HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Care of Arrivals at Lambing Time
(Special to tho Ftirm Magazine.)
THE Spring of tho year Is the shep
herd's harvest. After the long Win
ter of ceaseless toll and care the
lambing time Is the joy and fruit of the
shepherd's labors. To htm It Is the great
est pleasure to welcome each newborn
babe whether he be single, twin or trip
let. Lambing time, like the grain har
vest, is not a time of ease. The success
ful shepherd must be very skilled and use
the best judgment in feeding and caring
for the flock at this time.
Feed.
About a month of so prior to lambing,
the ewes should be fed a little grain. A
mixture of one and one-half parts oats
to one part bran makes a good grain mix
ture when fed with some roots or silage
and alfalfa, clover, or oat and vetch hay.
About one-half to three-fourths of a
pound of the grain mixture and two
pounds of roots or silage, with whatever
hay the ewes will eat, makes a good dally
ration for a pregnant ewe. Such a ration
will tone up her system and, bring her
Btrongly in. milk at lambing time. In
beginning to feed grain or any feed care
must be used In starting with small quan
tities, and gradually increasing the
amount until a full ration is reached.
During the lambing season the ewes
should have the run of good pasture and
access to a good shed. Ewes, like the
females of other species, require consid
erable exercise during the period of preg
nancy. Lambs from ewes properly exer
cised are dropped easier and are much
stronger at birth.
Tare of Flock at Lambing.
The ewe flock should be watched very
carefully to see that the lambs are pre
sented properly and owned by their
mothers. Perhaps the best way of han
dling the ewe at lambing time is the
method using the lambing pen. This pen
is nothing more than two panels four feet
long and three feet high, made of
1 by 4 Inch lumber, and hinged together
In such a manner that they will open
and close, forming the letter L when
open. A small pen 4 by 4 Inches can be
easily made by standing a set of these
panels open in the corner of the shed.
The walls of the shed form two sides of
the pen, and the panels the other two.
Whenever a ewe shows signs of being In
the labors of lambing she should be sep
arated into one of these pens. Here she
should bo kept during lambing and until
proper maternal relationships have been
well established.
There are several distinct advantages
In the use of the lambing pen. They
can be enumerated as follows:
1. The ewe and newborn lamb are sep
arate from the rest of the flock and are
In no danger of being trampled upon.
2. The ewe in the pen requires less at
tention than she would If she were out
with the rest of the flock.
3. Ewes are more apt to own their
lambs. This is especially true with twins
and triplets. In such cases, if the ewe
were left with the flock she would very
likely disown one of them, because the
first lamb born usually Is the strongest,
and would wander off, looking for its
first meal while its mother was giving
birth to the other lamb. It would thus
be surrounded by other ewes and the
mother would lose Its scent and conse
quently disown it.
Tasking.
Right after lambing the ewes should be
tagged. By this term we mean the clip
ping of wool away from the udder. This
practice gives the lamb a good chance at
his first claim on life. Many lambs have
been killed by sucking locks of wool in
stead of the nipple which was intended
for their use. A lamb should suck a few
hours after birth. If he does not do it
of his own accord he should be helped.
The ewe's udder should be examined
everv few days in the beginning to see
whether or not the lamb Is using all the
milk which tlib ewe produces. Neglect In
MIMDED D:RECT from
LUIHDLIy THE MILL
cROMT
,1 DOORS
AT THE
J TIL UHI
i PRICE ! ffi
Send us your bill
for estimate and
save the middle
man's profit.
MII.DINfi MATE
RIALS AT LOW
EST PIUCES.
Ou r Free Cata
logue will save
you money. Fully
Illustrated and
every article
priced.
HOOK OK
HOUSE I'I,AS
Showing 108 dif
ferent homes. Sent
postpaid cn receipt
of 15c.
Wood Fiber Wall Board
I'er Thousand Squnre Feet,
Send (or Sample.
P. A. ROVIG CO.
ISO Tost St.
SEATTLE, WASH.
this regard may lead to a caked or in
flamed udder.
All male lambs not Intended for breed
ing purposes should be castrated. As a
rule at about the age of 3 months the
ram lambs begin to know, that they are
males and get restless and not only fail '
to gain, but actually lose some flesh put
on at an earlier period. As a result ram
lambs come to market raised under the
same conditions. Castration is a simple
operation, Involving little risk If done
with ordinary care and cleanliness. It
should be performed when the lamb Is
from one to two weeks old. The opera
tion consists in cutting off the lower end
of the scrotum and drawing out the
testicles, together with the adhering
cords. A little disinfectant should be
poured into the holes from which the
testicles have been removed. Castration
should be done In the morning of a bright
day.
Docking Is also neglect common to
sheep farmers. Failure to dock causes
a loss of from 25 to 50 cents per hun
dred pounds when the lambs are sold, de
pending on the amount of dirt collected.
Tails are unnecessary appendages on the
sheep, and what flow of blood goes to
nourish the useless tail no doubt would
add to the growth of tho rest of the body.
There are several ways of docking lambs; .
namely, chopping off the tails with a
mallet and chisel, cutting off with a good
sharp knife, or removing with hot pinch
ers. In any case the tall should be re
moved so as to leave a stub or dock of
one or one and one-half inches. This op
eration should-be performed on ewe lambs
at one to two weeks of age, and with ram
lambs it should follow from five to seven
days after castration. On large ranches
both castration and docking are performed
at once, to save time, but on the smaller
farms better results are obtained where
they are done separately. The loss of
castration and docking should not be
more than one lamb In 500.
Growing the Lamb.
In order to get a good, cheap lamb in
Western Oregon they must be grown in
the months of March, April, May and
June. These are the months during
which green feeds are most abundant. Of
these months April and May are the best.
The more growth that can be put on dur
ing these two mouths the better the
lambs, and the cheaper the ultimate cost.
To get good results on the general farm
in Western Oregon, the lambs must be
grown on some pasture, such as vetch
and oats, vetch and rye, clover, rape or
rape and clover. It will be necessary to
have several fields for the lambs In order
to get the best gains, and in order that
each kind of pasture may be utilized in
its proper season.
. It is also especially necessary to have
fresh pastures' on which to finish the
lambs. Often we find that lambs do well
until about ready for the market, then
pastures begin to fall, the lambs which
were so nearly done begin to go back
ward, and the first thing we know the dry
season has come on and we cannot get
our lambs ready for market until Fall, by
which time they are too coarse and heavy
to bring the best price, And have cost us
moro money than they are worth. It Is,
therefore, essential that the ewes and
their lambs be supplied with the most
liberal pasture through the growing sea
son. Spring lambs should be marketed when
they get fat. This will ordinarily be at.
a weight somewhere between 50 and 80
pounds. Perhaps about 60 ponds Is the
proper market weight. There should be
no great difficulty In getting a lamb in
good market condition by the time he
weighs 60 pounds. Spring lambs In the
Willamette Valley are usually shipped In
carload lots to the stockyards In Port
land. The lambs are young and tender
and great care must be taken to see that
they get the least possible rough treat
ment on their journey. These lambs are
not weaned but ure taken directly from
their mothers to the market.
Prying tho Ewes.
After the lambs are shipped to the mar
ket the ewes should at once be turned
Into poorer pasture. Such dry feed will
aid very much in drying up their milk
flow and preventing spoiled udders. For
tunately the requirement of the ewes at
this time fit In exactly with the crop con
ditions of the Western Oregon farm. The
lambs go to market at a time when the
fields are getting dry. The clover, vetch,
and rape, which was so good earlier in
the season becomes woody and there is
really no good feed available. The ewes,
therefore, should be turned out on the
dry hill pastures, or on the meadows after
the hay Is cut, or in the stubble fields.
In this way they will not only get the
feed which Is best for them, but they will
get it at the least cost.
The raising of the Spring lamb is an
industry which fits In very nicely with
all phases of agriculture. It is an indus
try which usually utilizes the odds and
ends which otherwise would probably go
to waste, and it is an industry which
tends toward the building up of the fer
tility of the farm. Because of these fac
tors and the high prices that are being
paid for a good early Spring lamb, It of
fers a great deal of promise to the small
farmer.
Sale of Used Pianos
Many Prominent Makes, Including: Grand Pianos, Player
Pianos and Straight Upright Pianos Fully Warrant
ed and First-Class Instruments, Affording Great
est Opportunity for Piano Buying Ever Known
Space here will not permit us to mention all of the pianos on
sale. However, below we enumerate a few of the specially low
priced instruments which are offered:
J. & C. Fischer Piano, good condition , .$127
Ludwig, largest size, fancy upright, in quartered oak $225
Emerson, large size upright, mahogany case, practically new, $245
Hamilton upright, good as new, has been completely refin-
ished; fancy mahogany case $220
Vose, good condition $118
Weber upright, rosewood case $162
Stuyvesant, beautifully mottled walnut finish $185
Schilling & Sons, magnolia walnut case . $167
Hazelton upright, rosewood case $145
Kimball, French walnut finish , $195
Smith & Barnes, finished in fancy quarter-sawed oak $210
Story & Clark, finished in specially choice walnut $240
Hoffman, only slightly used, in mahogany $178
Kingsbury, in walnut case $140
Two Stein ways verti-grand style $160 and $190
Kensington, in rosewood. $137
Jewett -. $156
Koehler $117
PLAYER PIANOS
Kingsbury, 88-note $318
Hallett & Davis, new, 88-note $465
Playautoma, Circassian walnut, new, 88-note $325
Pianola Piano in mahogany $275
Krell Autogrand, oak $335
USED GRAND PIANOS
Wegman small baby grand, in mahogany, at. . .' $475
Another Kimball, slightly larger, at $500
A Gilbert, small apartment-house grand, at $385
A Steinway, beautifully figured mahogany baby grand, at . . . $575
TELEPHONE OR WRITE QUICK
Those living out of town should write or telephone for descrip
tive lists and number. We send these instruments anywhere for
examination. A deposit of amount stated in this advertisement
should be sent to show good faith ?
MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY
-Coupon-
Without obligation on my part, please send me full informa
tion about pianos player pianos grand pianos
selling from $ to $ in your "Used Piano Sale."
Name .
Address
Pianos
The Nation's Largest Dealers Filers Building, Broadway at Alder
Get a
maize your
fortune on wheat
The present high price of grain is bringing thousands of American
farmers to Western Cannon. A fnrtiini. Aurora unii in . lAnt
country. Pick out a 160-ocreree farm from the 125,000 recently
surveyed homesteads in districts reached by the Canadian Northern
Railway. The best farms naturally will be selected first. Go now.
Get our free book
"The HomeseelferV nml Settlers fnM " If'a fi.lt A.,.., -I,, a..,:
richest forming country-113,000 recently surveyed free fertile farms Ameri
can runners are gettius; rich on Canadian wheat furms-we will help you
Select Unlit frw. farm
Wfifn 4nr1tl for frtm in for mm flan to settlers rct-nrdiwr
. . , . .F our low rates every Tuesday during March and
Apnl, bven If you have already selected your farm, it will pay you to travel
on the Canadian Northern via the Dithiih. fc't Kran.a nr f P....I
o.iu ., 111,11(1; miuii) , wiiu snip over privileges, .'.naillsn
Northern lines serve over ,0oo miles of Canada's richest
tunning country.
Ati Haiti! your pick of the best
H farms. Be sure to write today for
a iree copy 01 ine MomeseeKers ana .-H-tllers' (iuide
una low rates toi anada. A tortune is waiting foryoit.
Canadian Northern Ry.
E. Y. WRIGHT. Ren. At
Corner 4th and Jackson Streets,
raul, Minn.