The Project Gutenberg EBook of Total Per Cent Lambing Rules, by Thomas Boylan
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Title: Total Per Cent Lambing Rules
Author: Thomas Boylan
Release Date: July 3, 2013 [EBook #43087]
Language: English
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Total Per Cent
Lambing Rules
[Illustration]
COPYRIGHT 1915
BY
THOMAS BOYLAN
_Total Per Cent Lambing Rules_
_Copyright 1915 by Thomas Boylan_
_To Those Lambing Ewes_:
It is quite impossible to give rules that will cover each day all your
environs, as shelter, feed and water, help, etc. However, under ordinary
circumstances, the following will prove successful:
These pages being written for the one who would try, it is the object
and desire of the writer to explain to the inexperienced hand, in a
plain manner, the work of lambing sheep, especially under range
conditions. Having made a study of the work for years, we have seen the
utter impossibility of verbally explaining the many necessary details to
the "new men" each year. We admit lambing ewes in large numbers
successfully is somewhat of a fine art, still common sense, patience and
endurance will allow any one adapted to the care of live stock--which
means a person who appreciates the worth and meaning of life in any
form--to lamb sheep. Common sense will permit any one to readily have at
least some idea of the physical endurance, both as to temperature and
nutrition, of the animal in his care. The patience which enables you to
endure the inclemency of any surrounding for their welfare, is also
necessary, for it, too, prevents that hostile, or we might say hideous
mood of mind which causes so many people to abuse live stock when it is
absolutely uncalled for.
It should be self-evident to the ordinary person that life in its
beginning is easily overcome by death; that nature has endowed man with
a higher intellect that he may care for that life which in his esteem
has sufficient worth to justify that care. A providing nature has
endowed the sheep with many desires and inclinations, which, while quite
clear to the naturalist, to the casual observer and shepherd often
appear very contrary. That the sheep is the most contrary animal, other
than the hog, is an assertion which often comes from a lack of knowledge
of its nature.
True, when unintelligently selected surroundings compel you to howl,
whistle, and dog it out of its natural contentment, it often becomes
contrary, but this mood is forced upon it by its environs, of which the
barking dog and the unintelligent and noisy shepherd are generally the
greatest fault.
Allow sheep their natural contentment by leaving them to their own care
whenever possible. They will then hold themselves to the herd and very
seldom stray off. Tending sheep in this manner will permit them to show
you their wants and necessities. Provide them when you can, for it pays
the owner and always lightens your work.
Although sheep will soon become used to the whistling and holloing
shepherd, together with the barking dog, apparently paying little
attention to them, they do, nevertheless, fret, causing them to roughen
and lose in flesh. We have seen sheep become so thin by such treatment
that they were actually too weak to follow the herd longer. They will
always do their best to stray away from such surroundings. Sheep know
the intelligent shepherd never whistles, hollos, or rushes the dog at
them unless it is absolutely necessary, and they very readily mind such
a person.
Surely it is not the sheep that is at fault when the shepherd selects as
their pasture, during a stormy day, a bleak flat or mesa, where the
sheep in their discontent are compelled to run around seeking shelter or
to maintain their warmth, vexing the herder, causing him to dog them
severely.
BEGINNING.
Should you have plenty of pasture, put your dropping ewes upon the
lambing ground 143 days after the rams were first with them. This gives
them a little time to locate, their dropping time not being up until the
145th day. If lambing upon the open range, two or three good, live men
to each 1,000 ewes will be necessary, while for shed lambing there
should be four or five for that number of ewes. In each case the amount
of help necessary depends upon the range and method of lambing. The men
should have enough clothing and bedding to be out in all kinds of
weather without chilling. Inform them that abusing the sheep by using
the crook as a club, dogging, or otherwise, will not help you nor ease
their work in the least. Truly, the man worth while in a lambing camp is
"the man who can smile when everything goes dead wrong"--the man who
sees many things and can find the time, the way, and the will, to better
them.
Do not bed dropping ewes upon steep hillsides, where they will cast
themselves during or before lambing. It may often become necessary to
bed small bunches out by themselves; this gives the coyote a great
chance to do his work. To keep him and other predatory animals away
during the night, it is well to have firecrackers, fuse, or powder,
scare-crows and lanterns on hand. To catch and chain a live coyote out
upon the lambing ground has been the most effective scare-crow the
writer has ever used to keep coyotes from the lambing range. As a
disinfectant for bites, cuts, sores and maggots, have carbolic acid,
turpentine, or some good creosote sheep dip. Marking materials are also
very handy at times to mark certain ewes and lambs. The remedies given
here for the treatment of ailments generally found at lambing time are
not those found at a drug store twenty miles away, but, rather, those
camp necessities which are most always at hand. They have proven their
merit and can be relied upon.
THE DROP BAND.
Put the best man you have with your dropping ewes. He should have a
cool temper, good feet, and the will to use them. Each day he should
have a sheep crook and some quarter-inch rope with him. The sheep should
have salt or salt feed enough to be contented. Water them once a day
during dry weather; on rainy days they will feed better when not given
water. In bunch lambing, where the new-born lambs are with the dropping
ewes all the time, 700 ewes are enough to the band, while if you lamb by
the dropping system, where you part the new-born lambs and their mothers
from the dropping ewes several times each 24 hours, you may have up to
4,000 ewes in the drop band. This is not advisable where your range is
closed in or short on feed or water. Upon such a range 1,500 ewes are
enough to the band. Have them bedded in the warmest places at night. In
nice weather let them leave the bed ground as early as possible, while
in bad weather--if you have them on a good bed ground--let them remain
as long as they wish. Never hold them on the bed ground in the morning
by rushing them back with a dog when they are ready to leave. By so
mixing the ewes you will "bum" lambs dropped during the night. On bad
days put them in the warmest places, behind hills, in high brush, or any
other good shelter you may have near at hand, which will keep the
new-born lambs out of the wind. During warm and pleasant days let them
out well in the morning hours, then hold them up a few hours on good
feed, turning them toward camp and water early in the afternoon, so that
the lambs dropped in the evening hours will be near camp, where they
will not have to be moved.
Should your range allow you to change the bed ground each night, while
the lambs are coming fast, it is best to do so. When the range is so
situated that you cannot move camp each day, compelling you to move the
ewes with lambs off the bed ground, so the dropping ewes may bed in the
same place again, try not to move them until about the time the droppers
come in around camp in the evening, say about 4 p. m. Do not move them
farther than is necessary to keep them from mixing with the drop band
during the night. Before the ewes bed down for the night, catch all ewes
that appear sick and have not been on feed or wish to be alone, not
caring to follow the herd longer. Such ewes likely have a dead lamb in
them. Watch for such ewes during the day and take the lamb from them
before blood poison kills the ewe. Safeguard yourself and the ewe, if
convenient, by disinfecting your hands before and after doing this.
WORKING THE BED GROUND.
This seems to be a critical time for many shepherds. Some persons
become greatly provoked trying to hold the new-born lambs and their
mothers apart from the dropping ewes, as the latter leave the bed ground
in the morning. Shepherds who rush among the ewes and lambs, in order to
move the dropping ewes off the bed ground in the morning, will make
themselves much work, but will never bring out a good per cent of lambs,
as ewes having dropped their lambs during the night are always somewhat
uneasy and excited when the herd leaves in the morning. It is indeed the
height of folly to rush among them, causing them to run away from their
new-born lambs in their excitement. Allow the dropping ewes to leave at
their will; do not drive them off; all ewes that have not dropped will
follow the herd if you will only give them time. Should a few ewes take
their lambs and try to follow the herd, let them go a few hundred yards
before you try to cut them back. Should there be one or two granny ewes
trying to steal lambs, leave them, rather than rush among the others.
Wait a few hours until the lambs become dried and the ewes overcome
their excitement, before working the bed ground.
Allow all ewes that have dead lambs in them, or those unable to drop
their lambs, to follow the dropping ewes off the bed ground; then hold
up the herd, catch the ewes and pull the lambs from them. At this time,
also, catch all ewes that may have left their lambs on the bed ground
and turn them back, so they may pick them up. Look over the bed ground
during the day for big-teat ewes, weak and "bummed" lambs. Should you
have any "bum" lambs, mother them on ewes that have had dead lambs. It
is probable that the ewes you pulled the dead lambs from would like to
mother the "bums."
Keep ALL dogs away while working bed grounds.
GATHERING THE DROP.
Do not gather new-born lambs during snow or rain storms when they are
in good shelter. It is always best, where possible, to leave the
new-born lambs where they drop the first 12 to 24 hours. This can be
done--where you have them in good enough shelter for the night--by
rounding up the outside of the day's drop just a little, then place a
tepee with a lantern in it in the center of the bunch, a few
firecrackers, with here and there a scarecrow around the outer sides, or
have a man sleep near them to keep off coyotes. The ewes will generally
bunch themselves by moving up around the tepee during the night. If they
must be moved to shelter, or for other reasons, let the men start to
move the oldest of the day's drop of lambs as soon as the droppers start
back toward camp or water in the afternoon, always moving the oldest to
the youngest when convenient to do so. Do not allow anyone to move lambs
when wet or too young, unless it is necessary to put them into shelter.
In that case, try to move them before the storm, rather than after they
become wet. New-born lambs still wet, or having become wet by storm,
rubbing together, sometimes change their scent, so that quite a number
of their mothers become suspicious of them and will not allow them to
suck until they become dried, before which time they may die. We have
also on several occasions seen ewes become skeptical of their lamb after
having cleaned it, simply because the lamb had come in contact with the
cleanings of other ewes.
When it is necessary to move new-born lambs, move them slowly and gently
to the nearest good shelter. In no case is it advisable to carry lambs
around in gunny-sack-full lots. By so doing you are likely to "bum" more
lambs than you save. Tie or pen all ewes that do not own their lambs
until they do own them. Be sure you are putting THEIR lambs with them.
When you have placed the day's drop in good shelter, when you are most
sure they are well protected from predatory animals, let them remain
quiet for the night. The next morning have someone move them to water.
Mix them, when you have to, according to the "table" of these rules. Do
not rush the bunches together; get them close to one another, then let
them mix themselves. Watch the badger holes. Lambs generally crawl into
holes during the cool of night, in hot, sunny days, and during cold,
rainy weather.
MIXING TO MAKE UP HERDS.
It is always best to have your two-year-old ewes mixed with the older
ewes during their first lambing. However, this should be given
consideration in the mixing of the young lambs, of which the following
table will give you a very good idea. Do not drop more at any one place
than the table allows. Should the drop be heavier than this during the
night hours, cut the drop band in two for a few days. In the following
table we count ewes only, and it is always best for your per cent to
have less if it is convenient to keep them apart longer:
_The Table._
Lambs, Mixed twos Old ewes
hours old and older ewes straight
1 to 24 120 or less 150 or less
24 to 48 200 or less 250 or less
3 days or more 350 or less 450 or less
From this time on they should be left until they are the following age,
when they can be mixed as follows: As ewes know their lambs by scent
only during the first four to six days, it should be readily understood
that it might become impossible for the ewe to find her lamb should you
bunch them sooner than these tables allow, making you many worthless
lambs.
Lambs 4 to 6 days old (youngest must be 4 days old), 650 to the
band.
Lambs 8 to 12 days old (youngest must be 8 days old), 1,300 to the
band.
The above for mixed twos and older ewes. When the herds are made up
entirely of ewes past two years old use the following table:
Lambs 4 to 6 days old (youngest must be 4 days old), 750 to the
band.
Lambs 8 to 12 days old (youngest must be 8 days old), 1,500 to the
band.
These tables should be considered well any time you do any mixing to
make up herds. Where you have good feed and water, they will prove very
successful. However, as ewes can and will suckle their lambs more
readily while in small bands, the development of the lamb will be much
more rapid where you are not compelled to bunch them too soon. Let these
lamb bunches remain quiet as much as you possibly can. If your feed is
poor around the water and the ewes have to leave their lambs to find
feed, do not mix so soon nor so many. It may be advisable to move the
droppers along a little faster, and by so doing you will leave more feed
behind for the ewes with lambs.
DOCKING OR TRIMMING LAMBS.
Lambs should be docked when from six to twelve days old, when
convenient in bands of not more than 700. For several reasons it is best
to trim them on a cool day before they move around much in the morning.
Avoid trimming in the heat of the day. Docking lambs in old corrals is
dangerous, because it is unsanitary--many lambs are likely to die if
left standing in old corrals after being cut at docking time. Turn each
lamb over the fence and out to pasture as you dock it and you will avoid
this trouble. When you can so arrange, it is best to leave these trimmed
bunches where they are the balance of the day. At least do not overheat
them by rushing them around, either before or after trimming. Let them
rest a while.
We have used a knife in tailing lambs for years, but find they become a
few pounds heavier during the summer season when seared, so advise the
use of searing tongs to do the tailing. Keep these tongs red hot, so
they will sear and stop all blood. To sear lambs, the docking corral is
arranged the same as when you dock with the knife. You simply have an
extra man, who places a stove or builds a fire to the right of the
person doing the ear-marking and castrating. In this fire or stove the
tongs are kept hot, and as the party doing the trimming passes the lamb
to the right--the catcher still holding it--along the cutting board,
this extra man has the tongs ready to part the tails. One heating of the
tongs will sear and part the tails of four or five lambs. You should,
however, have at least two or three pairs of these tongs. They are sold
at Chicago.
If, after a few days, two or three of your largest lambs become sick,
bleed them a little by cutting them under the tail stub. Use a solution
of 100 parts water to one part creosote sheep dip, or the same solution
of carbolic acid, as a wash to swab wether lambs. This will disinfect
all cuts and keep flies from them. You will also save many lambs that
have been snagged, dog or coyote bitten, by disinfecting them at once,
or within a few hours, with either of these solutions. In castrating
young lambs, cut the scrotum or sack off about one-half inch from end,
then pinch tight above the testicles and draw them. Part the tails at
about the lower end of skin on inside of tail. At this time herd-mark
each full band of ewes and their lambs distinctly with a separate mark,
so they can be parted in case they mix with another band during the
summer season.
PULLING LAMBS--EVERSION OF WOMB.
In pulling lambs from ewes, try to attend to such ewes before the lamb
is dead. Get the legs out first; pull slowly and be careful not to
jerk--you may pull the lamb bed out of the ewe if you do. Should you do
this, or should you find a ewe with her womb cast, it can be replaced by
raising her hind parts and slowly forcing the womb back, inserting the
parts until the whole womb is turned in its proper shape and is in its
natural position. Tie her left hind foot to a bush, or something,
allowing her six to eight feet of rope; leave her for an hour, and her
pulling will keep the parts in place until they become set. Where the
parts have become dirty, they should be brushed clean with a clean brush
or rag. Do not wash with water. Inject or insert with a soft rag a few
drops of a 10 per cent solution of carbolic acid. When the lamb is in
his natural position he will arrive with his head and front feet first,
giving the ewe little trouble, unless the shoulder or withers are
abnormally large. When the head is swollen, or one foot is still back,
it is certain the ewe needs assistance at once. Nearly all lambs coming
with their hind legs or tail first must be pulled; do this as soon as
you notice it. Never neglect ewes laboring more than one hour. If they
have not had the lamb in this time, it is absolutely necessary to take
the lamb from them or it will be dead.
TWINS: THEIR CARE--DEAD LAMBS.
When a ewe has twins and is not willing or able to care for them both,
try to find a ewe with a dead lamb; take the hide off the dead lamb by
case skinning, cutting the hind legs off at the second joint from the
foot, then open the skin between the hind legs, pull what is left of the
legs up through this opening, then pull the hide back over the body. Cut
off the front legs the same way, then pull the hide down over the neck
to the head; cut it off there. This will cover the live lamb all except
the head and opening you made in taking off the hide. Over these exposed
parts rub the entrails of the skinned lamb. Do not make the lamb red
with blood, for the ewe may scare from it. Always put the hide on the
smallest of the twins, leaving the best one with its own mother. The
hide should be left on no longer than is necessary to make the ewe own
the lamb, which is generally about 24 hours. In real warm weather, when
flies give trouble, it may prove best not to bother with the hide
method, but simply cut the entrails out of the dead lamb and rub them
well all over the motherless lamb, so the ewe that had the dead lamb
will take it from the scent. In most cases where the ewe has not had the
opportunity of seeing or smelling her own lamb at birth, she will accept
any NEWLY born lamb the same as she would her own without using either
of the above methods. Nearly all ewes with much milk will take to such
lambs quickly, while those with little milk are not easily "fooled." By
either of the above methods it is best to keep the ewe tied or penned
until you are sure she does own the strange lamb. Experienced help will
generally know by the action of the ewe just when to turn her loose with
her adopted lamb. Still, unless she has good feed and water while so
tied or penned, she will dry up in a few days, when it becomes
impossible for her to mother the "bum." Extra good mothers dropping
their lambs near others at times become over-anxious and claim lambs
belonging to other ewes, making it look like "twins or better." Do not
be fooled, but single such ewes out with their lamb and put her stolen
lamb or lambs with their right mothers. GET THE RIGHT MOTHERS. Keep your
twinned ewes on good feed and water, also by themselves, if you expect
them to raise you two good lambs. At least try not to put them in large
bunches until they are at least 10 or 12 days old.
DEFORMED AND ALKALIED LAMBS.
Most deformed lambs, born with twisted legs, can be cured quickly by
tying the deformed parts as near as possible in their natural position
for a day or two. Lambs born with their eyelids too large may be cured
by taking a pair of scissors or a sharp pocket knife and cutting a small
slice or slit horizontally out of the abnormal eyelid, when they will
shrink nearly to their normal size, allowing the lamb to open its eyes.
Black alkali is very deadly to sheep, and especially to young lambs.
Its effects seem to be so sudden that there is little chance for a cure.
Keep the young lambs away from all alkali beds and especially from black
alkali holes during wet weather.
White alkali is not so fatal, yet many good shepherds lose lambs by
allowing them to nibble around alkali beds. Should you have some of
these alkalied lambs or sheep, treat them at once by giving the lambs
one-quarter cupful of vinegar, followed in one hour with three
tablespoonsful of raw linseed oil. Sheep should be given one cup of
vinegar and one-quarter cup linseed oil. Most sheep sick from this
ailment will have a white alkali substance adhering to their nostrils.
Where a lamb has no movement of the bowels, give one tablespoonful of
molasses and raw linseed oil, mixed. When troubled with too much bowel
movement, give one tablespoonful ginger and flour, mixed, once each day
in both cases.
LARGE AND SPOILED UDDERS.
See that all lambs too weak to get up are suckled. That all ewes with
large udders are caught and milked out. Catch them without rushing them
into a bunch of ewes and young lambs. If you can't, let them go until
you can--watch for this opportunity. Tie or pen them up until the udder
becomes normal and the lamb can get the teat without help. Many ewes
having spoiled udders will come to good milk in a few days, if milked
out well two or three times daily.
When the ewe has a caked udder, or is troubled with what is commonly
known as "blue bag," treat her at once--for she will die if you
don't--by milking out what you can. Then mix one pint of coaloil with
two gallons of hot water, wrap the udder with a heavy rag wet with this
mixture; let it remain for ten minutes, remove, and rub with a mixture
of turpentine and lard, or a weak solution of creosote sheep dip or
carbolic acid. Repeat this treatment each morning and you will surely
save the ewe in a few days. Where the ewe has her udder spoiled on one
side only, the milk being good on the other, she is likely to raise her
lamb. However, all these ewes should be marked, so they may be disposed
of in the fall shipment. When a ewe has "bummed" her lamb because she
has a spoiled udder, take the lamb from her before it becomes too weak,
or dies; find a ewe with a dead lamb, then try to force the "bummed"
lamb upon her as described under twins and their care.
TRAILING EWES AND LAMBS--"RUNBACKS."
Moving ewes and their lambs from one location to another often brings
considerable loss to the owner. Where he has long drives to get to his
summer range, he is not only likely to lose many lambs, but will lose
considerable in flesh. Lambs are parted too much from their mothers, and
cannot get enough sleep while on the trail. The shepherd should do his
utmost and use all the care possible to avoid dropping lambs behind,
under brush, in holes, or otherwise. The best of men lose lambs while
trailing from one part of the range to another; still this does not make
it a necessary evil. With due care this loss can be avoided. Try to do
your trailing in the cool of early morning and late evening hours. Move
them gently, so most of the ewes can tote their lambs along by their
side. You will get along quite well this way, for the ewes will then not
trouble you trying to run back to hunt lambs. Do not overheat or weaken
your lambs by continual dogging. If you must drive them rapidly, use
rattle cans. This noise will not only keep them on their feet, but will
scare them along much faster than a barking dog that always turns your
leaders back on you. Rattle cans will always startle young lambs out of
the brush much quicker than any dog when it is necessary to move them.
It sometimes takes two or three hours for all the ewes in a large band
to find their lambs after being trailed. Until these ewes have all found
their lambs there is danger of a "runback" should you leave them. Ewes
will invariably become excited and run back to where they saw their
lambs last whenever they miss them. Avoid this extra work, and the
hardship on the ewes and lambs, by watching them until all the ewes have
found their lambs whenever you have moved them. Losing lambs while
trailing will generally cause the ewe to become sick with spoiled udder
or "blue bag."
ACCIDENTAL MIXING.
We have seen men try to separate ewes and lambs that have become mixed
through their carelessness, or by accident, before the boss got around,
causing heavy loss. Warn the men never to try this; they never, or very
seldom, can part them straight. In a mix of this kind--we trust there
will not be any--by all means try to leave the ewes quiet; hold them
still a few hours, not too close, so each ewe can single out her lamb
and become contented. This gives other ewes a chance to find their lambs
without running from one part of the range to another. When these mixed
bunches are not rushed and pushed around they will likely straighten
themselves out with as few "bums" as possible under such conditions.
Should a mix of this kind make more than a full band, the owner or
foreman should put a light slat corral around the bunch (this can be
done quicker than moving them to a distant corral), then counting out
the number of ewes over and above a normal herd. He should spend
considerable time watching these ewes call their lambs out through "lamb
holes" made in all parts of the corral.
MIXING, SHELTER, COYOTES, BADGER HOLES.
To keep each bunch of ewes and lambs from mixing with another bunch; to
have them in good shelter during any storm; to milk out ewes with large
teats and suckle their lambs until they are able to take the teat
themselves, are respectively the most important work for lambing hands.
It will be well to keep the men reminded that they will do much, indeed,
for you and the sheep by being "on the job" at all times. The sheep may
need their attention any moment; they may mix at any time; coyotes are
never all asleep; there may be a lamb in a hole that should be pulled
out before the ewe loses it; a lamb may have become clogged behind and
need cleaning; an oncoming storm may make it necessary to place and hold
them in shelter until it has passed. A live, watchful person is worth
much indeed at lambing time. A sleepy-head has little value around sheep
at any time.
FORETELLING WEATHER--ALMANACS, BAROMETERS.
Although general storms are expected by everyone, they are considered
an abnormal condition. Severity is seldom guarded against, which has
often brought much loss at lambing time. Such storms may compel you to
make many changes, depending upon their duration and severity. They will
test the quality of your endurance. Stay with the ship and save the
lambs. The necessary changing of position may make much extra work for
everyone. Necessity is the origin of achievement. With your persistent
patience, together with your best mental effort, you will come out of
the storm with most of the lambs, giving you the baa! baa! as their
thanks. As an illustration, perhaps the reader may pardon the following
true story: Some years ago while trailing two bands of ewes upon the
desert, we, by mishap, became short of camp water. However, necessity
strengthened our observing power, causing us to find a ledge of rock at
the side of which grew a few wild rose bushes. Here with no little
perseverance we dug until we found sufficient water for camp, making a
watering place for others where it was always thought impossible for
water to be. Who can say, had it been absolutely necessary to water the
sheep, also, that we might not have made a pump out of the stove pipe, a
handle out of the wagon tongue, a trough out of the wagon box, and with
this invention watered the two bands of ewes also? After many years of
close observation of weather conditions, during all seasons of the year,
we are able to give you valuable information upon the weather you may
expect SOME TIME during the seven days following any of the moon's
changes. We cannot say upon what exact date certain weather changes will
take place, but do state the weather that is most likely to predominate
during any of the moon's phases. When the new moon in any month comes in
upon his back, these storms will be more severe than when it comes in
standing up. The Indian had no powder horn. When the moon is moving from
south to north it seldom fails to bring warmth, while it hardly ever
fails to bring cold weather upon its return from the north. You should
have a reliable almanac, giving the exact time of each of the moon's
changes in the standard time of your locality. A storm-glass or
barometer will keep you posted 24 to 36 hours before any weather change.
This may save you lambs. This table can be used any part of the year,
allowing for snow in winter where the calculations foretell rain in
summer. If the new moon, first quarter, full moon, or last quarter come
in during the time given, the weather most likely to follow SOME TIME
during the next seven days will be as follows:
12 midnight to 2 a. m.--Fair days, cold nights.
2 a. m. to 8 a. m.--Cold and rainy.
8 a. m. to 2:30 p. m.--Windy or heavy rains.
2:30 p. m. to 6 p. m.--Fair and warm.
6 p. m. to 12 p. m.--Fair days, cold nights.
We have found the new moon most likely to bring an exception to this
rule, still we assure you this table is worth your consideration during
all seasons of the year. Keep your lambs in shelter during severe storms
by reading a good almanac and watching this table.
HERDING, DOGS AND FEED.
The good shepherd is not born every day. A quiet, unexcitable mental
characteristic is the utmost necessity. Nervous, excitable people become
too easily angered; they will wear themselves and the sheep out with
over-work and abuse, while the overly sentimental person becomes too
easily disheartened; others have to do his work while he stands around
telling you in a sorrowful tone how it broke his heart to see that poor
twin lamb die, during which time other lambs in his care are dying from
his neglect. He is the first to give up the ship when "everything goes
dead wrong." Most ewes, and especially two-year-olds, are very timid and
easily frightened from their lambs when left out by themselves or in
small bunches. For this and other reasons it is best to have few dogs
upon a lambing ground, especially around the dropping ewes. If any, they
should be in care of experienced men only, for whom they may head off a
bad mix or find a lamb in a hole, etc. Inexperienced men never watch
their dogs close enough, when the very best of dogs will scare many ewes
from their lambs, even though they are not very near them. So if you can
control the bunches without the aid of dogs, it will always help your
per cent to do so. Again, it will be well to remind the help that they
are on a lambing ground, where it takes much cool temper and many hard
knocks to make things go right at times. Inform them that it is not
always possible to fatten the ewes during lambing, so they will not run
the drop band, or the ewes with lambs, all over the country each day
looking for feed. True, they should be allowed to scatter and spread
over their allotted pasture; but we once heard an owner tell a "new man"
to take the sheep out on good range and allow them to "cover all the
ground possible." The next day we met this shepherd (?) about three
miles from his camp, dogging his sheep from one part of the range to
another. When asked where he was going, he answered that "the boss had
told him to let them cover all the ground possible" and that he was
doing the best he could to get over all the ground. Needless to say that
the boss is the loser when his flocks are tended in such a manner.
The lamb needs milk, and the ewe needs feed to produce it, but the lambs
also need much sleep and rest to make them grow fast. Rather have the
ewes near water and upon less feed until the lambs become at least ten
days old.
SHED LAMBING.
[Illustration]
For early or shed lambing the following illustrations will give a
good idea of the individual pens, of which there should be about 70 for
each 1,000 ewes. These pens are about three and one-half feet long and
32 inches wide. The panels and gates are 3 feet high and are made of 1
by 4-inch boards; the panels being made exactly 7 feet long, and the
gates 32 inches wide. At each end on both sides of the panels is nailed
a 1 by 2-inch strip to space the 4-inch boards, as follows: Bottom
space, 2½ inches; second space, 3 inches; third space, 5 inches;
fourth space, 6 inches. To partition the panels at the center, we use 16
or 20-foot boards, as follows: Bottom space, 4-inch board notched ¾
inch on top and bottom sides, at each cross section of panels; second
space, 4-inch board notched ½ inch at each cross section of panels;
third space, water trough, 4 inches deep, 8 inches wide; fourth space,
8-inch board notched 1 inch at each cross section of panel. The panel
has a 6-inch board nailed upright at each outer end. This makes the
slide for the gate to pass up and down in, also holding it in place. On
top of the panel notched in ¾ inch is a 2-inch strip passing parallel
with the gates, but over the panels. This strip stops the gates from
falling inward. As there are no nails used in these top strips nor in
the boards which make the partition through the center, these pens are
easily collapsed and removed, should the shed be used for other purposes
during other seasons of the year. To the sides are fastened gunny sacks
to hold feed for each ewe. On top at center is an 8-inch walking board,
over which the attendants may pass without disturbing dropping ewes in
other parts of the shed. To clean the water trough when it becomes dirty
there is an endless ¼-inch rope passing through the trough and over
the pens; to this are attached rags or gunny sacks, which are drawn
through the trough. Tacked to the top board of panel in each pen there
is a small canvas sack containing three different colored small rags or
flags to indicate whether the ewe claims her lamb, has twins, large
udder, or is ready to turn out.
[Illustration]
THE "PULLMAN."
This is the lamb wagon, which brings the ewe and lamb to the shed from
the pasture during the day. It is made of the same material as the
individual pens above described, placed upon a low running gear, with a
floor made of 1½-inch boards, with a 2 by 2-inch strip along each
side to firmly hold the pens from any lateral or side motion. There are
seven pens on each side, 14 in all. To each gate and over the top and
ends of the pens is tacked heavy canvas to exclude all rains and winds
from the newly born lambs while they are being hauled from pasture to
shed. Upon the range the ewe and lamb are sheltered during storms with a
small "sheep tepee" until the "Pullman" arrives, which insures continual
warmth for the lamb until he is placed in the shed. There is feed for
the ewe in sacks in each of the 14 pens. Indicating flags or rags are
hung on small nails on each gate to show the attendant at the shed, when
the wagon arrives, the character of each ewe, that he may intelligently
care for her and her lamb at once. The dimensions are: Length of floor,
14 feet; width of floor, 7 feet; length of panel, 6 feet 8 inches; width
of gate, 22 inches; height of pens, 3 feet. This allows each ewe a space
39 inches long and 22 inches wide. Such a wagon will cost complete about
fifty dollars. It will do the work for about 2,500 dropping ewes, when
they are not pastured much more than one mile from the lambing shed.
The attendants at the shed, after unloading the wagon and placing each
ewe in an individual pen, see that each lamb is suckled; also that the
ewe has plenty of good clean feed and water until she is ready to turn
out and mix with other ewes and lambs, according to the table of these
rules.
[Illustration]
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-producing feed.
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 attendant can 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.
[Illustration]
NIGHT WORK.
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 their strength for the sick spell, with a good rest at night.
TAGS.
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.
SALT.
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. They will 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.
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. When the
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.
THE EARLY LAMB.
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 the lamb
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.
SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.
In docking lambs we have had the best success when the sign was at
Taurus, 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 of MISTAKES that you use to
get the OTHER FELLOW to 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 tail," the 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, Neck," is transcribed as
in the original book.
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