WOODS

PERKINS

AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
SOUTHAMPTON

BREEDING

AND

MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP,

Delivered before the Wayland Agricultural Association.

BY

H. WOODS,

Agent to the Right Hon. Lord Walsingham.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.

LONDON :

RID GW AY AND CO., PICCADILLY.

NORWICH : R. N. BACON, MERCURY OFFICE.

NORWICH :

PRINTED AT THE MERCURY OFFICE.

A strong wish having been expressed by many large Sheep
Breeders and other Persons in various parts of England,
Scotland, and Wales, that my remarks on the Breeding and
Management of Sheep, made to the Members of the Wayland
Agricultural Society, shoidd be published in the form of a
pamphlet, I feel, that however unwilling to place myself before
the public in the position of a teacher, I yet cannot but comply
with such a reguest.

The remarks were made simply ivith a view of giving my
friends and neighbours, at their reguest, my oivn experience in
the management of Sheep. They seem to have interested those
to whom they were addressed, and I now ivith pleasure offer
them to the public.

HENEY WOODS.

Merton, Tlietford, Feb. 24 , 1864 .

TIIE BREEDING

AND

MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP.

On Wednesday evening, the 23rd day of
December, 1863, a Meeting of the Way land
Agricultural Association was held at Watton,
Norfolk, for the purpose of discussing the Breeding
and Management of Sheep.

Thomas Barton, Esq., presided, and briefly
opened the proceedings.

Mr. Woods said,

Gentlemen and Brother Farmers, — It is usual
on occasions of this kind to introduce the subject
by a written paper, but having been told by a friend,
who knows the working of these matters much better
than I do, that written papers are frequently — I will not
say truly — looked upon as so much borrowed matter, I
determined to deliver viva voce what I have to lay before
you. My object will be to throw as much light upon this

i

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

important subject as it is in my power to do; because I
think when we come to consider the present price of corn,
and what I must call its “ unremunerative value,” we must
all be convinced, that wool and mutton are very important
things for us to turn our attention to.

The subject is a very large one, and I can only touch
upon its principal points, which seem to me to be these : —

1st. — The Ewes to breed from.

2nd.' — The Rams to use : how to use them : and when
to put them to the Ewes.

3rd. — Treatment of Ewes during Pregnancy:
Abortion ; its causes and effects.

4th. — T reatment of Ewes during the Lambing
season.

5th. — Management of Lambs when on the Ewes,
and when weaned.

6th. — Hoggets : — their Treatment from July to
Michaelmas.

7th. — The Treatment of Hoggets on Turnips.

• 8th. — Whether most profitable to sell in or out of
the Wool.

2

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

I. — The Ewes to breed from.

With respect to our first head, I will begin by saying
that I believe the pure breeds of sheep to be the founda-
tion from which all good crosses must spring ; and I do
feel that every person who may be induced from one
cause or another to put down his flock of pure-breds
does a thing which is of national importance, and one
that every farmer and every cross-breeder of sheep must
deeply regret. I would ask you, “ From whence
sprung originally the numerous breeds that now exist?
It is, perhaps, a dangerous question to ask, but I
think it is a fair and proper one for meetings of this
kind. From what did the Shropshires spring? From
what did the Oxford Downs ? From what did many
others that are called “ Downs" spring? But this is not
my subject this evening ; so I shall pass from the pure
breeds of sheep and turn to what I may call “ the
Norfolk flockmasters’ question;” that is, the animals
from which we should breed cross-bred lambs. “ Which
do you consider the best ewes for a flock for breed-
ing cross-bred lambs? Do you think the black faces,
the brown faces, the Hampshires, or half-bred ewes,
the best?” This is a question which must be of im-
portance, and of deep interest to every one at this
table, who is a breeder of sheep. I will not insult your
judgment by expressing my own opinion as to the best
ewes for the purpose, because you are men of great
experience; you have your own reasons (and perhaps they
are proper reasons) for having a certain description of ewe
upon your farms. But there is one thing that lias often
occurred to me, and upon which I think many of

3

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

you must agree with me. That point is : that from
whatever kind of ewe you may prefer to breed, a very
great difficulty exists in getting the sort you require.
There is in this room a well-known breeder of very
excellent sheep, who told me be had last autumn the
greatest difficulty in finding such ewes as he wished to
put in his flock. Generally he was unable to do so ; and
when he did so, the price was extravagantly high. This,
of course, arises from the fact that the price is always
according to the demand. A great many persons want
the good ewes, and consequently the sellers put the
price on tolerably stiff ; and I don’t blame them for it.
But now what I say is this — that there is not sufficient
attention paid by those who breed your flock ewes;
they attend but little to the shape and make of the
animals they breed, or to the quality of their wool, be-
cause too many, I am sorry to say, make a point of
getting a sheep because it is a cheap one. This is
very poor economy; because that sheep is the cheapest
which will produce you the lamb that will pay you the
most money, whether you sell it, or whether you graze
it. No doubt the production of a better class of flock
sheep depends very much upon the farmers themselves;
because if they would make up their minds to buy only
those animals which would be considered by good and
practical judges to be suitable for breeding good cross-
bred lambs, the breeders in Suffolk and Essex would
produce better ewes. I remember crossing an adjacent
county, not one of those I have mentioned, last autumn,
and seeing a very large flock of sheep,— the black-
faces being tupped by black-faced rams. I was driving
with as good judge of sheep as any man in the kingdom,

4

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

and the remark he made was, “ Now can it he wondered
at that there are so few good ewes bred, when we see
here 500 or 600 ewes, possessing no peculiar merit,
tupped by rams even still worse ?” I know that this is a
difficult question ; but I believe that if the farmers of
this county were to set the example, and say they would
only have the best formed ewes — ewes which possessed
the merit which is necessary for breeding good lambs —
they would get them. If they were to say, “ We will
have none of your bare-polled ewes, with little or no
wool on the belly and neck, and no wool under their
tails ; but we will have those that possess wool, and of a
quality of flesh which shall produce us good mutton; if
not, we will not have them at all,” the breeders would
produce them ; because they would know that they could
not sell bad ones.

Now comes another question with respect to the
lambs we breed. I have often looked upon the manage-
ment of the breeding of cross-bred lambs as one which
deserves as much attention, and as much care, as the
breeding of pure-bred Downs or Leicesters ; and I base
my calculations upon the following fact: — If we have
well-bred lambs, we always have a demand for them. I
know it from my own experience ; and it is not only so
on the Merton estate, but it is the case with many
breeders in this neighbourhood ; they breed lambs that
everybody is glad to obtain ; they have no running
about to seek for customers; but have plenty of cus-
tomers on hand; because the dealers, the farmers, and
other people who purchase hoggets or lambs for feeding,
are sure to turn their attention, in the first place, to the
well-bred ones. Now I ask you to compare that with the

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

haphazard style of breeders — who put a ram to a ewe
because it is a ram, and not because it possesses any
particular merit; who say that a ram is a ram, and he is
sure to get a lamb. Many people do that, and what is
the result ? The lamb bred by that careless system
is sure to hang heavy on hand; no dealers run after
that breeder’s lambs ; they don’t care to buy them, for
they know they are bred to sell ; and they only take them
when they cannot get good lambs from other people.
Even if, however, that person does sell them, the buyer
will not come to him a second time : there will be no
one coming to him and saying he should like to buy
from him again. The very act of trying to graze them
has proved that they have no feeding properties, but the
reverse, as I know for a positive fact. Those who have
fed well-bred lambs from this estate, have desired to
come again and again, and they have done so : and every
year the value of these lambs is increasing.

Then there is another point which has frequently
struck me as a very important one, and one which must
have struck every man who visits Norwich Hill : go
there in the lamb or the hogget season, and — (you know
it as well as I do) — you see a group of people here, and a
group of people there ; perhaps you see a third group, but
it is a rare circumstance. Why is this ? There’s a good
lot of lambs or hoggets, and everybody is rushing to see
them, showing that it is the exception, and not the rule,
to have a good lot. Now I want to see groups of people
all over Norwich Hill; and instead of seeing a few pens of
hoggets or lambs, which possess far more merit than
others, I wish to see them all good enough to attract the
attention of purchasers. I don’t think I ever shall see

G

THE EWES TO BREED FROM.

*

this ; but I do trust that we shall see a considerable
advance made in the breeding of sheep. We have
in this neighbourhood some most extraordinary instances
of breeding : we have both good and bad. I will first
give you an instance of the good, and then an instance
of the bad. We have those in this neighbourhood who
breed with care — who don’t buy ewes because they are
sheep : but who buy the best they can lay their hands
on— who select them for certain points (which they see
they possess) for breeding good lambs. Not satisfied
jr with that, they go and hire or buy a ram also possessing
peculiar merits, and well adapted for the ewes they are
intended to serve ; they put those together, and there is
no fear whatever as to what the result will be. There is
no chance in breeding — no “ luck.” Breeding good animals
is no matter of accident. You might as well attempt to
breed a pure-bred shorthorn from an Alderney bull, as to
endeavour to breed good lambs from ordinary parents.
And the result is this : — some breeders can sell their
lambs at from 28s. to 30s. each, while other people,
breeding in a different way, sell at something like 18s.
or 20s. Then we have another case in this neighbour-
hood, the reverse of that which I named before. A farmer
of the old school, living not three miles south of this town,
has all sorts of mongrel-bred ewes on his farm, a sorry
lot they are, and the lambs they breed are such as no man,
who cares for his credit or his pocket, would ever try to
fatten. Usage has, as it were, so altered the nature of
his ewes, that he has actually got them to breed nearly all
the year round. He runs the rams with them all the
year round, and says, “ Poor things, they know what’s
the best; Nature taught them.” I merely give these as

7

THE RAMS TO USE.

illustrations of two systems. I have no desire to claim
more credit for this neighbourhood than it deserves. I
hope now I have cleared up my first point, viz. : “ The
ewes that I would breed from.”

The Rams to use : how to use them ; and when to put

THEM TO THE EWES.

We must now turn our attention to the next subject,
which is, the Rams to use. After getting good ewes,
the next most important step is to get good rams. I am
one of those who fancy that it is not ill-spent money to
give an extra £5 for a ram. I think it is far better to
give a fair price than a low one. The profit, I do believe,
will be greater upon breeding good lambs than bad ones ;
and you will never breed good lambs from bad rams.
Now we know that in the breeding of cross-bred lambs
there is great diversity of opinion. Some like Cotswold
sheep ; some like Cotswold crosses, or Cotswold crossed —
(I am not in the mysteries of these crosses) — with some-
thing of a Leicester ; and some people like a large
Leicester, with a dash of Lincoln in it. Now it is not for
me to say which will best answer a farmer’s purpose. I
can only venture to make suggestions. Allow me, then,
to say that I think the adaptation of the rams to the ewes,
and their selection with judgment, ought to rest in the
discretion (and does, I have no doubt,) of the flockmaster
who is going to use them.

But I have an opinion of my own with respect
to the sort of ram which I think ought to be used
to short-woolled ewes for breeding cross-bred lambs.
I have an idea that he ought to possess merits peculiar

THE EAMS TO USE.

to himself; that is to say, he ought to have a good
masculine countenance : he ought to have his neck
neither too long nor too short, and placed upon his body
as though it formed part and parcel of him. His breast
ought to be well thrown out in front, and wide and ex-
pansive between his fore legs. There is one thing which
is too often lost sight of in many pure breeds of sheep,
that is, the important point of the shoulders ; because I
hold that all male animals ought to be so constructed as
to have the right power of locomotion. Now what I
assert, of many of the pure breeds of sheep, and alas ! of
many others, is, that the shoulders are placed upon their
bodies as though they were pieces of waxwork as if the
body had been made first, and the shoulders had been a
second thought, and had been stuck on after the body had
got cold. Well, if we could get their shoulders right I
should like to have wide and expanded loins. I should
like the tail placed well upon the rump, and well sur-
rounded with mutton ; the backbone should he straight,
but better a little arched than the other way. I should
like to see what I call “ legs of mutton,” deep, full, and
weighty. Then I do not want to see a ram too long
upon the legs, because if he is too long, he cannot
travel. Another great and important point is that
the wool is of the right character, and plenty of it ; and
that you get a skin not blue, but of that nice cherry hue,
that every farmer acquainted with breeding knows must
propagate good stock, and stock which will giaze. . I am
not going to start a theory of my own, but I am going to
ask you to bear with me for a few minutes while I say
how I consider rams ought to be used. We will suppose,
for argument’s sake, that some of those who do bleed

9

B

THE RAMS TO USE.

those very good lambs, and who deserve credit from every
one who grazes, give 7 guineas for one ram, 10 guineas
for a second, and 15 guineas for a third. Well, it is very
proper; I have no doubt they have done wisely in giving
15 guineas. But it comes to this; they turn all the rams
into the flock together. Now let me ask you whether it
is not within the range of possibility, that the 7 guinea
ram should tup the ewe suited to the 15 guinea ram; and
the 15 guinea ram the ewe best suited to the 7 guinea
ram; while the 10 guinea ram perhaps takes his choice
of both ? I hold that after giving those prices for
your rams, the way to get a level crop of lambs is to
select the ewes for the rams. You have got some
ewes with glaring faults which you can see, but which
the 15 guinea ram would materially correct. I will
go to the other extreme. You have got some ewes that
show very well in some points in which the 7 guinea ram
is a little deficient. Now I believe if you were to go upon
the principle of selecting the ewes for the rams you would
he likely to breed a level lot of lambs; because you would
breed them with corrected points, which you could not do
without this system of selection. I am quite aware that
you will tell me that this is a very difficult matter. It is
a difficult matter, even in an enclosed country, and in an
open country you will find it still more difficult. It will
take a great number of hurdles; it will require much
attention ; and altogether involve considerable trouble.
But, gentlemen, let me ask you one thing— what great
success has ever yet been achieved without trouble ?
There is scarcely any limit to the power of man if lie will
but direct his mind to an object, and be determined to
succeed ; and then, as sure as we are here together this

THE RAMS TO USE.

night, so sure will he succeed, and only be surprised that
he looked upon it as difficult at starting.

The object of almost all our cross-breeding is to get
as many lambs as we can; and looking at the prices of
wool, and mutton, and corn, this becomes an important
consideration. My experience tells me that if we want —
(and I will give you some practical instances presently) —
to produce plenty of lambs, and if we desire the single
ones to come strong and healthy, it is very much within
our own control; and it is by these means, which you
should know as well as I do — flush your ewes two or three
weeks before the rams go to them, and continue that for
two or three weeks afterwards. I will answer for the re-
sult. Allow me to give you my own experience last year.
We were rather deficient in early turnips. I tupped
some upon layers; some upon the park, and gave them a
certain quantity of cake; and one lot I put upon turnips,
but they had no cake. We had 25 per cent, more twins
from those on turnips than from those on the new layer,
or from those in the park, which bad had cake.

Now as we do not wish to have failures with our rams,
there are one or two little points upon which it has
occurred to me to speak to you this evening. Rams, in
my opinion, travel a great deal too far on our flock farms.
The principle is. in a great measure, to let the rams run
with the ewes indiscriminately. They run with them into
the fold at night ; they go out with them the next day ;
and they thus travel a considerable distance. I think you
are destroying very much of the ram’s vigour by making
him so much of a traveller. What I advise you to do is
to let the ewes go out to the heath, the fields, or wherever
you think right; but keep the ram at home, and give him

11

THE RAMS TO USE.

a little cake and fresh food. I am quite sure you will be
well repaid by this alteration in the present system.

Again, I believe it to be a most important matter,
when you put the ram with the ewes, to notice how the
ewes are running. If you do not use ochre, how can you
tell when their time has elapsed ? If you go upon the
principle of using red ochre at a certain period, blue
ochre at another period, and yellow ochre afterwards, you
can tell to a certainty how your ewes will lamb ; that is to
say, when you may expect a number of lambs, and when
you may not. I hold it to be a matter of considerable
importance, and I wish that every flockm aster paid atten-
tion to it ; and if you adopt the recommendation of
selecting the ewes to the ram, you will see if the rams are
seasoning your ewes. Here let me ask, if you make it a
rule to examine certain parts of your rams when you buy
them, or before you turn them with your ewes, for depend
upon it, if a certain peculiar construction of their gene-
rative organs, which is, or ought to be, well understood
by every flockmaster or shepherd, is not perfect, they will
never produce a lamb ; and you would thus not only
experience much disappointment, but lose several weeks
of the best part of the season.

Now the last point under this heading is one which
those who have cross -breds will understand better than I
do ; that is— when ought the rams to be put to the ewes?
I think this is a matter which is very much affected by
localities, or by the situation of the farm upon which the
flocks are placed. If a breeder is in an enclosed country;
if he is well provided with spring food, and is well able to
carry along his lambs when they come at an early time,
then the ram may go in by the end of September ; but as

12

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

a general principle, where lambs fall in an open country,
I would certainly advise Michaelmas as the best time,
considering that they would then drop about the ?th of
March, and follow from that time. My experience tells
me that it is not always the forward lambs that make the
heaviest sheep. I will give you an instance. In our own
system of breeding we mark the ears of lambs for the first
month, and after the month has expired we have no mark
at all. In reference to this point, let me tell you a
fact worth relating at a meeting of this kind. At the
last Birmingham exhibition there was one sheep,
which was said to be the largest Southdown shear-
ling ever exhibited at the Birmingham exhibition, of
which you can form an opinion yourselves, when I tell
you that it weighed 17 stones (imperial) live weight.
That wether had no ear mark, proving that he was
one month at least younger than the first lamb which
was dropped. I merely mention this to show you that
Michaelmas day is not a very bad time.

Treatment of Ewes during Pregnancy :
Abortion ; its causes and effects.

We next come to another important subject, and
one which, I think, must claim the attention of every
breeder, that is, “the treatment of ewes during preg-
nancy and “ abortion — its causes and effects.” Every-
one who has a flock of sheep will, I am quite sure, feel a
deep interest in anything that can throw light upon this
subject. I am going to deal wdth it as a plain matter-of-
fact question.

13

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

The first thing, and the most important thing, too,
I think, is the feeding of our sheep. I believe that our
success or failure mainly depends on this. The question
is, — “ How are our ewes to be fed ?” There are two
points which I will put to you lor consideration. Many
of you have been longer in the county, and have had a
great deal more experience than I have, but yet I will ask
you one simple question : — “ Taking it as a general rule,
have you ever seen these two things together in Norfolk,
viz., a good crop of turnips, and a good crop of lambs in
the same year ?" I think you will find, in nine cases out
of ten, that this has not been the case. The simple fact is,
I believe, we are too free in the use of our turnips. There
is another question upon which, however, I do not profess
to give an opinion myself, because my experience has not
carried me to that. It is this “ Is it right to allow the
ewes to follow the hoggets when on turnips ?” that is to
say — “ Is it right to allow the ewes to feed upon the
refuse food of the hoggets ?” My opinion is that it is
not — that it is not only a barbarous custom, but also a
dangerous one. I believe that by placing the ewes to
follow the hoggets, they not only get a great amount of
indigestible food, but that they take up a great amount of
silt, which must act as an irritant to the bowels.

Experience tells me that abortion is probably pro-
duced by two causes, and comes at two periods of the
pregnancy of the ewes. The first time generally happens
between the 25th of December and the 6th of January ;
then, I fancy, it is produced by food that is too stimu-
lating to the generative organs, and which thus acts on
the uterus, and causes it to expel its contents. The next
stage, and I believe the most dangerous one, happens

14

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

about the month of February, and is, I think, pro-
duced by the quantity of indigestible food which the
ewes take up about this time. You have all witnessed
a great amount of fever, which produces an inflamma-
tory action throughout the whole system of the animal,
and abortion is the result. You have it shown to you by
the effect the fever produces afterwards; because at that
time of the year seldom do you get a case of abortion
without the ewe losing its wool, and I would ask in how
many cases its life also ? Now how are we to alter this ?
I hold that it is — I will not say entirely within our own
control ; but if experience is worth anything, and I will
give you that experience, it tells us that it is almost
within our own control. Let me give you one or two
startling facts, and facts that I defy any man to get over.
Up to 1853, the Merton flock of sheep was known to be
as unhealthy, as regards abortion, as any flock of sheep
in the county. In that year, we had something like 1 1 0
cases of abortion, and we lost eighty ewes. I felt that the
time was come when a change was necessary, and that to
go on in that way was stamping those who had the care
of the flock with a want of intelligence, care, and dis-
cretion. I, therefore, entirely altered the system, which
was then in use; and I determined that never again, after
a certain time of the year, should the ewes have another
turnip until nearly the time of the lambing; and the
system I followed out was this : we put our ewes on
turnips for tupping, and kept them on for six weeks ; we
got an abundance of lambs by that means. I brought
them back again on to the park. By taking them off in
the autumn months the grass grew a good deal. There
was a great, amount. of food which would, last them very.

15

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

well in an open season until the end of December or
the beginning of January. Then I gave bran and chaff
until about a fortnight before the time for the first lambs
to fall. I then placed them upon turnips, taking care to
give very few at a time, and with good allowance of chaff.
Now it is a fact, that from that day we have not had a
single case of abortion on the farm, and our average
number of ewes lost has never, up to the present year,
exceeded five.

But there is another point to which I must come —
a point in which all light land farmers will take
great interest. That question is — “ Does clayed land
materially affect the health of the ewe ?” I know the
prevalent opinion is that it does, and probably it may ;
but I say that that is also very much within the control
of the flockmaster himself. I believe that with the
care and intelligence which a person may bring to bear
upon the matter it may be very much controlled;
and I will give you some practical experience upon this
point. I have been told, time after time, that the
“ Waterloo Farm” would kill any sheep — no matter
whether they were hoggets or ewes, or any other sort
of sheep — they could not live upon it; and still more
unhealthy would it be if it was clayed : and as to ewes,
the man would be mad who would attempt to keep them.
Now that farm has been clayed very heavily : it has been
clayed, marled, and chalked. All those three materials)
which are held to be injurious, have been applied,
and what has been the result ? Not that all the sheep
died, but this has occurred. From Michaelmas, 1861,
to Michaelmas, 1862, (the last year we held the farm,
and consequently at a time when we had to feed

16

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

entirely off turnips, grown from artificial manure on clayed
land,) there were on the farm 306 ewes, 340 hoggets, 100
shearlings; and we hred 352 lambs. Between 1861 and
1862, our loss comprised the following: — 5 hoggets, 10
ewes, 3 shearlings, and 3 lambs ; total 21 lost, out
of 1,098 sheep, including lambs, and not a single case
of abortion. But I am happy to say that this “good
luck,” as it is called, did not end with the occupation of
Lord Walsingham. Through the kindness and fairness
ol our excellent tenant, Mr. Bunting, I am enabled to give
you the result of his experience for the past year. He
had 300 ewes upon his farm last year, and he had not a
single case of abortion; his loss of ewes was only five.’'
I think that is a certain proof that, under judicious
treatment, with proper feeding, the virulence of clayed
land may be very much mitigated. But it is right to say
upon what principle we went. I dont give it you as a
new light; I only give the experience of myself and others.
I do not attempt to push it down your throats as an
original idea, for I have no doubt it has been bonowed
from some other person. We gave only a limited amount
of turnips; but a large amount of dry food, and some bran;
and to that system I attribute the little loss we had. I
hold that upon newly clayed land the evil effects upon
breeding animals is produced very much by luxuriance
in the growth of the turnips, and by their containing so
much matter that is indigestible by the ewe; and when
there is no correcting influence, inflammation is por-
duced, and hence abortion.

* It is worthy of remark that Mr. Bunting lias lost only ono ewe since
May, 1863. He has had 350 ewes on the farm since Michaelmas last, and
up to this day, (February L7tli, 18G4,) there luts not been a single case of

TREATMENT OF EWES LURING PREGNANCY.

I have now got through the treatment of ewes during
pregnancy; and I only trust that I have made myself
intelligible upon that point, and given you some facts
worthy of your consideration.

I would here call your attention to a matter that
requires your serious consideration, and that is with
respect to shepherds’ dogs. Is it right that they should
be allowed to run about where breeding ewes are,
frequently disturbing and often alarming them ? I
believe the evil is often more serious than we are aware
of, or would bo willing to acknowledge. Some shepherds
know how to use dogs, but with them it requires care :
but how is it with a careless lazy fellow, having a wild
and badly trained dog ? And then, again, with feeding
or fat sheep, dogs are not required at all. Quietude is
what all fatting animals require; and this I am sure they
do not get where dogs are prowling about.

The next thing is the treatment of the ewes during
the lambing season. This, I think, you will all admit is
a very important matter for our consideration ; because
it is one in which every man who has a flock of ewes
must feel great interest.

I believe that to keep them healthy up to the day of
lambing you must not limit the supply of dry food. Go
on with it : don’t be afraid of spending an extra £5 for a
ton of bran ; for I trust the millers will one day be allowed
ly the cake-makers to get it down to that price.

One thing has struck me in the large flocks of Norfolk,
and that is the little care that appears to be shown, or
rather felt to be desirable, for the protection of the lambs.
In large flocks the shepherd is frequently over-worked ;
the lambs are often dropped in very severe weather; there

18

TREATMENT OF EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

is very little protection for them ; there may perhaps be
15, or 20, or 30 pens; but there are not pens enough; and
I have seen a great many lambs perish from this cause.
Now it is of great importance to every flockmaster,
whether great or small, to prepare a yard for his ewes.
It is not necessary to have them in yards on a mild and
fine night; hut you should have a good and well shel-
tered yard, abundantly supplied with pens ; and then
you can put your flocks in it, if the night becomes a
a bad one; because I feel quite sure, and I have proved
it by my own experience, that any little outlay upon this
matter is well repaid by the number of lives of lambs
saved.*

Then there is another matter which I put to you who
are flockmasters, and which I ask you to be good enough
to consider, viz., whether there are not — I will not say
through the carelessness, because it is an unkind word to
apply to a most useful class of men — but through almost
the anxiety of our shepherds, many ewes and lambs
perish ? Generally, unless the man is experienced and
well up to his work, he causes the deaths of many lambs
and ewes by injudicious haste. There can be no ques-
tion whatever that nature is the grandest nurse and the
surest doctor; therefore my opinion is, that you should
let nature do its own work. When the ewes are lambing,
do not be in too much haste. Watch them; but give
them time and they will right themselves : and never have
recourse to the use of the hand until you see that the ewe

* I have proved that a good yard, with 60 well covered pens, maybe
put up at a cost of (in the first instance) not exceeding <£11, and if properly
taken care of, when the lambing season is over, will last for several years.
It may be put up again on any part of a farm at a cost of not exceeding £3.

19

TREATMENT OE’ EWES DURING PREGNANCY.

lias given up using her own efforts, and appears nearly
exhausted.

There is another matter which is no doubt well
known; but which to make my subject tolerably perfect it
is right to go into, viz., inflammation, which frequently
follows lambing. You have seen it scores of times no
doubt. After about three days, some of the ewes will
begin to strain and droop, showing that a violent inflam-
mation of the uterus is going on. Now our practice has
been this, and you are able to judge for yourselves how far
our practice is worthy of being followed by the figures I
have given you — we have immediately and frequently
bathed the ewe with warm water; and afterwards we often
have used injections made from poppy heads, as well as
a copious supply of Day, Son, and Hewitt’s Chemical
Extract of Driffield Oils, which I believe to be one of
the most valuable farmers’ friends yet brought out. After
that we give three ounces of Epsom salts, two tea-
spoonfuls of sweet spirits of nitre, and two teaspoon-
fuls of laudanum. In many cases this has been success-
ful in saving the life of the ewe.

There is another thing which deserves to be spoken
of as it affects not only the health but the life of
the ewe, and frequently of the lamb also,— the garget,
with which you are too well acquainted. We all
know that this is produced by cold. Now our practice
has been a very successful one. If it is the black garget,
our shepherd, who I am happy to say always does as he
is told, lances the udder very freely, applies common salt
very copiously, and rubs it well all over the udder. After
doing that, he turns the ewe and bleeds her from the
large vein running up the centre of the belly, and very

20

TREATMENT OF F.WES DURING PREGNANCY.

freely. He closes tlie orifice by a pin and a little tow
(as you would in the case of a horse), and gives at
once half an ounce of jalap, and half an ounce of alum
in half a pint of beer. In most cases he is successful,
not only in restoring the ewe, hut occasionally, though
of course very rarely, in retaining the value and perfec-
tion of the udder also. You know other gargets are often
shown you by the hardness of the udder. In that case we
do not scarify the surface of the udder ; it is not necessary :
we give the ewe medicine, and bleed; but we think it
would be highly improper, and would produce no good
effect, to scarify the udder.

In speaking on this subject, there is one other
matter which will not be out of place, viz., the im-
portance and the value of a good shepherd. A good
shepherd is one of the most important servants; a man
who, if he is really a good man, deserves greater con-
sideration than any other man employed upon the
farm. How much property has that man under his care?
How much do we lose if he is a careless shepherd ? How
much do we save if he is a careful and judicious one ? I
will not blame the system, but I have often thought that
in the annual migration of shepherds there must be some-
thing wrong; because it keeps men in a state of not
knowing what they are going to do — whether they are
going to leave their place, or whether they are to stay.
If you get a good shepherd value him, and teach him that
his place is worth keeping ; pay him well and keep him
upon the farm; do not let him, as soon as he knows what
to do and what not to do, be moving about and endea-
vouring to find a better place ; but make him feel, that to
be a good servant, he must do his duty, and that you will

21

MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS.

reward him for doing it. Again, in the lambing season,
I think that more is expected of a shepherd than a man
can do. A man’s strength cannot bear more than a
certain amount of labour and want of sleep. Frequently
a farmer has only one shepherd, with, perhaps, a page to
attend to a large flock of breeding ewes. The shepherd
desires to do his duty, but he becomes worn out by sitting
up night after night. He cannot attend to the ewes as
he ought to do. Many a lamb has perished, not from
the fault of the shepherd, but because he had more to do
than should have been expected of him.

Managagement of Lambs, when on the Ewes,
and when Weaned.

The next head to discuss is the management of
lambs, when on the ewes and when weaned. I know very
well the delicacy with which I ought to introduce this
subject, because I am speaking in the presence of men of
large experience, men who are well able to judge for
themselves, quid who require but a very few remarks from
me upon a matter of this kind ; but there is no harm in
giving my own experience.

I believe that the first and most important thing to
do is to feed the ewes well, so that they can do their
duty as mothers, for nothing can be worse, nothing can
propagate more disease and more weakness in lambs,
than not to keep the ewes well, at a time when they
ought to feed their lambs. We have frequently found,
after about the third day, the lambs of some mothers are

22

'MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS.

troubled with a certain kind of diarrhoea. A kind of
whitish excrement comes from them, which has a very
disagreeable smell. This is clearly produced by undi-
gested milk, which, if not soon removed from ’the bowels,
will produce an amount of irritation that will end in
death. We give at once two teaspoonsfuls of castor oil,
a teaspoonful of gingef, and one of magnesia; the object
being to carry off the irritation, but at the same time to
cool and quiet the stomach. If that does not act in the
way we desire in staying the diarrhoea, we give ten grains
of powdered chalk, half a drachm of tincture of rhubarb,
and ten drops of laudanum, which rarely fails to produce
the desired result.

I am sure you don’t want me to tell you, that the
way to grow good lambs is to take good care of your
ewes. In the first place, get good layers, and then fold
the ewes; give them mangold and cake, and let the
lambs run out. Of course the more cake you give the
ewes, the more grateful both the ewes and the lambs
will be for it.

Then another little thing is tailing the lambs. It
is a simple operation, but if performed at an improper
season, it often produces very unfavourable results. If
a coarse night follows the tailing and cutting, with the
wind in the north or the east, the lambs are liable to
suffer. Our experience has told us that the best time for
this is when the lamb is about two or three weeks old.
We of course select a nice warm day, with a south wind,
if possible, and we watch them very carefully at night. If
we find any getting stiff, or lying about more than they
ought to do, we take every means to make their blood
circulate freely, and this generally sets them right.

23

TREATMENT OF HOGGETS.

Hoggets : their Treatment from July
to Michaelmas.

I now come to tlie sixth heading, which is the
treatment of hoggets from July to Michaelmas. It will,
perhaps, he unnecessary for me to say that a frequent
change of pasture is desirable. We have always found
that to give bran with cake has done more towards the
growing our hoggets successfully up to the time when we
wish them to be put on to the turnips than anything
else ; in fact, it keeps them healthy. In other things we
have bought experience once or twice rather dearly. By
too suddenly flushing our hoggets with too much highly
stimulating food, we have produced a great amount of
fever ; but when we have done so, we use a remedy,
which has very much corrected it. We give to each
the decoction of half an ounce of senna leaves and
an ounce of Epsom salts, frequently followed by a second
dose in the course of a fortnight. We have rarely failed
to carry off the fever, and our hoggets go on satisfactorily
afterwards. I believe it also to be very important to dip
our lambs in July or August.

I have tried most of the compositions of note which
have come under my notice, and I have no hesitation
whatever in saying that I have found none so good for
ticks or lice, or any other insect that can affect a sheep,
as the composition by Allen, of Lynn.

The Treatment of Hoggets on Turnips.

Of course we always take great care to give our
hoggets turnips on the pastures for some three weeks,

24

TJIE TREATMENT OF HOGGETS.

and they have even gone on as long as a month before
putting them wholly on turnips ; and I have found that
they do not then suffer.

I will now give you the experience of myself and
others as to hoggets fed upon clayed land. This year we
have 320 ewe hoggets feeding upon clayed land, clayed
at the rate of something like 100 loads per acre; they
are in the same field that they have been in ever since
Michaelmas. I state it as a fact, that never since those
ewe lambs have been fed on those turnips has one of
them ailed anything; and they have very much improved
in condition and appearance, and have been very much
admired. They have in addition to ground white turnips,
half a pound of cake per sheep per day, and we give
them a little long hay in racks. I must tell you that
the land used to be light-blowing sand, but I hope its
blowing is stopped now.

In the feeding of hoggets, I have found another
plan, during the last two or three years, to be of the
greatest importance — always to give a little chaff
with the cake. We have found that it has prevented
any tendency to diarrhoea, or running out. I know
it was the practice of the late Mr. Jonas Webb to
do so. He used to say, “How would you, sir, like to
be fed on a piece of roast beef day after day, and no
vegetables or bread with it?” He held that the chaff
was the bread or vegetables to the cake, and consequently
that the animal not only ate it with a relish, but that
it acted upon the bowels in staying somewhat the
laxative effect of the- turnips. In feeding turnips with
hoggets or with any sheep, and where the sheep cut their
own turnips, it is well known how important it is to give

25

D

THE TREATMENT OF HOGGETS.

plenty of hurdle room for the sheep to fall back. It ap-
pears as -though the sheep have an instinctive knowledge
that it is good for them to eat up the old, dry, and
withered turnips in the afternoon, to correct the eflect
the fresh turnips eaten in the morning might have on
their bowels.

When hoggets or any fatting sheep are being fed on
common turnips, and it is intended to give them swedes,
I believe it would save the lives of scores of sheep if gra-
ziers made it a rule to cart a few swedes, to be mixed
with the common turnips for a week or two before the
sheep are put wholly on the swedes. The stomach and
system of the animal would then get accustomed to the
swedes, and would not feel the change so much, nor be so
liable to suffer from indigestion and inflammation, which
so often ensue when hoggets are first put on them.

Then, again, I believe it to be of the greatest import-
ance that if swedes have been clamped or ploughed in to
protect them from frost, they should be exposed to the air
for some time before they are given to the sheep, for I
have always found that when they are somewhat withered
or dried by exposure, the sheep do much better than when
they are given fresh from the heaps, or from the soil. It
will probably be said that in frosty weather this would be
difficult, which I admit, but the heaps could be uncovered
on a fine day, and again covered with straw at night. If
the swedes are standing as they grow, I would, in that
case, have them pulled several days before they are re-
quired. I have always found that swedes and mangold
wurzel have more effect on the bladder than common
turnips, and are more liable to cause inflammation and
stoppage of water when the sheep are in high condition.

20

\

the treatment of hoggets.

I have found that a little quiet gentle exercise, such as
driving them round the fold, has a most beneficial effect
in preventing this. If done quietly, and at regular times,
the animals will soon get accustomed to it and not suffer
as regards fattening.

Now there is one matter of interest in this part of my
subject, viz., cotton cake. I am not able to give you any
information on this subject with respect to hoggets, hut
from what little experience I have had myself, in giving
cotton cake to Down ewes, I have determined never to
give another pound of it so long as I have to do with
sheep. Its effect upon the sheep was that of a powerful
irritant upon the surface of the skin ; 17 ewes lost the
greater part of the wool off their fore -quarters, and imme-
diately I withdrew the supply of the so-called cotton cake,
the irritation ceased. My brother, who has the manage-
ment of the Duke of Portlands model farm at Clipstone
Park, says that his experience tells him, that the same
value of linseed cake is far more useful and valuable than
cotton cake. The butchers have told him that the mut-
ton produced upon cotton cake is more yellow than that
produced from linseed cake, and consequently not so
saleable.

I may here mention, when speaking of feeding sheep >
that we have found that when some of our animals were
being forced rather sharply, they began to show symptoms
of crying out “ Hold hard,” having had enough; w r e then
bled them very severely indeed. I will give you a fact
connected with this bleeding, which occurred to me.
Within the last fortnight, we had a lot of sheep in such a
condition that w r e were almost frightened. We found
one dead ; the consequence was that we immediately

27

WHETHER MOST PROFITABLE TO SELL

bled the others so sharply, that many of them could
scarcely stand. The result has been that we have not
lost a single sheep since, nor has one of them ailed any-
thing. I believe the cause of death in that one sheep
was apoplexy. By copious bleeding we removed the
cause, and saved the lives of our valuable sheep.

Whether most Profitable to Sell in or
out of the Wool.

The next and the last point is a very important
matter, viz., as to whether it is most profitable to
sell hoggets in or out of their wool. This is a very
simple question, and one which comes within the know-
ledge of every farmer. The answer must depend upon
localities and circumstances. If a man has got a lot of
sheep which are fairly ripe, which will come out of their
wool and handle well, and show plenty of mutton, and that
of the right quality, then I say, “ By every possible means
clip them.” But if it is doubtful how your hoggets will
come out of their fleeces — if there is something about
them that makes a man doubtful whether they are quite
up in condition — then I think prudence says, “ Don’t clip
them.” We don’t want to enter into the mystery of these
matters further than this. Feed also will regulate this
matter. If a man sees that his hoggets are not quite up
to the mark, if he has got plenty of mangold, and can
carry them on his layers for a few weeks or months, and
make them ripe, it may be advisable to keep them.
However, I believe that every farmer is the best judge as

28

IN OK OUT OF THE WOOL.

to whether he should sell his sheep in or out of their
wool.

I have now gone through the heads of my subject,
but in conclusion I would beg to notice one matter
connected with successful sheep farming, and that is the
disease of the feet. What can be more ruinous to the
condition of a sheep, or more disgraceful in the manage-
ment of a flock, than to see a lot of animals limping
about, and many feeding while kneeling? I believe that
the treatment of this disease, like many other things, is
left too much in the hands of shepherds, who frequently
don’t know their business. There are few shepherds who
will not say they know the “ best remedy in the world."
The master often willingly enough believes this, and lets
them go on in their own prejudiced, and often ignorant
way, and thus a kind of “ mysterious” treatment is kept in
a shepherd’s family for generations. If this treatment
was looked into, it would be found that it consisted of
blue vitriol, oil of vitriol, verdigris, buttyr of antimony, and
the like burning ingredients. The usual practice is “ cut
and burn ” — “ cut and burn” which frequently checks the
development of the disease in one part of the foot, but
drives it into another ; punishing the poor animal most
unnecessarily. I have frequently seen sheep so affected
by the burning practice as never to recover from it. Now
I determined to adopt a plan for our shepherds to follow,
and this has been practised with the greatest success for
several years. As soon as a sheep is seen to be lame (if
the lameness is not caused by any simple thing easily re-
moved) it is separated from the lot with which it was
feeding, and placed so as to be handy for treatment. It
is then given 3 oz. of Epsom salts and 1 oz. of sulphur

29

WHETHER MOST PROFITABLE TO SELL IN OR OUT OF THE WOOL.

(which close is repeated in four or five days if necessary) to
bring the system into a state for the feet to be cured by
local treatment. The affected feet are carefully pared and
put into a linseed, or boiled turnip poultice, which is
changed every day until it is seen that the disease is for-
ward enough for the “ burning remedy ,” which has seldom
to be applied more than twice. By these means the feet
are got into a healthy state without so much lowering the
system and condition of the animal, and quicker than by
the shepherd’s usual violent treatment.

The object of a meeting of this kind is to provoke
discussion. I trust I have thrown out material enough
to answer that purpose ; and I also trust no one will
have any hesitation in attacking my weak points. I do
not pretend to be infallible, and I shall be really glad to
hear any objection that may be brought against what I
have so imperfectly brought before you.

30

. THE TREATMENT OF EWES.

In Bell's Weekly Messenger, of the 25th of January,
appeared the following letter : —

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — All flockmasters ought to be very thankful to Mr.
Woods for his practical address upon the breeding and rearing
of sheep. I have not the slightest doubt that a considerable
amount of property would be saved if the “ treatment of ewes
during pregnancy,” as recommended by Mr. Woods, was gene-
rally adopted. A free discussion, and an attack upon any weak
part of the address, is invited by Mr. Woods. Therefore, being
a member of the Royal Veterinary College, and also having had
some experience with my own ewes, I hope you will allow me to
point out what I consider to be the weak part of the address,
viz., the “ treatment of ewes during the lambing season.” There
is no doubt that many ewes and lambs are lost by injudicious
haste. Nature will do everything (or nearly so) when the lamb
is in its proper position ; but if you “watch them, give them
time to right themselves, and never have recourse to the use of
the hand until you see that the ewe has given up using her own
efforts, and she becomes exhausted,” you are then waiting too
long. If the lamb is not in a position for a natural delivery,
nature will never right itself, and the efforts of the ewe will make
the delivery more difficult. The symptoms of a preternatural
labour in the ewe are occasional pains ; very often there is no
presentation. If this continue for half an hour, examine the
ewe. If the head and feet can be felt, let nature alone ; if not,
the sooner the lamb is put into a position for delivery the better
chance there will be for the life of both ewe and lamb. Inflam-
mation of the uterus is a very fatal disease in ewes, and one to
which that animal is greatly prone ; it becomes us to be guarded
against it as much as possible ; therefore, in all cases of difficult
labour, give, directly after the act is accomplished, ^ oz. laudanum
in oatmeal gruel, with treacle added; and never, under any

31

THE TREATMENT OF EWES.

circumstances, allow your shepherd to use hot oils, generally
containing turpentine, &c. What can be more unreasonable
than to apply a hot application to a part already in a state of
great irritability ? I have not the slightest doubt that the free
use of these, “ to beep out the cold,” has caused the death of
many a ewe. In natural, as well as in preternatural labour, give
your ewes bran and cut hay, and a cabbage or two for the first
thirty-six hours after delivery. By adopting this treatment, I
have seldom a case of inflammation of the uterus in my own
ewes. The first symptoms of inflammation of the uterus is
straining, accompanied with a dejected countenance; give
directly, -J oz. laudanum, and 4 oz. linseed or castor oil, con-
taining l oz. laudanum in oatmeal gruel, with treacle added,
every three hours as long as the straining continues. Take from
i to f pint of blood from the abdominal or jugular veins.
Foment the soft part of the body with hot water (first clipping
off the wool) ; directly afterwards apply a hot mustard plaster,
and gently introduce with the finger, into the vagina, a small
piece of belladonna and pork lard, mixed in equal parts.

Mr. Woods gave some very useful advice upon the treat-
ment of inflammation of the udder, but I cannot understand the
utility of alum and jalap combined, being internally administered
in such cases; alum, being a restringent, would undo what the
jalap is intended to do. In all cases where a strong aperient
is necessary (as it is in inflammation of the udder), give from
two to three oz. of Epsom salts, and ^ oz. ginger ; and where
fever is present from J to J oz. of sp. nit. ether in gruel. Let
me observe, that the doses of medicine recommended I give to
my own ewes, which are large Hampshire Downs ; therefore
they must be varied according to the size and condition of the
patient.

The cause of diarrhoea in lambs, and the treatment for it,
are very ably explained by Mr. Woods. I know of no better.

I am, Sir, yours obediently,

Bale, Jan. 20th, 1864. John Hammond.

32

THE TREATMENT OF EWES.

To this the following answer was sent: —

Sir, — I beg to offer my best thanks to Mr. Hammond for
his very courteous and sensible letter printed in the Messenger
of the 25 th inst.

I am not vain enough of my own knowledge to suppose that
I can with any chance of success enter into an argument on the
parturition of ewes with a member of that profession, which
contains in its ranks many scientific and able men ; but “ facts
are stubborn things,” and with these I only dealt in my remarks
at Watton. I am sure Mr. Hammond will readily admit that a
practice that has proved so eminently successful on a large scale,
cannot be a bad one to follow, or dangerous to recommend to
others. I most fully agree with Mr. Hammond that when it is
discovered that a lamb is not in a position for natural delivery,
it is well to attend to it and put it right ; but practice has told
me, and those of far greater experience than myself, that a much
longer time than half-an-hour or an hour should be allowed after
the first appearance of pain before making an examination with
the hand. The parts of the ewe could not by any possible law of
nature have adapted themselves in so short a time to admit of its
being done without great pain and misery to the animal, nor
without considerable risk. I have seen this attempted at an early
stage with lamentable results, and on the other hand I have seen
the best results follow the plan of waiting a reasonable time,
until there was a natural dilatation of the parts before the
attempt was made. The practised eye of an observant and in-
telligent shepherd will tell, in nine cases out of ten, by the work-
ing and appearance of the ewe, whether the lamb is properly
placed or not. I have seen ewes show symptoms of lambing for
twelve or fourteen hours, and these have generally done well
and suffered little from after weakness, provided they were in
fair condition before lambing.

Mr. Hammond’s remarks about not letting shepherds use “ hot
oils ” to ewes after lambing, are well worth the attention of every
sheep breeder. The oils I named were “Hay, Son, and Hewitt’s

33

E

THE TREATMENT OF EWES

Chemical Extract of Driffield Oils and my experience tells me,
that if they are properly used, they certainly do not come under
the head of c: hot oils.” I find them soothing, healing, and pos-
sessing no irritating properties. Several years ago I induced the
late old shepherd on the Merton Home farm (a man of great ex-
perience and strong prejudices) to try them for his ewes, against
those he had previously used, which he reluctantly consented to
do. Before half his ewes had lambed he desired me to keep a
stock on hand, declaring they were better than anything he had
ever used before, and that they were worth a guinea a bottle. I
have had them used from that time, and our present shepherd —
the son of the old man named above — values them as much as his
father did.

Mr. Hammond’s advice as to giving bran, cut hay, and
cabbage for 36 hours after lambing, and the treatment he recom-
mends for inflammation of the uterus, I consider very sound and
practical, and well deserving the attention of every flockmaster.

In cases of inflammation of the udder, my object in giving-
alum with jalap is, that the former shall act as a restringent on
the milk (which I have proved it does most effectually), while
the latter acts quickly on the bowels. I have tried jalap alone,
and Epsom salts with ginger, but I have never found the same
marked and rapid effect as I have from a combination of alum
and jalap ; therefore I adhere to a plan that has proved so
thoroughly satisfactory for many years.

In making these remarks, I wish it to be understood that,
while giving my own experience, I do not by any means depre-
cate the general treatment recommended by Mr. Hammond ; for
although personally unknown to me, I have heard of him as a
skilful man in his profession, and as a breeder of some of the
best cross-bred lambs in the eastern counties.

1 am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Henry Woods.

Merton, Thetford, .Jan 29, 1864.

34

SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Date of Issue