VOlTxXVIL ■  [-$ v^   £•")•    INDIANAPOLIS, IND.. MARCH 19, 1892.
*-    -•_   * __."*___          ._     ■    . . . .	
NO. 12
Sheep and Their Management, i_.'-,__.
BY OEO. W. HABSHBABQBB, LADOGA.
•Thi- Prize etsay for|5 on Sheep and their management, offered oy Mortimer Levering, Secretary
American Shropshire Association to the students In Hi. course of Live Stock Husbandry at
I'urdne University.   .
Sbeep are divided Into three distinct
clashes, which are,fine, middle and long
wools.
Fine wools include all the breeds of
Merinos, which are four in number.name-
)y, American, Spanish, Dslaine and French
M«rlnos.
Middle wools are divided Into two
clas.es, which are white and black faces
The white faced are Horned, Dorsets
Cheviots, Flat Tailed and Mountain sheep.
7h. black faced are Shropshlres, Sonth
downs, Hampshlredowns, Oxforddowns,
Suflolk, Blaced Faced Scotch and Black
l'-jcfd Heath.
. Ling wools are Cotswolds, Liecesters,
Ltnolns and I.9mney Marsh.   -
Tbe characteristics of the different
class ss. The fine wools are very hardy,
small carcass; thrive well in large numbers, poor lamb raisers, averaging about
one lamb to three ewes, shear heavy
fleeces, but the wool Is not so valuable
since worsted goods has taken the place of
broadcloth. They were In their early
history a horned sheep, but have been
breeding their horns ofi until now the
-»«k__"e-fe#«_lees and -many of the male*.
Tbey are the most popular and numerous
with breeders and in the west among the
ranchmen. .* . .   -
Middle wools are hardy against disease
and parasites, have compact fleece of
mediam length and commanding the
highest maiket price, and manufactured
into our finest cloth. They have
a large carcass of good qoality and
mature early. They are the most
prolific of the classes which have
been Mentioned. Flocks have been
known to raise as many as 160 per cent of
lambs, and are considered the most popular and profitable sheep of the United
States.
In popularity the Shropshire is flrst,.the
Southdown second and the Oxforddown
third, but I would prefer giving the Ox
forddown second place, and the Southdown third, on account of. sizs and fleece.
Long wools have large carcass, are rea-
•onably prolific, their fleece is long and
inferior In quality and manufactured Into
tne cheaper classes of goods. They are
Un* most tender, the wool parting on the
back requires good housing and close attention. They are the most numerous
among breeders In Canada.
The parasites of sheep number about 40
different kinds, of which the grub, scab,
"beep ticks snd intestinal worms are the
most important.
Tne grub in the head should be guarded
"W-inst by famishing sheep shade, shelter
"chas low sheds and dust in fly time.
mJ,.trem9 C***SGS -to shepherd can use
™Micines or trephine for removing the
..^V8 best treated b7 dipping, (avold-
ofLP°1      °U8dlps) ^hlch should be done
in i, b*d Cases Scab ****•seldom ronnd
in!. Srowa flock, generally brought
°y,"-w and diseased sheep.   •
If »n     b600n,e  -ni'e numerous on sheep
a 7*°™** th«>-_ privileges and have quite
tendency toward reducing the sheep in
JT'^B the shedding of wool and
•wmeUmes death.
yS e.P !l10uld ** diDPed at least •**-•«- »
..w?r P-^ention of scab and the de-
Ctt;a ot «■** and other parasites,
about d ^o'PPed latein fall and
*hen\i?n!.Week after shearing Ume, or
«-•_.♦• _CkBaU B°toth0 lamb", then
*%D^    _?<_,k,0ld and J0*"1* Bfc°_ld__
-CbT Jl .karetMd th0 Krowth of y°unK
« _ly Kreauy **& sometimes nearly en-
' Sheep may be rid of ticks very satisfactorily by feeding sulphur, whioh should
be given in small quantities and not too
often.
A sheep farm shonld be considerably
rolling, not to the extent of making waste
land but undulating enough for gord
natural and artificial drainage and should
be supplied with good pure water; low
wet land is the destruction of a flock, as it
is necessary to keep the sheep's feet dry in
order to make them thrive.
Remove intestinal worms with vermifuges and castor oil physic.
Sheep when handled with other stock
should always follow after the horses or
cattle in g*_ zing as they like and thrive
best on the young tender and short grass.
Horses or cattle do not do bo well when
following or grazing with the sheep.
Sheep should be so handled that they
will graze down all weeds and undergrowth, most all of which they eat willingly, except thistles, mullen * and sour
dock, which of the latter they will eat to
some extent. Sheep is the only class of
stock that will make money for their
owner ont of weeds that grow on the farm.
By them it is manufactured into mutton
and wool.
Baying sheep for breeding and feeding
should be done in the fall. Always se-
sect sheep not too old and in a .riving condition. Pastures for sheep should be kept
clean of Spanish needles, and burs., of all
kinds, which stick to the wool whenever
touched by the sheep and causing a less in
the valae of the fleece and affects the ap
pearance of the sheep. Shepherds should
wat:h and destrry all of this kind, and it
will be done where a man loves sheep as
he should, that he may be successful in
handling them. I (relieve the old saying
will apply here, that the man should be
fitted for the kind of stock he handles in
order to get the best results.
A sheep farm can always be told by the
clean appearance of the fields, pastures
and fence rows. Sheep to fatten for the
mat ket should be in good flesh in the fall
and kept improving on good pastures
until winter when they should have
shelter and good foe d for fattening, such as
olover hay, fodder, oats, corn, grass' and
rye pasture when the weather will permit.
Salt should be given often and in not too
large a quantity. Breeding ewes should
be in fair flesh in the fall, all culls should
be taken out and sold and the shepherd
shonld always keep his best sheep. Ko
ewe should be bred until one year old or
over.
Breeding should be done for Siece and
carcass and for February or March lambs
where the Bhepherd has- provided good
shelter, otherwise later lambs would be
best and more saved where they were not
sheltered.
I believe with the Merinos that the late
lambs are preferable on account of the
lambs being small and weak, and the ewes
poor mothers and milkers. Ewes when
bred should be served once and marked
by her ear tag or point. With the breeder
it is important to keep a record of the
ewes, when bred and to what buck, so as
make out the pedigree of the lamb. In
grade sheep this is not so Important. The
ewes should be neatly tagged about the
tail before mating time. Gestation in
ewes is from 147 to 153 or 21 weeks, the
larger breeds go longer than the smaller
ones. Breeding rams should be matured.
Backs in breeding time shonld be kept in
a small lot and not allowed to serve a ewe
more than once and if properly handled
can serve 75 or 100 ewes, they should have
a little feed with the grass they eat. Bucks
should be full blooded and first class in
every respeot, since they are counted one
half the flock. Before breeding, obstructions should be removed from the belly of
the buck ii there be any such as wool or
tags, and when the mating season ls over
the bucks should be kept away from the
Ewes thrive well on good pasture until
winter, when the snow comes they should
be sheltered in dry, comfortable sheds
and their lots should be well bedded with
s^raw. Hay racks should be so constructed
that chafl and dirt would not get in the
fleece and the sheep could not rub the
neck wool off which getting their feed,
thereby iojuring the appearacne of the
sheep and the value of tbe fleece. Feeding
racks may be made with the sides perpendicular or sloping from sheep a little, or
can be made with the. ides sloping toward
the sheep in which case the rack should be
made tight v> in beards down to w i.hin 12
or 18 Inches of the base. With any of
these racks the slats should be clcse so the
sheep could only get their entire nose in
when searching for food.
Troughs should be built at the base of
the racks in order to catch all tbe shatter-
ings which is valuable feed for the sheep.
Movable feeding troughs should be so arranged that the sheep could get all their
feed easily and could not get into tbe
trough, this can be done by making a V
trough or an ordinary box trough and
placing a strip of timber horizontally
above it.
In handling sheep they should never be
caught by the wool, but around the neck
with one hand and back of the hip with
the other, or by the leg with a shepherd's
crook. Sheep should be in a olose pen
while handling them so as to be easily
caught without running them.
Heavy ewes in lamb shonld. never be
hurried through narrow places such as
gaps, doors and gateways. Close attention
i. important and valuable at lambing
time. Ewes require good shelter, dry,
comfortable stables and lots. Assistance
injparturi lon'is very often necessary. * The
shepherd should see that that the ewes
teats are open and that the young lambs
get up and suck.
Young lambs should be removed from
the main fl >ck and ewes with twins or
tiiplets should be put in small pens to
themseves for one or two daj s so that the
lambs do not get lost from the ewe. The
wool should be shorn from the udder of
the ewe when in the lambs way. Weak
and starving lambs should be fed cows
milk weakened with water and sweetened
a little. Orphan lambs should be put with
another ewe if possible, or fed with a tin
prepared especially for that kind of work.
Ewes losing their lambs shonld be given
an orphan or starving lamb or dried up by
frequent milkings which will save the
udder from spoiling.
Oood feed is important in lambing time
for ewes, that they may give an abund
ance or sufficiency of milk. I have found
mill feed, clover hay, shelled and sheaf
oats, green rye and blue grass pasture a
good feed for milk, with access to good
water and a little salt. Young lambs re
quire, first, plenty of milk, second, sunshine. Lambs should be labeled at about
three or four weeks old.
Castration and docking should be done
when lambs are yet quite young or one
or two weeks' old. Castration shonld be
performed by one man holding the lamb
on a box or board abont three feet high on
its rump or back .with left legs in one
hand and the right legs in the other hand.
The operator should clip off one-third to
one-half of the scrotum, separate the
striflla, draw the testicle down below the
fleshy part of the cord where it should be
scraped entirely off. Never pull a string
out as it causes irritation and inflammation at the base of the string, which often
results ln death. In docking the lambs
they should be handled the same as lncas-
tratlon, and the skin of the tail pushed toward the body with one hand and with
the otber hand pinch the tall off with a
pair of good nippers or pinchers abont two
inches from therxidy.   -
After several years' experience in dock-.
ing, I like this plan the best as It ls easily
performed and checks the hemorrhage almost entirely arid dees not weaken the
lamb. A mixture of arnica, turpentine
and lard is gocd to apply to the scrotum .
and tail to remove the soreness.
Sheep should be shorn soon after warm
weather or as soon as the oil comes in the
fleece. Letting thom go too late without
shearing Is an irjury to the sheep They
should be handled and - shorn with care
and pains taken to not hurt or clip the
sbeep with the shears. Shearing is generally best done by the owner of the flock,
he being Interested, the sheep are handled
more carefully and greater pains taken to
not cut or injure the sheep*. *
Ewes and lambs should have good care
and feed while the lambs are youDg, or
until weaning time which should be rather early In the fall. At weaning time the
lambs should have a - little feed and the
best tender pasture obtainable.
l_.es after the lambs have been weaned
should be kept on ordinary pasture and if
the milk flow has not entirely ceased they
should be milked if necessary rather than
to have their udders ruined.
I do not believe that there is much profit or pleasure in having sheep that are
neglected and have to provide for themselves. I do believe that sheep handled
properly by a man that loves them will
give a better profit on money invested and
more pleasure in handling than any other
class of stock that can be put on the farm.
Fall blood or breeding shaep is the most
profitable, but stook or grade sheep are profitable for the fleece, lamb and mutton.
A shepherd once said that you oould
burn the fleece and sell the carcass or vice
versa and make money raising sbeep.
I am satisfied by experience that what
we claim for the sheep is true, and that
the wearer of the snow white coat and
golden hoof has come to stay, and should
be protected, improved, appreciated and
propagated.
What Corn Costs to Raise.
Editors Indiana Farmen .
I have been very much interested in
reading the reports of the cost of raising
wheat, and will give my experience as to
the cost of raising corn. I will give the
cost of raising twelve (12) acres. I
count team and hand at {2 50 per. day.
Breaking, 8 days, $20 00; Preparing ground
3 days, $7.50; Planting, {4 00; Seed 2 bu,
f 1 00; Cultivating, 10 days, $25 00; Husking 600 bu. @ 2_! c. $15.00; Rint, $4 00 per.
acre $48 00; Total c st $120 50, making, the
cost a little over $10 00 per. acre, and at 50
bn. per. acre, 20 cts. per. bu; at 30 bu. it
would be 3314 cts. per. bu.
I think the cost per. acre Is just the same
whether we raise 30, 50, or more bushels
per. acre. I generally break clover sod
for corn, then sow it in wheat, and follow
with clover, giving three crops with one
breaking; also keeping up the fertility of
the soil, also glviDg an oppoitunity to
keep stock. I think all the grain except
wheat should be fed on the farm.
Too many farmers make the mistake of
cultivating their ground continually, and
not raising any more grain than they
should on two thirds of it, and, having no
stock, sell their grain; taking everything
ofl of the farm and putting nothing back,
besides being idle about one third of the
year. By clovering and having stock we
distribute the work more through the year,
costing less in summer and giving employment through tt.e winter when otherwise you would be idle.
You generally make a pre fit   on   the
grain by feeding It, If not the manure will
pay for the labor.   Every farmer should
take a farm paper, I would not think
doing without the Indiana Farmer.
CUnton Co. S. B.