Bo ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library The fattening of sheep in winter.A paper Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003213851 Che Hattening of Sheep in Ginter. A PAPER READ AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, February 11, 1869, co] By JURIAN WINNE, Of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York. PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. ALBANY: PRINTING HOUSE OF CHAS. VAN BENTHUYSEN & SONS. 1869. We, Sr SO We] Bee145 THE FATTENING OF SHEEP IN WINTER. Tue subject before us is “The Managing and Feeding of Fat Sheep in Winter,” together with the difference in the various breeds. My first rule is, always to buy good stock, whatever the breed may be, and to be sure to select animals kindly disposed to fatten. The price of well bred sheep may appear to be high, but depend upon it, if there is no money in feeding good stock, there is no money in poor. It will not do (as has often been said), to buy any kind of sheep for feeding, that you can double your money upon; for a one-dollar sheep will con- sume about as much feed as a six-dollar one, and as neither of them can be fed through the feed- ing season for much short of five dollars a head, you will readily perceive that the one-dollar sheep would stand you in six dollars, the other eleven dollars. According to my experience, the one-dollar sheep would weigh in the spring about eighty 4 pounds, and sell for seven cents per pound, which would make five dollars and sixty cents—a loss of forty cents, when the six-dollar one would weigh at least one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and sell for ten cents per pound, making twelve dollars and fifty cents—a profit of one dollar and fifty cents, besides getting the credit in the one case of bringing good stock to market, and in the other such as will be hooted at, and reported for you as scalawags. Now, as every good citizen values his reputation (and what is aman good for without it), I think this last item should not be lost sight of. Next in order then, will be the conveniences for fattening. It is bad policy in this country to undertake to fatten sheep in winter, with no protection or shelter, save a few trees or the side of some old building. I recollect an instance of that kind of feeding, which I went to see some ten years ago, where a man had about three hundred sheep feeding, running in a four or five acre lot, without any protection, save such as I have just described. It rained a little while I was there, the ground was soft, although it was February, and his sheep (though other- Wise nice good ones), looked wet, lank and 5 muddy; his feeding troughs were in this lot, all covered with mud, and some of the feed, on account of the mud in the trough, was left. IT expostulated with him about his slovenly manner of feeding. He replied that he could do no better. I said to myself, this is your first and last winter for feeding, and so it was. My buildings, which it will be well to describe as fully as possible, were put up with as much reference to storing the products of the. farm as for protecting and sheltering the sheep. The barn first in order, is nearly surrounded by other buildings; it is forty-four by fifty-two feet, with twenty-foot posts, with upper and lower floors— horse and cow stables and granary, all below. Into this barn goes all the grain I raise, first, and then as much feeding hay as it will hold— and there was room this year for but very little. When I thresh my grain (which I always do in the fall), I put the straw mostly back into this larger barn for feed and litter. The granary in this barn will hold about six hundred bushels of grain, and has an alley through the middle where the corn, oil-meal, etc., is mixed for feeding the sheep. The upper and lower floors of the barn are used for hay, straw, etc., from one feeding to 6 another. I have a wagon or carriage house close to this barn, twenty by thirty feet, with cellar the whole size, eight feet in the clear, middle and upper floors. This cellar is used exclusively for roots. The roots are generally cut by machine, and every day at half-past twelve, are fed to the sheep. When I have plenty of them, we feed daily at the rate of from three to four bushels to the hundred. The middle floor of this building is used for carriages, sleighs, harness, etc., and the upper floor for grain for the sheep, and holds from fifteen to sixteen hundred bushels (not without studding the beams however). After the feeding and watering is finished in the morn- ing, the grain that is needed from the wagon house is brought down and mixed with oil-meal, etc., in the alley heretofore mentioned in the granary in the barn, for the next two feedings. The next building I shall mention, which I will call shed No. 1, is twenty-one by twenty- four feet, sixteen foot posts—on the south side of the barn. The upper part of this building is filled in summer with market hay, which is pressed out and sold in the fall, the floor covered with sawdust and leaves, and when the time arrives, forty sheep are put up and kept there 7 until they are sold in the spring. Of all my feeding yards and stables, I always find that these second-story sheep do the best. The lower part of this building has manure piled under it in summer, as I always like to have what manure is not used in the spring under cover through the hot weather; it is taken out clean in the fall, and the shed arranged the same as the upper part, and, together with an open yard about twenty-four by sixty feet, holds sixty sheep. These sheep always have the run of this yard with the shed, except when it is stormy, and then they are closely confined to the shed. The next in order isa small shed in rear of No. 1, about ten by twenty feet, in which stock rams are kept. The next is another low shed west of barn, about fourteen by twenty-four feet, for breeding ewes. Both these sheds have small yards attached for good weather, are used in summer for piling manure under, are cleaned out in the fall, and receive, like No. 1, a coating of sawdust and leaves, when they are ready again for the sheep. Next comes another shed, also west of the barn, thirty by seventy-two feet, with twenty foo posts. The upper part of this building is also 8 filled with market hay in summer, pressed out and sold in the fall, and the floor then covered with sawdust and leaves, the same as No. 1 and the others. Although I say that I put in sawdust and leaves in the fall, I will correct that a little by saying that sometimes, as I have done this year, and as I always advise when practicable, I put in the sawdust before harvest on these upper floors. It then has time to get nice and dry, thereby not only preserving the floor better, but also absorbing the more liquid manure from the animals. The lower part of this building is also used for piling manure under in summer, and in the fall is treated the same as the other. Before the sheep are brought into this building in the fall, we put up, made expressly for the purpose, and put away in summer, three partitions on the upper floor and three partitions below. This gives us four pens above and four below, each eighteen by thirty feet. Each of these pens holds forty-five sheep, which makes one hundred and eighty for the upper floor, and one hundred and eighty below, or altogether for this building, three hundred and sixty sheep. On account of the lower part of this building being lower than 9 the upper one, I have for each of these lower pens asmall yard attached, about ten by eighteen feet, which in good weather they always get with their pens. Ventilating windows are also provided for all the pens, and are always regulated according to the weather. Two of these lower pens have two cisterns, supplied from the roof of this shed and one side of the barn, which generally, but not always, keep the sheep in this building supplied with water. The next building is a shed, a “lean-to,” on the north side of the barn, twenty by forty-four feet, used as the others for piling manure under in summer, cleaned out and treated same as the others in the fall, and holding seventy sheep. The upper part is used for straw, corn-stalks, etc., in winter. Under this shed I have a well, which besides its natural supply, gets what water this roof brings, together with the other side of the barn and another shed not yet mentioned. This shed has no yard. The next and last permanent shed (although I had another temporary one I used last winter), is thirty-five by thirty-six feet, eighteen foot posts. The upper part of this shed is filled in summer with feeding hay for the sheep, to be fed out in 2 10 winter; twenty-one by thirty-six feet of this shed has also manure piled under in summer, used as the others in the fall, and together with an open yard about thirty-six by forty feet, holds seventy-five sheep. These seventy-five sheep, together with the yard containing sixty sheep, get their water from a well standing between the two yards. Of this shed, fourteen by thirty-six feet is floored and partitioned; one half of it is used for a horse stable when needed, and into the other half I always put twenty of my best sheep. I have now given as well as I can, a descrip- tion of the buildings and arrangements I use and although many of you may have better ones, still I must say I am very well satisfied with mine. I will now say something of feeding appa- ratus, and may premise that all claimed improve- ments in sheep feeding arrangements that have come under my observation for the last ten or twelve years, I have always examined very care- fully, but have universally found after looking them over, that for fattening sheep, all things considered, they were no better than mine. For breeding sheep, however, I think there are better ones. I have a feeding box (after which I made others) sentme by my friend, WiLttam CHAMBERLAIN, Lt Esq., the noted fine-wool sheep breeder, which for breeding sheep is all that could be desired, as we can afford to take a little more time, and have a little waste and trouble with a few nice breeders. When, however, we come to fattening five, six or eight hundred sheep, it makes quite a difference whether one man can take care of them, or whether we must have two; as an extra hand through the feeding season will cost, wages and board, with us, at least one hundred and fifty dollars. Then, also, it makes quite a difference whether five hundred sheep waste a pint of grain per day, which I am satisfied was more than my whole flock wasted last winter, or whether they waste half a bushel per day; and I have seen more than that wasted by bad fixtures and management, thereby causing loss and discouragement to the person engaged in feeding. Also, whether we waste one hundred pounds of hay per day, or whether four or five hundred pounds will cover the waste for all winter. These wastings are what hurts, and although it looks like but a little, when you come to figure it up, you will be sur- prised to see what it amounts to. My apparatus or feeding box for feeding hay, grain, roots, etc., which it took me four years to 12 perfect, aud which you are all at liberty to use if you like it, is from twelve to fourteen feet long, twenty-two inches wide, with a tight bottom ; the upper sides let in by the scantling at the ends and middle, and all the box, except the bottom, put to- gether with good stout screws. (See annexed figure and Description of the Feeding Box.—Feeding description, original- Box 12 or 14 ft. long, and 22 inches wide— ° A the bottom slants from both sides and ly published in the resting on a board in the middle, forming a complete trough for grain or roots. The Country Gentleman.) bottom side boards should be ll or 12 inches wide—then a space left of 8 or 10 I claim for this inches according to size of sheep—then the top boards, 8 inches wide—the ends and sides to match, Corner pieces of scantling in the inside, of hemlock or Sgue é oak, as pine will not hold a nail or screw, dition and cleanli- the latter of which is preferable in putting them together. ness. box economy, expe- The sheep cannot upset the feeder nor his basket, as he carries it on his shoulder or in his arms to the first box; he walks up perfectly straight, and scatters the feed from the basket evenly and quickly through all the boxes in the yard, the sheep falling in behind him, just as well drilled soldiers fall in line at the tap of the drum—the whole time consumed for putting grain in four of 13 these boxes for seventy-five sheep, not being more than one minute. Then also the space being but from eight to ten inches wide, there is no chance for the sheep to get more than their heads through, and the box being but twenty-two inches wide, there is no need for crowding or straining to reach their feed, but each animal stands quietly and comfortably until his meal is finished. Also, every experienced sheep man knows that sheep always crowd up to their feed instead of away from it; consequently with a good feeding box no hay or grain can be wasted. As I said before, four of these boxes can have grain put in, in one minute. Hay, straw, roots, etc , can also be put in very quickly, as the boys often take hay enough at once for two boxes, drop part in one, and the balance in the other, when by a little shake with the fork, it is scattered evenly through the box. The same also with roots, as the feeder, when he gets to the first box, can put them in so quick, that, let the sheep come as fast as they can, they cannot catch him before he is through. These boxes have only to be turned over and back again, and they are clean. No dirt can get in from the sides, as the space between the upper 14 and lower board is too narrow, and the box being from twenty-eight to thirty inches high, no dirt can get in from the top, consequently when the box is turned over and back again, it is always clean. As to feed, water, litter, salt, etc., I must first and most particularly urge the feeder to be sure and have plenty of them, of a good quality, and to have it right there. It is not very good economy to depend upon your neighbors, when you buy your feed or any part of it, to bring it to you from day to day, but you should always - have at least two weeks or more feed on hand, when you will be all right, come fair weather or foul. I have seen a case of that kind, where a lot of fat sheep were obliged to go without their grain for a whole day, on account of a disap- pointment, which could not be made good again in three days’ feeding. Water, too, should be looked after regularly. I havea rule that the boys shall go around and fill up the troughs with water twice in the morning after feeding, and twice in the afternoon, always commencing everything in the shape of feed, water, salt, etc. with No. 1, and always ending with the last yard or stable. Littering cannot under any circumstances be neglected. I have often stood in the yard or 15 stable, and noticed when the bedding was becoming wet or dirty, how careful the sheep were to keep out of it, and how reluctantly they would lie down.