Question:
How do I figure what my sheep will weight by fair time?
Answer:
Use the Lamb Shower's Weight Chart located on the www.mylamb.com web site.
See TVSP Lamb finish weights based on height at lamb shoulder and weigh. How to Pick Your Lamb
See Barnyard Commandos 4-H/FFA Sheep Project Selection and Management Checklist.
See Market Lamb Yield Grade Table
Question:
How do I learn how to card and hand clip/shear my sheep for show with a full fleece?
Answer:
Attend sheep breeder or open shows an ask questions of the top breeders that win grand champion in the sheep breeds you are interested in.
Question:
Why do some of my bummer lambs have a bloating problem?
Answer:
Bloating is one of many problems a stressed lamb faces. Lambs that can't/don't get colostrum at birth have a nearly zero chance of survival. We alway keep a frozen supply of sheep colostrum from ewes that had singles or ewes that lost their lambs. Small plastic soft drink bottle make good storage and feeding containers. Use a lamb tube to feed a new born lamb in stress a couple ounces of sheep colostrum.
Question:
Why do some kids feed their sheep liquid ensure or enfamil? What is the purpose of these tactics?
Answer:
To produce lean, long and well muslced sheep. These sheep normally are poor carcass animals, however they look great in the market lamb class.
Question:
Please let me know how big the loin eye in sheep should be. Also the back fat.
Answer:From www.mylamb.com
Typical loin eye size range from 2.0 to 2.8 square inches for a finished lamb. Competitive might be 3.0 or above for the larger sizes in a carcass competition. Some extreme lambs (like callipyge gene carriers might have 4.0 square inches plus).
Backfat might range from 0.05 of an inch to 0.4 of an inch. That is five hundreths of an inch to four tenths of an inch. Typically you will want between a tenth of an inch and two tenths of an inch of back fat.
The ribeye or loin eye is the measured from the thirteenth rib to the point of hip. There are two ribeye's, one on each side of the spine. Ideal is a little less that 3 square inches.
Many judges have different preferences here.
Question:
Why do some kids bath their sheep in ice water just before a show?
Answer:
Ice water or ice tighten the lamb skin and muscles. This will make the lamb feel firmer in the show ring until the lamb warms backup to normal temperature. This technique is a form of cheating.
Question:
How do sheep get polio? How can we help our sheep recover? Do the sheep usually get their sight back?
Answer:
Question:
Do sheep need special salt and why? Where can we buy special sheep salt?
Answer:
Question:
Why do 4-H kids dock the sheep tails so short? What length should the sheep tail be?
Answer:
The shorter you dock the tail, the fuller the leg of lamb appears. Extreme tail docks have a prolapse rate over 9%. Tail lengths over 1" have a prolapse rate just over 1%.
Question:
What type of feed should we feed our sheep for the fair?
Answer:
The type of feed and how you feed can vary. We have use different feeds and combination of feeds. What has worked well for us is a mixture of high quality alfalfa hay and whole yellow corn. Feed is adjusted for each sheep needs. Our suffolk market lambs get 40% hay or hay pellets and 60% whole corn. The lamb back fat is between .09 to .15, the lamb weight is 125 lbs. to 138 lbs. by fair time. We feed 1.4% to 1.55% of the market lamb body weight at each feeding. This feed program has performed as well or better than show feed.
Question:
What breed of sheep is the best for southern Idaho fairs?
Answer: From www.mylamb.com
they are suffolk/hamp for breed...wether is just the type.....the wether type, which can be purebred or a cross is used to produce the type of lamb being used for showing in market shows these days as opposed to the taller, bigger frame type sheep mostly seen and referred to as breeding sheep that are shown fitted(in most cases).
A Hamp Suffolk Cross. You get Hybred Vigor because both breeds have stronger points and will compliment one another for a more complete sheep. A Suffolk with a little hampshire always seems to widen the loin in my club lambs- and the suffolk do well on a hamps butt to widen and lengthen also.
Question:
What is parrot mouth?
Answer:
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Question:
We're just Beginning to raise lambs. My one lamb is all black. Can you tell me what kind of sheep it is?
Answer:
Question:
Our lamb has been coughing and is now having cakey stuff in the eyes, what is the problem?
Answer:
Question:
What is Paylean? Is this product legal to use in sheep?
Answer: From 4-H member in Denver, CO.
I think each person and family needs to decide what is right and wrong in there show program. I agree currently Paylean is illegal in sheep, but so are many other things that get used and I do not see people talking about them. The Jr. Livestock programs were intended as a means for teaching kids, responsibility, work ethic and how to compete ethical and morally. It needs to be up to the parents and instructors to adhere to the rules, it is not up to the rest of us to do it for them.
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