It may be necessary to keep obstinate ewes, that will not claim their lamb, penned for three or four days; it is not advisable to hold them longer, as they will dry up unless you have good milk-producingfeed. Most ewes and their lambs can be numbered and turned out in small bunches of say fifty head, after they have been in the individual pens 24 hours. They can thus be kept in separate yards around the main lambing shed for three or more days. Here the attendantcan watch them; should any of the ewes refuse their lambs, they can be easily picked out by their number and returned to the single pen. After the lambs are four or five days old they can be placed in bands of three hundred and removed to other parts of the pasture, where there is good shelter, or, better, where there are other small sheds that will accommodate such small bunches.
Some owners have one or two men working among their dropping ewes all night when shed lambing. These men remove the new-born lambs and their mothers from the dropping ewes as soon as they drop. This method is very hard on the ewes; it breaks their rest. After being worked this way for eight or ten nights, all ewes not in extra good condition, together with those heavy with twins, will become very weak; many of them will dry up in milk and become unable to raise a lamb. A much better system is to partition the dropping ewes off with panels each night when they come into the shed, allowing about 150 to each compartment or lot. Thus there will be but few lambs to care for in each lot in the morning; these can be readily removed when turning out the ewes. This permits the ewes to conserve theirstrength for the sick spell, with a good rest at night.
During this lambing the sheep generally still carry their wool. This often causes the new-born lamb considerable trouble. Careless shepherds often allow lambs to suck tags until they die. It only takes a moment to remove the tags from the udder, so watch all new-born lambs when lambing "wool sheep" until you are sure the lamb has found the teat. Some flockmasters have all their dropping ewes shorn around the udder just before lambing sheep with the wool on.
After lambs become two weeks old they will begin to nibble for salt. If you do not allow them the salt they will eat any loose dirt. This may kill a few in any case. Should your pasture contain much alkali, or soil containing small quantities of arsenic matter, you are likely to lose quite a number of the lambs about the time they begin eating, as they invariably nibble for a salt substance first. If convenient, feed the loose salt in troughs only; otherwise use block salt. Allow about three ounces per ewe each week, or roughly speaking twenty pounds of salt for each one hundred ewes and their lambs per week. Theywill require this amount only where they are on very soft, green feed. Upon the range, where there is considerable natural salt feed, or the water is strongly alkalized, they will not consume that amount. Where they are given salt at regular intervals there is no danger of over-feeding. Salt is good for the wool; it makes good healthy lambs.
Chilled lambs bring "chilled men." These lambs take the life and incentive out of many "new men" who stand around in dejected spirits, while the real shepherd does much of their work to revive and prevent chilled lambs everywhere.
There are many ways to revive the chilled lambs found upon any lambing ground. Some persons wrap them in a cloth taken out of hot water. Others wrap them well in dry rags. Some give hot milk, whiskey, brandy, etc. Either of these treatments will generally revive them. A very simple method is to take a rag or gunny sack and rub them until respiration fully returns; rub them quite dry if wet, put a very small amount of salt upon the tongue—this stimulates the heart to action by causing a light general irritation. When the lamb has enough life to take milk, suckle it just a little, not too much; repeat in an hour. Whenthe tongue of the lamb is still warm he will surely and quickly come to real life if you will kindly treat him as described. Place all such lambs in the best shelter, where they are out of the wind, and most of them will be with you when the storm is over. A little extra work at this time will always be greatly appreciated by every one concerned.
As a general thing early lambs are considerably more expensive to the producer than the late lambs born upon the open range. The ewes need extra feed through the winter months, in order that they may have milk for the young, even though there is no green grass. Yet in most cases this extra cost is justified by the greater value of the lamb at shipping time. These lambs grow and put on flesh very rapidly upon the soft young grass of the early spring months, when their mothers give so much milk. Again, as most breeders use their oldest ewes or the ones that they know will need much extra feed and care through the winter months, for this lambing, there is another consolation in the fact that should such a ewe lose her lamb at lambing time, she, too, will have advantage of that soft green feed so essential to place old ewes in good marketable shape at shipping time. Another advantage is that thelamb can be taken from them during the summer or early fall months, which permits the ewe to become in good condition for the next breeding or the following winter.
In docking lambs we have had the best success when the sign was atTaurus, Neck. In breeding, we find when the ewe comes in season or heat while the sign is at Scorpio and the ram is given during her first day in, the ewe will predominate the sex. Especially is this true when the ewe is somewhat older than the ram. Should the ram be given when the ewe is going out, the sex of offspring will be nearly even.
When the ewe comes in while the sign is at Aries or Taurus, and the ram is not given until the second day, the ram will strongly predominate the sex. This is also especially true where the ram is a little the oldest and in a somewhat better physical condition.
Close attention shows us this law of nature very clearly, yet we have much to learn regarding it. Try it next season when breeding.
We are indeed aware that circumstances will not always permit you to abide by these rules to the minute. Perhaps they will save lambs even if followed only in part. Use them—try them.
Use the same mental effort to keep you out ofMISTAKESthat you use to get theOTHER FELLOWto straighten them.
In closing, we have tried to make the wording simple and without too much detail, which might give to a simple matter the appearance of being complicated. We would gladly be on the job, to see the boys, "the lay of the land," the feed and water, or other details. For these, and to get the most out of your environs, your judgment is always essential to bring the total per cent for which you are working, and which we so sincerely wish you.
Respectfully yours,Thomas Boylan.
Transcriber's Changes and Known Problems.Some words or phrases are spelled inconsistently in the original book. These have been transcribed as originally printed: scare-crow and scarecrow, every one and everyone, and any one and anyone.P. 14: In the phrase:lower end of skin on inside of tailthe word "on" appears to have been changed from "or" by hand on the original page.P. 25: Changed sotrms to storms in the phrase:during severe storms by readingP. 25: Changed menatl to mental in the phrase:unexcitable mental characteristicP. 38: The phrase:when the sign was at Taurus, Neckis transcribed as in the original book.
Some words or phrases are spelled inconsistently in the original book. These have been transcribed as originally printed: scare-crow and scarecrow, every one and everyone, and any one and anyone.
P. 14: In the phrase:lower end of skin on inside of tailthe word "on" appears to have been changed from "or" by hand on the original page.
P. 25: Changed sotrms to storms in the phrase:during severe storms by reading
P. 25: Changed menatl to mental in the phrase:unexcitable mental characteristic
P. 38: The phrase:when the sign was at Taurus, Neckis transcribed as in the original book.