Shelters.

These, in northern climates, are indispensable to profitable sheep-raising, and in every lat.i.tude north of the Gulf of Mexico they would be advantageous. There is policy as well as humanity in the practice. An animal eats much less when thus protected; he is more thrifty, less liable to disease, and his manure is richer and more abundant. The feeding may be done in the open yard in clear weather, and under cover in severe storms. The shelters for sheep are variously constructed, to suit the taste or circ.u.mstances of the flock-master. A sheep-barn, built upon a side hill, will afford two floors; one underneath, surrounded by three sides of wall, should open to the south, with sliding or swinging doors to guard against storms; and another may be provided above, if the floors are perfectly tight, with proper gutters to carry off the urine; and sufficient storage for the fodder can be furnished by scaffolds overhead. Or they may be constructed with twelve or fifteen feet posts on level ground, allowing the sheep to occupy the lower part, with the fodder stored above.

In all cases, however, _thorough ventilation should be provided_, for of the two evils of exposure to cold or too great privation of air, the former is to be preferred. Sheep cannot long endure close confinement without injury. In all ordinary weather, a shed closely boarded on three sides, with a tight roof, is sufficient protection; especially, if the open side is shielded from bleak winds, or leads into a well-enclosed yard. If the floors above are used for storage, they should be made tight, that no hay, chaff, or dust can fall upon the fleece.

Racks or Mangers.

These are indispensable to economical feeding. If the hay is fed on the ground, the leaves and seeds, the most valuable part of the fodder, are almost wholly lost; and when wet, the sheep, in their restlessness while feeding, will tread much of it into the mud. To make an economical box or rack, take six light pieces of scantling, say three inches square, one for each corner, and one for the centre of each side. Boards of pine or hemlock, 12 or 15 feet long and 12 or 14 inches wide, may then be nailed on to the bottom of the posts for the sides, which are separated by similar boards at the ends, 2 feet long. Boards 12 inches wide, raised above the lower ones by a s.p.a.ce of 9 to 12 inches, are nailed on the sides and ends, which completes the rack. The edges of the opening should be made perfectly smooth, to prevent chafing or tearing out the wool. The largest dimensions above given, are suitable for the large breeds, and the smallest for the Saxon, and still smaller are proper for their lambs. These should be set on dry ground, or under the sheds, and they can easily be removed wherever necessary.

Some prefer the racks made with slats, or smooth, upright sticks, in the form of the usual horse-rack. There is no objection to this, but it should always be accompanied by a board trough affixed to the bottom, to catch the fine hay which falls in feeding. These may be attached to the side of a building, or used double. A small lamb requires fifteen inches of s.p.a.ce, and a large sheep two feet, for quiet, comfortable feeding; and at least this amount of room should be provided around the racks for every sheep.

Troughs.

They may be variously constructed. The most economical are made with two boards of any convenient length, ten to twelve inches wide. Nail the lower side of one upon the edge of the other, fastening both into a two or three inch plank, fifteen inches long and a foot wide, notched in its upper edge in the form required.

Food.

There is no better food for sheep, than well-ripened, sound, timothy hay; though the clovers, and nearly all the cultivated gra.s.ses, may be advantageously fed. Bean and pea straw are valuable, and especially the former, which, if properly cured, they prefer to the best hay; and it is well adapted to the production of wool. All the other straws furnish a good food, and sheep will thrive on them without hay, when fed with roots or grain.

Roots ought to be given them occasionally for a change, and especially to the ewes after lambing, if this occurs before putting them on to fresh pasture. They keep the stomach properly distended, the appet.i.te and general health good; and they render their winter forage nearly equal to their summer feed.

Much grain is not suited to store-sheep. It is too rich, and should be given sparingly except to the lambs, the old ewes, or feeble sheep, or to restore the rams after hard service. For the above purposes, oats are the best; and if any other grain, beans or peas are given, it should be in small quant.i.ties. When there is a deficiency of hay and roots, grain may be used with straw.

The flock ought to be so fed as to receive the same amount of nourishment throughout every part of the year. The evenness and value of the fleece depends much upon this. When the amount of nutrition is great, the wool-secreting organs are distended, and the fibre becomes enlarged; when limited, they necessarily contract, and the fibre is small. This produces a want of trueness, which the experienced stapler readily detects, and which he does not fail to estimate against the value of the fleece.

Sheep ought to have a full supply of salt, and if accessible, sulphur, ashes, tar, and clay would frequently be nibbled by them when their stomach required either. Pine or hemlock boughs are a good subst.i.tute for tar, and afford a most healthful change in the winter-food of sheep.

Entire cleanliness and dryness are also essential to the health of the flock. The smaller sizes of the Saxon may be well sustained on two pounds of hay, but larger sheep will consume from three and a half to four, or even five pounds per day. Sheep, like all other animals when exposed to cold, will consume much more than if well protected, or than during a warmer season.

The Care of the Ewes with Young

Is an important consideration, as the lamb is sometimes the only profit yielded by the flock; for when fodder is high, or wool low, the fleece will barely pay for the food and attention. Pregnant ewes require the same food as at all other times; but caution is necessary to prevent injury or abortion, which is often the result of excessive fat, feebleness, or disease. The first may be remedied by blood-letting and spare diet; and both the last by restored health and generous food.

Sudden fright, as from dogs or strange objects; long or severe journeys; great exertions; unwholesome food; blows in the region of the f[oe]tus, and some other causes, produce abortion.

Yeaning.

Most flocks are turned into the pasture before yeaning time, and the ewe is then left to nature, which is a good practice, if she is healthy and the weather good. But a larger number of lambs will be reared by a careful oversight of the ewes, and the use of proper precautions. As their time approaches, which may be known by the springing of the udder and the enlargement of the natural parts, they should be put by themselves at night, in a warm stable or with others in the same condition, and well looked after, late and early in the day.

They seldom need any a.s.sistance, nor should any be rendered, except in case of wrong presentation, or feebleness in expelling the f[oe]tus. In the former case, the shepherd may apply his thumb and finger, after oiling, to push back the young, and a.s.sist in gently turning it till the nose and fore-feet appear and for the latter, only the slightest aid should be rendered, and that to help the throes of the dam.

Management of Lambs.

When lambing in the field, only a few should be together, as the young sometimes get changed, and the dams refuse to own them. This difficulty is generally obviated, by holding the ewe till the lamb has sucked two or three times; or they may be shut up together, and the lamb rubbed with a little fine salt. The lamb does not require nourishment for some hours after its birth; but if the dam refuse to lick it as soon as it appears, it must be carefully wiped dry. If the weather be cold and the lamb is dropped in the field, the shepherd should be furnished with large pockets or a well-lined basket, in which it must be placed till the ewe is brought to the shed.

After the first day or two, the udders ought to be completely drained of their milk by the hand, so as to prevent swollen or caked bag. In case of deficiency of milk, the lamb may be supplied from a new milch cow, by means of a sucking-bottle with an air vent, or it may draw a part of its nourishment from another ewe, which can be held while the lamb is sucking.

It is sometimes necessary to subst.i.tute a foster-mother, in which case, the ewe may be made to own the lamb, by milking from her udder over the lamb and under his tail, rubbing it on well; or rub the adopted lamb with the entrails and contents of the stomach of the dead lamb, or cover it with the skin. If the ewe proves a bad nurse, or it is desirable to bring the lambs forward rapidly, they may be early taught to eat boiled oats or other grain, cabbage, roots, and tender hay. Lambs should be well fed, as this is important to produce size, const.i.tution, and perfection of form.

The ewes and their young ought to be divided into small flocks, and have a frequent change of pasture. Some careful shepherds adopt the plan of confining their lambs, and allow them to suck two or three times a day; by which they suffer no fatigue, and thrive much faster. But this is troublesome and injurious, as the exercise is essential to the health and const.i.tution of the lamb intended for rearing. It is admissible only when they are wanted for an early market, and by those who rear them for this purpose, it is a common practice.

Castrating and Docking Lambs.

After selecting enough of the choicest rams for stock-getters, the castrating may be performed at any time between two and six weeks old, when the lamb is in good health. A cool day should be chosen; or if warm, it must be done early in the morning. The best method is for one person to hold the lamb firmly between his legs, on an inclined plank upon which he rests, while another with a sharp knife cuts off about two-thirds of the lower part of the s.c.r.o.t.u.m. The t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es are then drawn out till the spermatic cord is reached, which is divided by the thumb nail; or it is pulled out and cut with a sharp knife. It is sometimes done by simply opening the s.c.r.o.t.u.m, when the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es and spermatic cord are jerked out. The wound should then be rinsed with cold water, after which apply lard.

The operation of docking is by many deferred till a late period, from apprehension of too much loss of blood; but if the weather be favorable, and the lamb in good condition, it may be performed at this time with the least trouble and without injury. The tail should be laid upon the plank, the person holding him in the same position as before. With one hand he draws the skin towards the body, while the other person, with a two-inch chisel and mallet, strikes it off at a blow, between the bone joints, leaving it one and a half to two inches long. The skin immediately slips back over the wound and is soon healed. Ewe lambs should be docked closer than the rams. To prevent flies and maggots, and a.s.sist in healing, it is well to apply an ointment composed of lard and tar, in the proportions of four pounds of the former to one quart of the latter. This is also a good application for the s.c.r.o.t.u.m. The lambs should be carefully protected from cold and wet till they are perfectly well.

Tagging, or Clatting,

Is the removal of such wool as is liable to get fouled, when the sheep are turned on to the fresh pastures, and of course it should be done just before leaving their winter quarters. It is most easily accomplished by placing the animal on a low table, and then holding it as in shearing, till the operation is performed. All the wool near the extremity of the sheath, and the s.c.r.o.t.u.m of the males; from the udder of the ewes; and from below the dock, the inside of the thighs, and the legs of the sheep, should be removed.

Summer Management.

As soon as the warm weather approaches, and the gra.s.s appears, sheep become restive and impatient for the pasture. This instinct should be repressed till the ground has become thoroughly dry, and the gra.s.s has acquired substance. They ought, moreover, to be provided for the change of food, by the daily use of roots for a few days before turning out. It would also check the tendency to excessive purging, which is induced by the first spring feed, if they were housed at night, and fed for the first few days with a little sound, sweet hay. They must be provided with pure water, salt, &c., as in winter, for though they may sometimes do tolerably well without either, yet thrift and freedom from disease are cheaply secured by this slight attention.

Dry, sweet pastures, and such as abound in aromatic and bitter plants, are best suited for sheep-walks. No animal, with the exception of the goat, crops so great a variety of plants. They eat many which are rejected by the horse and the ox, and which are even essential to their own wants. In this respect, they are valuable a.s.sistants to the husbandman, as they feed greedily on wild mustard, burdocks, thistles, marsh-mallows, milkweed, and various other offending plants; and the Merino exceeds the more recent breeds in the variety of his selections.

Many prepare artificial pastures for their flocks. This may be done with a number of plants. Winter rye, or wheat sown early in the season, may be fed off in the fall, without injury to the crop; and in the following spring, the rye may be pastured till the stalks shoot up and begin to form a head. This affords an early and nutritious food. Corn may be sown broadcast, or thickly in drills, and either fed off in the fields, or cut and carried to the sheep in their folds. White mustard is a valuable crop for this purpose.

To give sheep sufficient variety, it would be better to divide their range into smaller ones, and change them as often at least as once a week. They seek a favorite resting-place, on a dry, elevated part of the field, which soon becomes soiled. By removing them from this for a few days, rains will cleanse, or the sun dry it, so as again to make it suitable for them. More sheep may be kept, and in better condition, where this practice is adopted, than where they are confined to the same pasture.

Washing Sheep.

In most of that portion of the Union north of 40, the washing is performed from the middle of May till the first of June, according to the season and climate. When the streams are _hard_, which is frequently the case in limestone regions, it is better to do this immediately after an abundant rain, by which the lime derived from the springs is proportionally lessened. The practice of a large majority of our farmers, is to drive their sheep to the washing-ground early in the morning on a warm day, leaving the lambs behind. The sheep are confined on the bank of the stream by a temporary enclosure; from which they are taken, and if not too heavy, are carried into water sufficiently deep to prevent their touching bottom. They are then washed, by gently squeezing the fleece with the hands, after which they are led ash.o.r.e, and as much of the water pressed out as possible before letting them go, as the great weight retained in the wool frequently staggers and throws them down.

A good practice is to lead the sheep into the water and saturate the fleece, after which they are taken ash.o.r.e. When they commence _steaming_, they are again led into the water, and washed clean. This insures thorough cleansing, where the water is pure. Others make use of a boat, one end of which rests on a bold sh.o.r.e, and the other is in deep water. The operator stands in the boat and plunges the animal over the side, when the washing is performed. It is sometimes done by sinking a tight hogshead or large box in the water, with heavy weights, in which a man stands, and the sheep are brought or led to him by another person, who walks on a platform reaching from the bank to the hogshead. Either of the last methods obviates the necessity of standing for a long time in water, by which colds, rheumatism, &c. are frequently contracted. In parts of Germany, and sometimes in this country, sheep are forced to swim across a narrow stream several times, by which the fleece is tolerably cleaned, if all the water be pressed out when they get to the land. The yolk being a saponaceous compound, and not an oily matter as is generally supposed, it readily combines with the water and pa.s.ses out of the wool.

An excellent practice, when streams are not convenient, is to lead a small ripple of soft water into a tub. To this, a little soap is added, after which the sheep are immersed and thoroughly cleansed. Perfect whiteness and purity of the fleece is readily secured afterwards, by throwing over the sheep a jet of water. This practice has a good effect, in preventing or removing cutaneous disorders, and destroying ticks or other vermin.

Many judicious farmers object to washing sheep, from its tendency to produce colds and catarrhal affections, to which sheep are particularly subject; but it cannot well be dispensed with, as the wool is always more saleable, and if carefully done, need not be attended with injury.

Warm settled weather, however, is indispensable to washing with safety to the general health of the sheep.

Fig. 26 shows a ewe, with lines indicating the usual method of sorting wool; number 1 indicating the refina or picklock; 2 and 3, the second and third qualities.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 26.

Wool Sorting]

Shearing.