THE EWE FLOCK.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1311, 14 December 1911, Page 8

THE EWE FLOCK.

".TWINNING QUESTION '-DISCUSSED. .'' .Discussing,'the twinning .question in an ' article oil t lie ewe.Hock, t'.ie "Live Slock Journal" says'it appears to bo. the nature.ot' sheep.to prqiiuee twins, and there .is a, natural dcsire'on tlic part of their owners :to sets' as. large a number of, lambs-,as possible. , Eves bccomo more prolific as they grow older, and Iwo--tootli'owes ol'ten produce singles. The case, seems to be as follows—tlml; twins .are born smaller, and' continue smaller ' fhnn single lambs; that they Itv the ewes more, eat a double allowance of lood, and fetcli, ' eis money when sold. .Also a greater number of twins die than of singles, in which case it would have been lietter to have secured one strong/lamb 'than "a feeble couple.' .; . . '.Twins are useful for dividing, in order to give a lamb to a ewe that has had a dead lamb, or has lost it after lambing. Experiments •'■ arc-.being made in order to increase the ■proportion of twins, by breeding, only from'twins on both sides, and this- method's, quite'likely to succeed. . It, however, . savours, somewhat of amateurishness, for, ■ according fo other .precedents'it would be ■a- long' timo before such a' system -of breeding could be relied lipon. There are othsSr ways of promoting the .birth -of twins, but it is possible 'to have too many of them. When ewes aro in fresh condition they are likely to conceive twins, aiid tho golden rule appears to be to ..flush" them beforo mating, and to remove .them on .to'poor.keep as soon as they are ; marked. .. This prevents "turning,"' for /it- : owes.aro kept on forcing-food, or grazed on wheat stubbles - especially, they are - liable' to turn. This is; the - best way to sreure "twins, I '. but the. season is.an im- ; portant factor. In some years there is ageneral' paucity 'of twins, and a short ci'.on of lambs,, while -in others... everybody's ewes produce double couples. As, however, conception- is an immediate event, and must' be determined '.within" a ■few. hours after coition,',it seems fairly ccrUiiii that the/number of twins.must ba ifixed at an extremely .early . period , of. gestation..'.; It is probably connected with the condition.of the ewes and the abun;'dance of food; but it also depends uponi tlie ranis'.' It is desirable to use a suffi/cient number of sires—not less than one . rov sixty 'ewes. In close .countries- a rain t will .serve"■ more ewes'than on open or. /hilly . grazings where the flock "is scal-p-teed. Rams ought also to be often changed and.rested, and kept up in con-', i di'tion; and -if..they and the owes are ill ; strong and ' healthy condition,- .twins, are.! the .natural,,result, and{will predominate ;<iVer singles;- It is not so ; much Hie niim-; , ber of twins.actually born as the number 'SnVe'd which makes, a satisfactory fall I .. of. ianibs:.: ':T»sses.:occur at 'birth, and lambs continue'.to,. drop olf; froin scour rand .'accident, far into .spring.', .and . for : th-9.se reasons 'competitions between shep- \ herds foi. the greatest number of Jambs ,reared are,not. decided until'the lambs are several weeks old. It-is-these casual- • ties that have given rise to the statement /so. often made, that if-there is one lamb /weaned ;for "every ewe. turned out' ilie (.previous autumn there.is no very serious (cause for,-disappointment. This takes ;into account-barren ewes;'deaths; "slip-' ners," and. stillborn lambs,: as well, as '[lambs which, die between ' yeaning, -and Iwoanins;,-,which often amounts to,a coit!sulerable;hiimber.'. On the other hand, a J flock'mast?r;'who- can boast of -100 lambs iqver the' : number of ewes orisnnally turnled out-'in a-flock-of 500 or 600 ewes has '■certainly 'done,'vory well, and deserves /'congratulations! . - I ,'' ; 1•" 1 .. .