Rams, of course, are not to be selected for ewes by mere chance, but according as their qualities may improve those of the ewes. It may not be superfluous, though seemingly a repet.i.tion, to state that a good ewe flock should exhibit these characteristics: _strong bone_, supporting a roomy frame, affording s.p.a.ce for a large development of flesh; _abundance of wool of a good quality_, keeping the ewes warm in inclement weather, and insuring profit to the breeder; _a disposition to fatten early_, enabling the breeder readily to get rid of his sheep selected for the butcher; and _a prolific tendency_, increasing the flock rapidly, and being also a source of profit. Every one of these properties is advantageous in itself; but when all are combined in the same individuals of a flock, that flock is in a high state of perfection. In selecting rams, it should be observed whether or not they possess one or more of those qualities in which the ewes may be deficient, in which case their union with the ewes will produce in the progeny a higher degree of perfection than is to be found in the ewes themselves, and such a result will improve the state of the future ewe-flock; but, on the contrary, if the ewes are superior in all points to the rams, then, of course, the use of such will only serve to deteriorate the future ewe-flock.
Several rams running in the same flock excite each other to an unnatural and unnecessary activity, besides injuring each other by constant blows.
It is, in every point of view, bad husbandry, where it can be avoided, and, as customarily managed, is destructive to every thing like careful and judicious breeding. The nice adaptation which the male should possess to the female is out of the question where half a dozen or more rams are running promiscuously with two or three hundred ewes.
Before the rams are let out, the breeding ewes should all be brought together in one yard; the form of each noted, together with the length, thickness, quality and style of her wool--ascertained by opening the wool on the shoulder, thigh, and belly. When every point is thus determined, that ram should be selected which, on the whole, is best calculated to perpetuate the excellencies of each, both of fleece and carca.s.s, and to best counterbalance defects in the mutual offspring.
Every ewe, when turned in with the ram, should be given a distinct mark, which will continue visible until the next shearing. For this purpose, nothing is better than Venetian red and hog"s lard, well incorporated, and marked on with a cob. The ewes for each ram require a differently shaped mark, and the mark should also be made on the ram, as noted in the sheep-book. Thus it can be determined at a glance by what ram the ewe was tapped, any time before the next shearing. The ewes selected for each ram are placed in different enclosures, and the chosen ram placed with them. Rams require but little preparation on being put among ewes.
If their skin is red in the flanks when the sheep are turned up, they are ready for the ewes, for the natural desire is then upon them. Most of the ewes will be served during the second week the ram is among them, and in the third, all. It is better, however, not to withdraw the rams until the expiration of four weeks, when the flocks can be doubled, or otherwise re-arranged for winter, as may be necessary. The trouble thus taken is, in reality, slight--nothing, indeed, when the beneficial results are considered. With two a.s.sistants, several hundred ewes may be properly cla.s.sified and divided in a single day.
Where choice rams are scarce, so that it is desirable to make the services of one go a great way, or where it is impossible to have separate enclosures--as on farms where there are a great number of breeding ewes, or where the shepherd system is adopted, to the exclusion of fences--resort may be had to another method. A hut should be built, containing as many apartments as the ram is desired to be used, with an alley between them, each apartment to be furnished with a feeding-box and trough in one corner, and gates or bars opening from each into the alley, and at each end of the alley. Adjoining these apartments, a yard should be inclosed, of size just sufficient to hold the flock of breeding ewes.
A couple of strong rams, of any quality, for about every hundred ewes, are then ap.r.o.ned, their briskets rubbed with Venetian red and hog"s lard, and let loose among the ewes. _Ap.r.o.ning_ is performed by sewing a belt of coa.r.s.e sacking, broad enough to extend from the fore to the hind legs, loosely but strongly around the body. To prevent its slipping forward or back, straps are carried round the breast and back of the breech. It should be made _perfectly secure_, or all the labor of this method of coupling will be far worse than thrown away. The pigment on the brisket should be renewed every two or three days; and it will be necessary to change the "teasers"--as these ap.r.o.ned rams are called--about once a week, as they do not long retain their courage under such unnatural circ.u.mstances. Twice a day the ewes are brought into the yard in front of the hut. Those marked on their rumps by the teasers are taken into the alley. Each is admitted _once_ to the ram for which she is marked, and then goes out _at the opposite end of the alley_ from which they entered, into a field separate from that containing the flock from which she was taken. A powerful and vigorous ram, from three to seven years old, and properly fed, can thus be made to serve from one hundred and fifty to even two hundred ewes, with no greater injury than from running loose with fifty or sixty. The labor here required is likewise more apparent than real, when the operation is conducted in a systematic manner.
Rams will do better, accomplish more, and last two or three years longer, if daily fed with grain, when on service, and it is better to continue it. In all cases, they should, after serving, be put on good pasture, as they will have lost a good deal of condition, being indisposed to settle during the tapping season. A ram should receive the equivalent of from half a pint to a pint of oats daily, when worked hard. They are much more conveniently fed when kept in huts. If suffered to run at large, they should be so thoroughly tamed that they will eat from a measure held by the shepherd. Careful breeders thus train their stock-rams, from the time they are lambs. It is very convenient, also, to have them halter-broke, so that they can be led about without dragging or lifting them. An iron ring attached to one of the horns, near the point, to which a cord can be fastened for leading, confining, etc., is very useful and convenient. If rams are wild, it is a matter of considerable difficulty to feed them separately, and it can only be effected by yarding the flock and catching them out. Some breeders, in addition to extra feeding, take the rams out of the flocks each night, shutting them up in a barn or stable by themselves. To this practice there is no objection, and it greatly saves their strength.
Rams should not be suffered to run with the ewes over a month, at least in the Northern States. It is much better that a ewe go dry than that she have a lamb later than the first of June. Besides, after the rutting season is over, the rams grow cross, frequently striking the pregnant ewes dangerous blows with their heavy horns, at the racks and troughs.
It is reasonably enough conjectured, that if procreation and the first period of gestation take place in cold weather, the f[oe]tus will be fitted for the climate which rules during the early stages of its existence. If this be so--and it is certainly in accordance with the laws of Nature--fine-woolled sheep are most likely to maintain their excellence by deferring the connection of the male till the commencement of cold weather; and, in the Northern States, this is done about the first of December, thus bringing the yeaning time in the last of April, or the first of May, when the early gra.s.s affords a large supply and good quality of food.
LAMBING.
[Ill.u.s.tration: EWE AND LAMBS.]
The ewe goes with young about five months, varying from one hundred and forty-five to one hundred and sixty-two days. Pregnant ewes require the same food as at all other times. Until two or three weeks preceding lambing, it is only necessary that they, like other store-sheep, be kept in good, plump, ordinary condition; nor are any separate arrangements necessary for them after that period, in a climate where they obtain sufficient succulent food to provide for a proper secretion of milk. In backward seasons in the North, where the gra.s.s does not start prior to the lambing-time, careful farmers feed their ewes on chopped roots, or roots mixed with oat and pea-meal, which is excellent economy. Caution is, however, 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 frights, 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.
Lambs are usually dropped, in the North, from the first to the fifteenth of May; in the South, they can safely come earlier. It is not expedient to have them dropped when the weather is cold or boisterous, as they require too much care; but the sooner the better, after the weather has become mild, and the herbage has started sufficiently to give the ewes that green food which is required to produce a plentiful secretion of milk. It is customary, in the North, to have fields of clover, or the earliest gra.s.ses, reserved for the early spring-feed of the breeding-ewes; and, if these can be contiguous to their stables, it is a great convenience--for the ewes should be confined in the latter, on cold and stormy nights, during the lambing season.
If the weather be warm and pleasant, and the nights moderately warm, it is better to have the lambing take place in the pasture; since sheep are then more disposed to own their lambs, and take kindly to them, than in the confusion of a small inclosure. In the latter, sheep, unless particularly docile, crowd from one side to another when any one enters, running over young lambs, pressing them severely, etc.; ewes become separated from their lambs, and then run violently round from one to another, jostling and knocking them about; young and timid ewes, when so separated, will frequently neglect their lambs for an hour or more before they will again approach them, while, if the weather is severely cold, the lamb, if it has never sucked, is in danger of perishing.
Lambs, too, when first dropped in a _dirty_ inclosure, tumble about, in their first efforts to rise, and the membrane which adheres to them becomes smeared with dirt and dung; and the ewe"s refusing to lick them dry much increases the hazard of freezing.
In cold storms, however, and in sudden and severe weather, all this must be encountered; and, therefore, every shepherd should teach his sheep docility. It requires but a very moderately cold night to destroy the new-born Saxon lamb, which--the pure blood--is dropped nearly as naked as a child. During a severely cold period, of several days continuance, it is almost impossible to rear them, even in the best shelter. The Merino, South-Down, and some other breeds, will endure a greater degree of cold with impunity. Where inclosures are used for yeaning, they should be kept clean by frequent litterings of straw--not enough, however, to be thrown on at any one time, to embarra.s.s the lamb about rising.
The predisposing symptoms of lambing are, enlargement and reddening of the parts under the tail, and drooping of the flanks. The more immediate are, when the ewe stretches herself frequently; separating herself from her companions; exhibiting restlessness by not remaining in one place for any length of time; lying down and rising up again, as if dissatisfied with the place; pawing the ground with a forefoot; bleating, as if in quest of a lamb; and appearing fond of the lambs of other ewes. In a very few hours, or even shorter time after the exhibition of these symptoms, the immediate symptom of lambing is the expulsion of the bag of water from the _v.a.g.i.n.a_. When this is observed, the ewe should be narrowly watched, for the pains of labor may be expected to come on immediately. When these are felt by her, the ewe presses or forces with earnestness, changing one place or position for another, as if desirous of relief.
The ewe does not often require mechanical a.s.sistance in parturition. Her labors will sometimes be prolonged for three or four hours, and her loud moanings will evince the extent of her pain. Sometimes she will go about several hours, and even resume her grazing, with the fore-feet and nose of the lamb protruding at the mouth of the _v.a.g.i.n.a_. If let alone, however, Nature will generally relieve her. In case of a false parturition of the f[oe]tus--which is comparatively rare--the shepherd may apply his thumb and finger, after oiling, to push back the lamb, and a.s.sist in gently turning it till the nose and fore-feet appear. Where feebleness in expelling the f[oe]tus exists, only the slightest aid should be rendered, and that to help the throes of the dam. The objection to interfering--except as a last resort--is, that the ewe is frightened when caught, and her efforts to expel the lamb cease. When aided, in any case, the gentlest force should be applied, and only in conjunction with the efforts of the ewe. The clearing, or _placenta_, generally drops from the ewe in the course of a very short time--in many cases, within a few minutes--after lambing. It should be carried away, and not allowed to lie upon the lambing-pound.
Common kale, or curly-greens, is excellent food for ewes that have lambed, as its nutritive matter, being mucilaginous, is wholly soluble in water, and beneficial in encouraging the necessary discharges of the ewe at the time of lambing. In these respects, it is a better food than Swedish turnips--upon which sheep are sometimes fed--which become rather too fibrous and astringent, in spring, for the secretion of milk. In the absence of kale or cabbage, a little oil-cake will aid the discharges and purify the body. New gra.s.s also operates medicinally upon the system.
MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS.
While the lamb is tumbling about and attempting to rise--the ewe, meanwhile, licking it dry--it is well to be in no haste to interfere. A lamb that gets at the teat without help, and procures even a small quant.i.ty of milk, knows how to help itself afterward, and rarely perishes. If helped, it sometimes continues to expect it, and will do little for itself for two or three days. The same is true where lambs are fed from a spoon or bottle.
But if the lamb ceases to make efforts to rise--especially if the ewe has left off licking it while it is wet and chilly--it is time to render a.s.sistance. It is not advisable to throw the ewe down--as is frequently practised--in order to suckle the lamb; because instinct teaches the latter to point its nose _upward_ in search of the teats. It is, therefore, doubly difficult to teach it to suck from the bag of the prostrate ewe; and when it is taught to do this, by being so suckled several times, it is awkward about finding the teat in the natural position, when it begins to stand and help itself. Carefully disengaging the ewe from her companions, with his crook--which useful article will be hereafter described--the a.s.sistant should place one hand before the neck and the other behind the b.u.t.tocks of the ewe, and then, pressing her against his knees, he should hold her firmly and still, so that she will not be constantly crowding away from the shepherd, who should set the lamb on its feet, inducing it to stand, if possible; if not, supporting it _on its feet_ by placing one hand under its body; put its mouth to the teat, and encourage it to suck by tickling it about the roots of the tail, flanks, etc., with a finger. The lamb, mistaking this last for the caresses of its dam, will redouble its efforts to suck.
Sometimes it will manifest great dullness, and even apparent obstinacy, in refusing for a long time to attempt to a.s.sist itself, crowding backward, etc.; but the kind and gentle shepherd, who will not sink himself to the level of brute, by resenting the stupidity of a brute, will generally carry the point by perseverance. Sometimes milking a little into the lamb"s mouth, holding the latter close to the teat, will induce it to take hold.
If the ewe has no milk, the lamb should be fed, until the natural supply commences, with small quant.i.ties of the milk of a _new-milch_ cow. This should be mixed, say half and half, with water, with enough mola.s.ses to give it the purgative effect of the first milk, gently warmed to the natural heat--not scalded and suffered to cool--and then fed through a bottle with a sponge in the opening of it, which the lamb should _suck_, if it can be induced so to do. If the milk is poured in its mouth from a spoon or bottle, it is frequently difficult, as before stated, to induce it to suck. Moreover, unless milk is poured into the mouth slowly and with care--no faster than the lamb can swallow--a speedy wheezing, the infallible precursor of death, will show that a portion of the fluid has been forced into the lungs. Lambs have been frequently killed in this way.
If a lamb becomes chilled, it should be wrapped in a woollen blanket, placed in a warm room, and given a little milk as soon as it will swallow. A trifle of pepper is sometimes placed in the milk, and with good effect, for the purpose of rousing the cold and torpid stomach into action. In New England, under such circ.u.mstances, the lamb is sometimes "baked," as it is called--that is, put in a blanket in a moderately-heated oven, until warmth and animation are restored; others immerse it in tepid water, and subsequently rub it dry, which is said to be an excellent method where the lamb is nearly frozen. A good blanket however, a warm room, and sometimes, perhaps, a little gentle friction will generally suffice.
If a strong ewe, with a good bag of milk, chance to lose her lamb, she should be required to bring up one of some other ewe"s twins, or the lamb of some feeble or young ewe, having an inadequate supply of milk.
Her own lamb should be skinned as soon as possible after death, and the skin sewed over the lamb which she is to foster. She will sometimes be a little suspicious for a day or two; and if so, she should be kept in a small pen with the lamb, and occasionally looked to. After she has taken well to it, the false skin may be removed in three or four days. If no lamb is placed on a ewe which lost her lamb, and which has a full bag of milk, the milk should be drawn from the bag once or twice, or garget may ensue; even if this is not the result, permanent indurations, or other results of inflammatory action, will take place, injuring the subsequent nursing properties of the animal. When milked, it is well to wash the bag for some time in cold water, since it checks the subsequent secretions of milk, as well as allays inflammation.
Sometimes a young ewe, though exhibiting sufficient fondness for her lamb, will not stand for it to suck; and in this case, if the lamb is not very strong and persevering, and particularly if the weather is cold, it soon grows weak, and perishes. The conduct of the dam, in such instances, is occasioned by inflammatory action about the bag or teats, and perhaps somewhat by the novelty of her position. In this case, the sheep should be caught and held until the lamb has exhausted her bag, and there will not often be any trouble afterward; though it may be well enough to keep them in a pen together until the fact is determined.
Such pens--necessary in a variety of cases other than those mentioned--need not exceed eight or ten feet square, and should be built of light materials, and fastened together at the corners, so that they can be readily moved by one man, or, at the most, two, from place to place, where they are wanted. Their position should be daily shifted, when sheep are in them, for cleanliness and fresh feed. Light pine poles laid up like a fence, and each nailed and pegged to the lower ones at the corners, or laid on, are quite serviceable. Two or three sides of a few of them should be wattled with twigs, and the tops partly covered, in order to shield feeble lambs from cold rains, piercing winds, and the like.
Young lambs are subject to what is commonly known as "pinning"--that is, their first excrements are so adhesive and tenacious that the orifice of the a.n.u.s is closed, and subsequent evacuations prevented. The adhering matter, in such cases, should be entirely removed, and the part rubbed with a little dry clay, to prevent subsequent adhesion. Lambs will frequently perish from this cause, if not looked to for the first few days.
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, allowing them to suck two or three times a day.
By this method they suffer no fatigue, and thrive much faster. It is, however, troublesome as well as injurious, since 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 with those who rear them for this purpose it is a common practice.
Where there are orphans or supernumeraries in the flock, the deserted lambs must be brought up by hand. Such animals, called pet lambs, are supported on cow"s milk, which they receive warm from the cows each time they are milked, and as much as they can drink. In the intervals of meals, in bad weather, they are kept under cover; in good weather they are put into a gra.s.s enclosure during the day, and sheltered at night until the nights become warm. They are fed by hand out of a small vessel, which should contain as much milk as it is known each can drink.
They are first taught to drink out of the vessel with the fingers, like a calf, and as soon as they can hold a finger steady in the mouth, a small tin tube, about three inches in length, and of the thickness of a goose-quill, should be covered with several folds of linen, sewed tightly on, to use as a subst.i.tute for a teat, by means of which they will drink their allowance of milk with great ease and quickness. A goose-quill would answer the same purpose, were it not easily squeezed together by the mouth. When the same person feeds the lambs--and this should be the dairy-maid--they soon become attached to her, and desire to follow her everywhere; but to prevent their bleating, and to make them contented, an ap.r.o.n or a piece of cloth, hung on a stake or bush in the inclosure, will keep them together.
It is much better for the lambs and for their dams that they be _weaned_ from three and a half to four months old. When taken away, they should be put for several days in a field distant from the ewes, that they may not hear each other"s bleatings, as the lambs, when in hearing of their dams, continue restless much longer, and make constant and, frequently, successful efforts to crawl through the fences which separate them. One or two tame old ewes are turned into the field with them, to teach them to come at the call, find salt when thrown to them, and eat out of troughs when winter approaches.
When weaned, the lambs should be put on the freshest and tenderest gra.s.s--rich, sweet food, but not too luxuriant. The gra.s.s and clover, sown the preceding spring, on grain-fields seeded down, is often reserved for them. The dams, on the contrary, should be put for a fortnight on short, dry feed, to stop the flow of milk. They should be looked to after a day or two, and if the bags of any are found much distended, the milk should be drawn away, and the bags washed for a little time in cold water. On short feed, they rarely give much trouble in this respect. When thoroughly dried off, they should have the best fare, to enable them to recover condition for subsequent breeding and wintering. The fall is a critical period in which to lose flesh, either for sheep or lambs; and if any are found deficient, they should at once be provided with extra feed and attention. If cold weather overtake them, poor or in ill health, they will scarcely outlive it; or if by chance they survive, their emaciated carca.s.s, impaired const.i.tution, and scant fleece will ill repay the food and attention they will have cost.
CASTRATION AND DOCKING.
Some breeders advocate castration in a day or two after birth, while others will not allow the operation to be performed until the lamb is a month old. The weight of authority, however, is in favor of any time between two and six weeks after birth, when the creature has attained some strength, and the parts have not become too rigid. In such circ.u.mstances, the best English breeders recommend from ten to fifteen days old as the proper time. A lamb of a day old cannot be confirmed in all the functions of its body, and, indeed, in many instances, the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es can then scarcely be found. At a month old, on the other hand, the lamb may be so fat, and the weather so warm, that the operation may be attended with febrile action. Dry, pleasant weather should be selected for this: a cool day, if possible; if warm, it should be done early in the morning.
Castration is a simple and safe process. Let a man hold a lamb with its back pressed firmly against his breast and stomach, and all four legs gathered in front in his hands. Cut off the bottom of the pouch, free the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e from the inclosing membrane, and then draw it steadily out, or clip the cord with a knife if it does not snap off at a proper distance from the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e. Some shepherds draw both t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es at once with their teeth. It is usual to drop a little salt into the pouch.
Where the weather is very warm, some touch the end of the pouch with an ointment, consisting of tar, lard, and turpentine. As a general thing, however, the animal will do as well without any application.
The object of _docking_ is to keep the sheep behind clean from filth and vermin; since the tail, if left on, is apt to collect filth, and, if the animal purges, becomes an intolerable nuisance. The tail, however, should not be docked too short, since it is a protection against cold in winter. This operation 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 the same time as castration with the least trouble and without injury.
The tail should be laid upon a plank, the animal being held in the same position as before. With one hand the skin is drawn toward the body, while another person, with a two-inch chisel and mallet, strikes it off at a blow, between the bone-joints, leaving it from one and a half to two inches long. The skin immediately slips back over the wound, which is soon healed. Should bleeding continue--as, however, rarely happens--so long as to sicken the lamb, a small cord should be tied firmly round the end of the tail; but this must not be allowed to remain on above twenty-four hours, as the points of the tail would slough off.
Ewe lambs should be docked closer than 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 proportion of four pounds of the former to one quart of the latter. The lambs should be carefully protected from cold and wet till they are perfectly well.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT
FEEDING.
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. The tendency to excessive purging which is induced by the first spring-feed, may be checked by housing them at night and feeding them for the first few days with a little sound, sweet hay. They must be provided with pure water and salt; for, though they may do tolerably well without either, yet thrift and freedom from disease are cheaply secured by this slight attention.
As to _water_, it may be said that it is not indispensable in the summer pastures, since the dews and the succulence of the feed answer as a subst.i.tute; but a wide experience having demonstrated that free access to it is advantageous, particularly to those having lambs, it should be considered a matter of importance on a sheep-farm so to arrange the pastures, if possible, as to bring water into each of them.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A COVERED SALTING BOX.]
SALT is indispensable to the health, especially in the summer. It is common to give it once a week, while they are at gra.s.s. It is still better to give them free access to it, at all times, by keeping it in a covered box, open on one side, as in the engraving annexed. A large hollow log, with holes cut along the side for the insertion of the heads of the animals, answers very well. A sheep having free access to salt at all times will never eat too much of it; and it will take its supply at such times and in such quant.i.ties as Nature demands, instead of eating of it voraciously at stated periods, as intermediate abstinence will stimulate it to do. When salt is fed but once a week, it is better to have a stated day, so that it will not be forgotten; and it is well to lay the salt on flat stones--though if laid in little handfuls on the gra.s.s, very little of it will be lost.