d Premium.—Two important items
Bhould be considered. . The first is not to
blliw the house too small, feer sheep will
not do well if compelled to stay in a small,
nnventilated, ill-smeling house. The second consideration is to build where it will
be nice and dry. Sheep despise a low,
muddy place.      They will not thrive there
but  will seion have sore  feet and will  be
all   wrong  every   way.       They   should   be
provided   with  a  good  dry  place and  be
well  bedded. This is  not only for the
welfare of the sheep,    but in that way we
can save all  the manure which' can't    be
beat for fertility.       The house should also
be  well   ventilated. It  does  not  neces
sarily need to be so warm.      It is far better if  not  too  warm.       But it should  be
dry at all times.        Sheep will stand'   _
great deal more cold than any other of our
__-________-——_-——    farm stock,   if it is dry,
but when they get their
heavy coatB wet, they
gel cold before tliey get
dry, it is very apt to
give them a chill.
If we have a dog
proof yard it will save a
great deal of trouble, for
this is one of the great
hindrances to successful
sheep raising. We can
leave the doors open,
and the sheep can go in
and out at will. If we
are in the sheep business right, a very good
way is to build high
enough for a good-sized
hay mow over the sheep,
say 16 feet sidiug. This
will give plenty of room
above, say about S feet
below and the same
above, lt should be provided with rack mangers
around the side, whieh
should be arranged to
feed clover hay as
shredded fodder from
the mow. This can be
done by having a space
of about two feet lathed
to top of mow. The feed
can be thrown through
the space between the
lath and will go in manger. There should be a
trough or self feeder,
==^=^=:; and a salt box where it
will keep clean, for this is one of the necessities for sheep as well as all other
stoek.
The ewes at lambing time iu winter
should be separated from the flock, and be
provided with a warm place. The Iamb
when quite young will not stand mueh
i old, but in a few days will get along alt
right. I keep my ewes when lambing in
a loom in the bain that is lined throughout with tarred paper roofing and is quite
warm. How "nice those large Iambs
look when the grass comes. True they
are a little more terrible and require a little extra care, but this will be well repaid later. I think no farm is complete,
be it small or large, without a flock of
sheep, no difference what the price of
land. But I think it pays best to handle a variety of stock, which means more
work but surer profit. B.
No. 602, Sept. 21.—How do you feed
aud care for the young sows that are to be
kept for breeding purposes?
No. 603, Sept. 22.—Show the value of
paint. Tell how to paint buildings, implements, ete.
Even if pastures are green it will not
.io t<e pasture too closely. Pastures
would last longer and produce more feed
if stock were taken off occasionally, and
the grass given an opportunity to get a
fTesh start.