Part 2

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

End of Project Gutenberg's Total Per Cent Lambing Rules, by Thomas Boylan