SELLING WOOL
107
Perhaps one can be given to a ewe that has plenty of milk but has
lost her lamb. She may be deceived into owning the strange lamb
by covering it with the fleece of her dead lamb, or by smearing
peppermint or other odorous material on her nose and on the
lamb’s rump. Chilled lambs should be artificially warmed by a
stove at the house or by the use of hot-water bottles. Be sure that
each lamb is first supplied with colostrum from the ewe’s udder or
that a dose of purgative be used as a substitute.
Feeding Lambs.—As soon as the lambs are able to eat mill
feeds, construct a lamb-creep in one end of the fold. Here supply
them with a trough containing such ground feeds as are supplied
Fig. 280.—Shearing sheep with a machine, beginning at the throat. (Pennsylvania Station.)
F16. 281.—The fleece should be kept intact and away from the sheep and shears.
{Pennsylvania Station.)
to their mothers. Let them have as much of this as they will
clean up. This is particularly important for lambs that are to
be used for early market and for those that are to be grown for
breeding purposes. After the flock is again turned on good pas-
turage the lamb-creep is less important.
Docking and Castrating.—Winter and spring lambs should
have their tails docked as soon as the weather is mild. This is
easily done by placing a block of wood under the tail and cutting
the tail with a chisel and hammer. Other methods are practised.
Apply a little antiseptic before letting the lamb go.
Any male lambs not to be retained for breeding purposes should
be castrated at about the same time as docking. The operation is
then less severe than later and no losses should occur.
Selling Wool.—The production of good, clean wool properly
tied in neat fleeces aids greatly in selling wool at proper prices.
(Figs. 280-284.) Wool growers have been very successful in pool-
ing their interests when marketing wool. Such codperative mar-