Market Lamb Selection by Jordan Dooley

Market Lamb Selection 

By Jordan Dooley of Earn Purple 

Published in Pacific Showcase Magazine

The 2014 lambing season is in full swing. Tails are dropping, and barns are opening up all over the country. Now is the time to start planning your best approach to purchasing your next project. 

            As a judge and breeder, I have consistently been exposed to the fact that many youth and parents have some trouble making projections on young, green lambs. 

There is no doubt in my mind, that trial and error is the best form of learning.  But, before you hit the road and start writing checks. You must have a clear understanding of not only what you want, but also what it will take to achieve your goals.

The first step in everyone’s game plan should be having a clear understanding of the fair or show you are shooting for.  Knowing when the show date is, general rules and also the possible divisions offered, is knowledge needed before you start figuring out your selection criteria. After you have a feel for the fair you are attending, the next thing you need to decide is what your personal placing goals are for the year.

Showing sheep is a competitive sport, but not everyone wants to win Grand Champion, and that’s totally ok! Knowing the level of competition you want to compete in has a direct affect in the approach you will take, and also the amount of time and money you will need to spend.  Once you have figured out what your personal “ring goals” are, you need to start thinking about the age, breed, and frame size of lamb that will best fit your needs.  As a general rule lambs will gain 1 lb for  every 4 lbs fed. 

Now that you have a better understanding of your fair’s divisions, and also your personal goals, we can figure out what breed of sheep you will want to select to fit your needs. To be as simple and general as possible, if your goal is to win the entire show, you will better your odds if you select a lamb from the black faced breeds. Don’t get me wrong, there are white faced wethers that hold their own extremely well amongst the Hampshires and Suffolk crosses. But to keep things simple and general, naturally Black faced sheep are heavier muscled, stouter featured and larger framed. If your county fair offers the wonderful option of showing amongst sheep of their respected breeds, take advantage! If you’re a novice showman, the level of competition amongst the white faced, all other breeds, and whiteface cross divisions are a perfect starting point for a successful showing career and building confidence.

A question that I often hear is, what age should sheep be shown at. I personally feel that lambs should be shown at ages 7-10 months. All sheep are different, and all genetics are designed to hit their point of maturity at different ages. I believe that as a general rule 7-10 month old sheep will always be in that window of acceptability no matter what the genetics or frame size. So for example, if your fair is in July, I would recommend selecting a lamb born within the months of September –December. 

Now that you have a firm understanding of the age, breed, and level competition you want to compete at, you can start breaking down your selection priorities and plan of attack.

Personally, I would recommend doing the research, making the phone calls, and taking the time to pay a visit to the breeders of your choice. In my opinion, there is no better way to get a true look of your project animal than when they are in their rough clothes. There is no doubt in my mind that sometimes the animal that shows up at a sale, is not always the animal that you will wake up to in a few weeks. To keep it simple, to see lambs in their truest form is to see them on their mom’s side unclipped, and not fit on a sale rack. Even if the breeders of your choice are selling all their lambs through a live auction, it is still wise to go see babies at home in their natural setting. Not only do you have the opportunity to build a stronger relationships with the breeders and learn priceless tips, but will also get insight into how their animals are kept and how their operation is ran. 

            Now that you have done some soul searching, made some phone calls, and traveled the miles, it is time to start breaking down what you are looking for.  To start off, kindly ask the breeder to separate all lambs from their mothers and place them in a moderately sized pen.

            When approaching a large group to select from, I would recommend basing the majority of your selection criteria off of skeletal structure. Generally, you want to first select sheep that are level down their top and are level to their dock.  Ask the breeder in a respectful manner to assist you in sorting out all lambs that you have decided are not level down their top and out their dock. By doing this, it will help narrow your focus and more efficiently analyze the more particular areas.

            Once you have in a group all of the level topped and hipped sheep, start studying everything from the ground up.  This is where all species build “common ground”. In All species of livestock, how they maintain their lower joints, is a direct correlation in how they maintain their head and neck placement along with their top line.  Select for sheep that have all feet pointing in the same direction.  Also make sure that sheep are vertical from hock to ground. Study if the lambs step down with stability and authority. Rule of thumb: sound, strong structured animals usually keep their head up and their top level when they move naturally. Now that you have identified any lower joint instabilities, please ask the breeder to assist you in sorting those animals out of your remaining selection choices. Now that we have a smaller group to work with we can start breaking down the more advanced selection criteria, studying skeletal width and tissue connections. 

            Just like we have discussed before, studying skeletal width all starts with how the prospects function at the ground. In my opinion, there are two main ways to assess skeletal width. Study how they maintain their width to the ground, and the structure of their rib shape.  

When studying width to the ground view those lambs first from the front. Find the widest part of their chest, and follow it down to where their foot is placed.  You want sheep that are exactly the same width at the ground as they are at the point of their shoulder. Also do the same from the rear view, but look in reference to the width of the their pins in relativity to where they place their hind foot as they move.  This will tell you if they are “true to the ground”.             Also when viewing these sheep from the rear, select for animals that are the widest at their pin set. This positive trait defines the term “ wedge made.”

In my opinion, rib shape is extremely important in terms of feed efficiency, and having the proper foundation for the rack and loin of the animal to develop upon.  When studying rib structure, an oval shape is desired. You want your animals to come out of their spine with the same dimension as they do at their lower belly area. Simply Put, Wide Ribbed=Wide Loin.

Now that you have located all of the lamb’s bone structure differences, you move in on the handle.  When analyzing the tissue connections of prospect lambs, there are two major areas to evaluate. Handle them in the fore rib and directly behind their shoulder, looking for a full tissue connections. Also make the same assessment in the hip loin junction. This is very important because along with any lower joint flaws, these two areas will also be emphasized with age. If there is no tissue connection in the lamb’s hip loin area, there is no natural way that animal will ever be connected, plain and simple.  After you have handled the lambs, now it is time to study muscle structure.

Generally wider made animals will have more natural muscle shape. When looking at green babies, there are three areas of muscle you need to evaluate. Study their forearm, lower stifle, and also their rack shape. These three areas are direct indicators of the natural muscling of the lamb, or any livestock to be honest. 

In all entirety, select for good structured, wide skeleton, shapely made livestock and you wont go wrong. Always remember that if lambs are already in show condition at time of sale, they probably wont ever reach their true maturity. Select lambs in terms of longevity, and in the idea of what they can be, not what they are on that certain day.

Above all, no matter how good of one you purchase, he will never see purple if you do not put in the hard work and dedication it takes to succeed.  Keep in mind, that luck is when preparation meets opportunity, so go out and MAKE IT HAPPEN!