Do not gather new-born lambs during snow or rain storms when they are
in good shelter. It is always best, where possible, to leave the
new-born lambs where they drop the first 12 to 24 hours. This can be
done--where you have them in good enough shelter for the night--by
rounding up the outside of the day's drop just a little, then place a
tepee with a lantern in it in the center of the bunch, a few
firecrackers, with here and there a scarecrow around the outer sides, or
have a man sleep near them to keep off coyotes. The ewes will generally
bunch themselves by moving up around the tepee during the night. If they
must be moved to shelter, or for other reasons, let the men start to
move the oldest of the day's drop of lambs as soon as the droppers start
back toward camp or water in the afternoon, always moving the oldest to
the youngest when convenient to do so. Do not allow anyone to move lambs
when wet or too young, unless it is necessary to put them into shelter.
In that case, try to move them before the storm, rather than after they
become wet. New-born lambs still wet, or having become wet by storm,
rubbing together, sometimes change their scent, so that quite a number
of their mothers become suspicious of them and will not allow them to
suck until they become dried, before which time they may die. We have
also on several occasions seen ewes become skeptical of their lamb after
having cleaned it, simply because the lamb had come in contact with the
cleanings of other ewes.
When it is necessary to move new-born lambs, move them slowly and gently
to the nearest good shelter. In no case is it advisable to carry lambs
around in gunny-sack-full lots. By so doing you are likely to "bum" more
lambs than you save. Tie or pen all ewes that do not own their lambs
until they do own them. Be sure you are putting THEIR lambs with them.
When you have placed the day's drop in good shelter, when you are most
sure they are well protected from predatory animals, let them remain
quiet for the night. The next morning have someone move them to water.
Mix them, when you have to, according to the "table" of these rules. Do
not rush the bunches together; get them close to one another, then let
them mix themselves. Watch the badger holes. Lambs generally crawl into
holes during the cool of night, in hot, sunny days, and during cold,
rainy weather.
MIXING TO MAKE UP HERDS.
It is always best to have your two-year-old ewes mixed with the older
ewes during their first lambing. However, this should be given
consideration in the mixing of the young lambs, of which the following
table will give you a very good idea. Do not drop more at any one place
than the table allows. Should the drop be heavier than this during the
night hours, cut the drop band in two for a few days. In the following
table we count ewes only, and it is always best for your per cent to
have less if it is convenient to keep them apart longer:
_The Table._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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