In response to a request, I am giving a few ideas on fitting a show flock. Let me first say that all breeds of sheep do not respond to the same care, and almost everyone has different feeds and methods of handling sheep, so the following article may stand to be revised or modified to suit varied conditions.

There are two main reasons for showing sheep and these apply to the man who shows sheep as a means of making money without regard to promoting any particular breed or to stimulate interest in the industry, but just simply to get the money. Then there is the breeder who has spent much money in establishing his flock under scientific methods and who wishes to impress on the public that he had a good breed and is really anxious to exhibit his sheep in competition with other breeders and, if possible, prove his methods under another man's judgement. This brings out the real sportman's spirit. The latter type of showman is to be commended as he is chiefly interested in showing his sheep. The prize money is a second consideration with him. However, if he has the proper type for his breed and they are properly fitted, he will also receive financial compensation for his labor and knowledge as a real breeder.

As the growth and development of the lamb crop is the most important part of sheep breeding, let us start with fitting lambs for the show ring. Of course, the first step takes place in the fall when the proper ram is mated to the right kind of ewes to raise lambs of the proper breed type and body conformation. Then the ewes must have the proper care to give birth to strong lambs and nourish them with plenty of milk. The lambs should be fed generously in a creep, and care should be taken to not feed heavy, fattening foods unless the lambs are intended for early commercial markets. Lambs utilized for breeders should be fed liberally on oats supplemented with bran, pea-size oil cake, and a little cracked corn, and all of the best fine alfalfa hay they can eat. The ewes must also be fed for milk production. When the sheep go to pasture, the ewes and lambs should have a good field of grass with as much clover as possible, as this is the period when the cheapest gains can be made, and the future of the lamb flock depends on the care they get from May 1 to July 1. At this time the lambs can generally be weaned and put on some good clover pasture by themselves. Peas, oats or rape also make splendid temporary pasture. After three weeks of this feed the show lambs should be selected and put in the barn during the day and fed some good alfalfa hay and a little grain. The writer never makes a practice of feeding grain from the time the ewes and lambs go on pasture until the lambs are selected for show in July. Grain should be fed sparingly until the lambs are well used to it, and they should have good green feed to run in at night. About August 1 the lambs should be on a full diet and there should be a small patch of rape handy to the barn so that it can be cut and fed to the lambs in the barn during the day. This keeps them cool and keeps them growing.

Lambs should never be forced with heavy grain feeding during the hot weather. The writer prefers to develop the lambs as near natural condition as possible. It is better to have them healthy and well developed than to fat and lose half of them. Under these conditions a lamb properly bred should have a back well covered with muscle and ready to take heavier feed during the cool fall months when he may be fitted to perfection without any fear of spoiling him for future breeders. Lambs which show a tendency to have a bare back, i.e., when the backbone is always prominent, are not bred right and all the feed in the world will never make them into show lambs. Breeding is just as important as feeding in the show business.

It is good policy to give your entire lamb crop the best possible opportunities, and not just your show lambs. Give your lambs the same chance to grow and develop the first year as you would your own family, and while it takes a little effort you will be more than amply repaid when you go out in your pasture the following summer and find that your yearlings are all good enough to show with just a little extra feed and some work with the shears and cards. There is little credit due any showman who can go out and buy yearlings from a flock that has been well handled the previous year, as it is a simple matter to get show material and fit them. My policy has always been to grow the lambs the first year and cull them carefully, and the second year all they have to do is develop. I seldom fit yearlings that have not been shown the previous year as they might get too fat for breeders, but instead select some good yearlings that have developed naturally. They are not so likely to go soft. Keep your sheep healthy and let them get their feed direct from the soil as much as possible, and keep the soil well limed.

Sheep intended for show should be sheared about March 1 and dipped about the last of May. This cools their skins and gives the wool a clean, bright appearance. Sometime in June their backs should be clipped down level and tails trimmed so that they look straight and blocky. Later, about August 1, they can be cleaned all over with a brush, curry-combed, and their wool carded out. Then with a pair of sharp shears they may be blocked out a little better and trimmed smooth all over. See that their feet are trimmed so they walk well and stand up straight. About a week before show time they may be trimmed all over again, and light blankets put on. This will keep their fleeces compact and clean. Too much carding on the fleece has a tendency to make it soft and light to the touch, when it should appear dense. Sheep that have not been dipped have more oil on their fleeces than sheep that have been dipped, and during the early shows may show to better advantage. AS time goes on, however, the sheep that have been dipped will thrive better and the fleece will have more life. It is not natural for sheep to have oily fleeces for the early shows, and competent judges should consider this difference between sheep which have been dipped than those not dipped.

The writer does not approve of keeping sheep in the barn twelve months of the year for show purposes. Sheep fitted in this manner are absolutely worthless from a breeder's standpoint, and this practice should be discouraged. Furthermore, I have always bred all my yearling ewes and find that good ewes can raise lambs and will make a good showing. Ewes over two years which can win in a showing should be raising lambs, and not be forced into worthless animals by heavy feeding for show. Sheep intended for show should be kept dry at all times and never permitted to be out in a rain. They should be out at night in clean yards where they may have access to good green feed. Sheep kept in barns at night will keep their wool in better condition for show, but where they are allowed to run out they feel better and are always more active and make better breeders.

I have noticed men showing winning sheep at the fairs but they had no sheep at home like the ones they showed. This kind of advertising generally spells failure for the man who pretends to be a breeder. I have been asked to write about fitting show sheep but I would sooner write on breeding show sheep as this latter expression always sounds better to me. If you really breed show sheep and give them proper feed and care they will fit themselves; but if you just feed and don't breed it is a rather discouraging proposition in many ways, and winners come few and far between.

The man who has mastered the art of breeding good sheep but unfortunately is not able to put them in the show ring in first-class shape does not require so much sympathy as one might think. The trained eye can see the real value in those sheep and "If a man can build a better mouse-trap than his neighbor the world will track a beaten path to his door." So, in conclusion, let me say that there are really just two factors in fitting show sheep. They are: Breed right and feed right. Never waste feed on a sheep with a visible defect, but if you have a really good animal a little work with shears, brush, wool cards and a little water will improve his looks immensely.

If you feel proud enough to show your winners to your friends at the state fair, make sure that you will get just as much kick out of showing them your breeding flock back on the farm. This is the real test of a breeder and exhibitor.