# Learned about market sheep and how to raise a sheep



## Show Sebright (Mar 15, 2021)

Hello, I want to do market sheep one day and I want to know if anyone have anything that could help me get ready for this huge project. Anything form how you raise you sheep to even how to shave them down. I want to be very known on sheep before I start raising my own.
@Baymule (did is add you right?)


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2021)

Yes, you added me, you can use the @ in front of a name to call people to your posts.
@misfitmorgan dont you raise club lambs for FFA and 4-H kids? Got any pointers for Show Sebright?

@Poka_Doodle dont you raise show lambs?

@Ridgetop did your kids show market lambs?

I don’t know the finer points of market lambs, but they do and are a wealth of information. I’m glad you joined BYH, you will like it here.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 15, 2021)

Show Sebright said:


> Hello, I want to do market sheep one day and I want to know if anyone have anything that could help me get ready for this huge project. Anything form how you raise you sheep to even how to shave them down. I want to be very known on sheep before I start raising my own.
> @Baymule (did is add you right?)


Hello @Show Sebright, welcome to BYH.

As @Baymule  mentioned yes we breed sheep for 4-H/FFA. We specifically breed suffolk sheep however suffolk, hampshire, polypay and speckle are all pretty common market sheep. The parent stock are important, make sure you get a good look at the parents or at least the ram and then ewe group. The first thing we look for in our breeding stock is size.....we want the biggest suffolk we can find for our breeding program. 

After that we look at confirmation of the parents, do they stand square, is their back level, are their heels up, do they have single teats, do they have a good palette, etc. 

We look for more because we breed, for yourself basically you want the parents to look like a big block with a neck and head sticking out of the top of it, make sure they are standing up on their heels, and have a wide rump when looking top down. For the lambs make sure to pick one whose shoulder is slightly higher the the rump, that means when you brace them in the ring they will be square.

You will want to get your lamb approximately 4 months before your fair/show, the lamb should be 8 weeks old when you pick them up. If you are getting a bottle lamb you will want it to be 6 months old for your fair/show. A whether is preferred to a ewe unless your fair/show has separate sex classes which would be unusual.

For shearing, if you can talk to your other club members you can get help with shearing or some clubs bring in a person to rough shear the sheep. Then you just have to finish with fine shearing/detailing, you will want all shearing done 1 week before your show and the final wash 2 full days before the show then sheet them.  Make sure to use a conditioner after the soap. 

There are several brands of show sheep feed, Purina Honor Show Chow is pretty common here.

If you can see pictures of the parents freshly shorn that helps a great deal. If you want a good idea of what you are looking for google with have many answers for you. Also dont forget to have fun!


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## Show Sebright (Mar 15, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Hello @Show Sebright, welcome to BYH.
> 
> As @Baymule  mentioned yes we breed sheep for 4-H/FFA. We specifically breed suffolk sheep however suffolk, hampshire, polypay and speckle are all pretty common market sheep. The parent stock are important, make sure you get a good look at the parents or at least the ram and then ewe group. The first thing we look for in our breeding stock is size.....we want the biggest suffolk we can find for our breeding program.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much. I never would have thought about what age to get them at. If I don’t have at the experience and equipment for a very young lamb. Should I just look for a 8 week old ram lamb? Do you know any good breeders in Florida? Again thank you for the help. Is it ok if I continue to contact you for information on market lambs?


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## purplequeenvt (Mar 15, 2021)

When you say “market lamb” are you talking about a meat breed sheep shown in market or club lamb classes or are you wanting to raise a lamb to put in your freezer? They are 2 completely different scenarios.


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2021)

purplequeenvt said:


> When you say “market lamb” are you talking about a meat breed sheep shown in market or club lamb classes or are you wanting to raise a lamb to put in your freezer? They are 2 completely different scenarios.


She is doing her homework on raising a lamb for FFA. Still has a couple of years to go, I think the excitement of raising a lamb is great. You have all kinds of experience that I don’t have and I’m sure you have some pearls of wisdom for this up and coming sheep farmer.


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## Show Sebright (Mar 15, 2021)

purplequeenvt said:


> When you say “market lamb” are you talking about a meat breed sheep shown in market or club lamb classes or are you wanting to raise a lamb to put in your freezer? They are 2 completely different scenarios.


So I get a lamb (some how) and I raise it till fair that is in late February early March. It is for FFA and I don’t plan on eating him. This year are fair the separated the lambs by white face lamb and black face lamb. I was watching at fair this year to get an idea of what they do. My hope is when I sell him/her that I am able to break even in money. I am hoping it I know what I am doing I can avoid a $200 vet visit (also the closest vet for sheep is 2 hours away). So yeh, this is for FFA and I do showmanship with my lamb then they get judged. Then at the end of the long week you do an auction.


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## Poka_Doodle (Mar 15, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Hello @Show Sebright, welcome to BYH.
> 
> As @Baymule  mentioned yes we breed sheep for 4-H/FFA. We specifically breed suffolk sheep however suffolk, hampshire, polypay and speckle are all pretty common market sheep. The parent stock are important, make sure you get a good look at the parents or at least the ram and then ewe group. The first thing we look for in our breeding stock is size.....we want the biggest suffolk we can find for our breeding program.
> 
> ...


Basically what she said Weaver offers a free fitting poster with the purchase of any of their products and I think that would be useful. When it comes to feed, it definitely depends on what your breeder recommends. If you can afford to do it, I strongly recommend attending a show camp to get some hands-on help.


Show Sebright said:


> So I get a lamb (some how) and I raise it till fair that is in late February early March. It is for FFA and I don’t plan on eating him. This year are fair the separated the lambs by white face lamb and black face lamb. I was watching at fair this year to get an idea of what they do. My hope is when I sell him/her that I am able to break even in money. I am hoping it I know what I am doing I can avoid a $200 vet visit (also the closest vet for sheep is 2 hours away). So yeh, this is for FFA and I do showmanship with my lamb then they get judged. Then at the end of the long week you do an auction.


Ok, so couple things I need to warn you about. Lambs do not do well on their own, either get two, or get a lamb and a goat, sorry to break it to. Second, I would not have been able to get through my first year without having such a good relationship with my vet. Luckily she is my best friend's mom, because on my birthday, one of my lambs ended up getting rather sick. Also, having lambs who came from a slightly different climate, the heat was hard on them sometimes during the summer.
When it comes to breaking even, that is a fantastic goal, but do know, for me I was out $100 in equipment per lamb, not counting shears, sprays and other hair and show products, or the fitting stand. I could look up my feed bill for you too if that would help, and then when sale came, if I would have sold a lamb, I would not have made back what I bought him for.
Just all FYIs, I loved my lamb project last year and just met my next year lambs today.


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## Baymule (Mar 15, 2021)

Thanks @Poka_Doodle I knew you would be able to help.


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## Show Sebright (Mar 16, 2021)

Poka_Doodle said:


> Basically what she said Weaver offers a free fitting poster with the purchase of any of their products and I think that would be useful. When it comes to feed, it definitely depends on what your breeder recommends. If you can afford to do it, I strongly recommend attending a show camp to get some hands-on help.
> 
> Ok, so couple things I need to warn you about. Lambs do not do well on their own, either get two, or get a lamb and a goat, sorry to break it to. Second, I would not have been able to get through my first year without having such a good relationship with my vet. Luckily she is my best friend's mom, because on my birthday, one of my lambs ended up getting rather sick. Also, having lambs who came from a slightly different climate, the heat was hard on them sometimes during the summer.
> When it comes to breaking even, that is a fantastic goal, but do know, for me I was out $100 in equipment per lamb, not counting shears, sprays and other hair and show products, or the fitting stand. I could look up my feed bill for you too if that would help, and then when sale came, if I would have sold a lamb, I would not have made back what I bought him for.
> Just all FYIs, I loved my lamb project last year and just met my next year lambs today.


If my friend is doing a show lamb with me do I need to get a goat for them? When you say shears, are there like a certain type you suggest?


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## Poka_Doodle (Mar 16, 2021)

Show Sebright said:


> If my friend is doing a show lamb with me do I need to get a goat for them? When you say shears, are there like a certain type you suggest?


If your friend is also raising a lamb, and you two can raise yours together, then don't worry about it. 
I like the lyster (not spelled right) shears that people also use for clipping horses. I can send you the link tomorrow if you would like.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 16, 2021)

We use oster shear master shears. The nice thing about them is you can buy them with the shearing head and then just buy the clipping head and swap the heads. They are not cheap and you can probly get away with just the lyster clippers if your lamb keeps a short coat.

For your first lamb yes I would get a 8 week old weaned Wether not a ram if you can find a wether. IF you can only find rams you can band him or have him cut by someone who knows what they are doing. Since your fair is in the winter heat shouldnt be to much of a factor. You can ask anything you like, everyone here is happy to help.

Well you may not break even on your first year if you plan to show sheep for consecutive years you will come out ahead eventually depending on your local auction prices. Our FFA lambs here sell on their first sale between $600-$1500 on any given year. You can also try to get a sponsor for your lambs from a local business, tons of FFA and 4-H kids here get sponsors for their market projects and the bonus is usually the owner of the business that sponsors you will come to the auction and bid on your animals or other peoples animals.

If your fair isnt to competitive you may be about to be a fairly low cost lamb and still place well. Not all lambs need to be $300-500 to win. Our lamb we sold for the 2019 fair for $150 placed 3rd in the fair in the next county over out of 22 lambs and he was up against lambs from well known show barns/lines. To be fair we do have kimm and slack in our sheep which helps but it is not the main goal for us.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 17, 2021)

There is a lot you need to know. I assume you either have an FFA AG instructor now or will have one. That person, hopefully, will have access to the information you will need. I always encourage my 4-H kids to learn the rules of the Fair they will be exhibiting in. Also, to know and understand the rates of weight gain for their species and to be able to determine how large an animal they need to buy to compete. I am glad to see a young person attempting to learn these things before they purchase their animal. With this oind of go ahead attitude you should do very well! Since this is your first Fair and first attempt at an auction here is some general information for you.

*First, since your fair is in late February - early March, you might have a problem with obtaining lambs that are the right age.* Black face sheep lamb from January on, so you may have trouble finding a lamb that is young enough. Fair auction lambs* must have lamb teeth*. This means they must be younger than 8-10 months old which is when the adult teeth start coming in. Adult teeth will disqualify your lamb from competition and sale. While black faced breeds mature slightly slower than white faced hair breeds *your lamb can't be born any earlier than July or August.* If this is the normal time of year for your Fair, club lamb breeders will be breeding for this Fair. They will use hormones and implants to bring their ewes into estrus out of season. This won’t affect the lambs, it just allows the sheep to breed at an abnormal time of year for them.

Most Fairs have rules requiring ownership for 60 days for lambs goats, and hogs; 180 days for beef, and 30-60 days for veal calves. You will need to produce your bill of sale at weigh in at the Fair, and any transport slips required for the species in your state and county.

Next, you need to know what the prime weight needs to be for the species you will be exhibiting for your Fair - also the minimum weight and maximum weight. Knowing the weight at which you need the lamb for the Fair will enable you to determine how large and old the lamb needs to be when you buy it. The majority of show lambs in fairs is preferred to be about 120-140 lbs. Check the rules. White faced or Dorper classes are starting to be popular and often those classes have a lower weight requirement since those breeds are smaller framed. The weight of all animals to be shown is determined at the "weigh in" usually held in the morning of the first day of the Fair. This is the official weight at which your lamb will be shown and the weight at which the auction price will be determined. If there are different weight classes (this often happens when there are a lot of that species entered) then you will be put in the correct weight class. If your lamb is _under_ minimum allowable weight it will be bumped down to feeder class and restricted from being sold in the auction. You may still be eligible for Showmanship if your Fair allows underweight animals to show in feeder classes. Check the rules. If your lamb is _over_ maximum allowable weight it is usually allowed to be shown and auctioned, but not eligible for Grand or Reserve Champion. You are usually to show in Showmanship. The problem when auctioning overweight animals is that the price is restricted to the maximum allowable weight no matter what the price is bid per lb. Putting too many groceries into an animal and having it go overweight is almost as bad as underfeeding and having it not make weight. I say almost because while both will grade as #2 or #3, the overweight one will at least carry meat along with a lot of fat. This is known on market animals as “cover” or “finish”. If the judge refers to an animal I the ring as “over finished” it is too fat.

The age at which you buy your lamb is less important that the weight. Except for the lamb teeth disqualification, you want as young a lamb as will make the correct weight. This is because you want to continually be pushing the lamb to gain weight. Experienced growers can “hold” an animal, but to do that you need to hold the animal early since if you restrict its feed intake at the end it will not look “fresh”. Animals that have been held back to avoid going overweight can be recognized by the judge. If you hear the term “stale” being applied to an animal in the rig, you know it was held back.

This is why the weight at which you buy your animal, the amount of time to Fair weigh in, and the rate of gain are so important to learn.

Every species has a different weight of gain. Hogs can gain as much as 3-5 lbs. per day. Lambs usually average ½ lb. or less per day. You have to calculate the weight you want at Fair, then how much weight it will need to gain in a week, and how much time you have to get it there. Once you know that, you are ready to buy your lamb. There are club lamb sales all over the country. Your AG instructor should be able to tell you when and where they are held. A good instructor will arrange for his students to attend the sale and (s)he will go along with the school trailer. Otherwise you will have to arrange to bring your lamb home yourself. Don’t think it will sit in your lap. The lamb you buy should weigh around 50-70 lbs. depending on how long you have to put ½ lb. of weight per day on it before Fair.

You want a wether (castrated male) or ewe lamb. *DO NOT BUY A RAM LAMB! Rams are not eligible in market classes and will be disqualified.* Breeders selling lambs for Fairs will castrate them routinely. *You will not be buying a tiny baby lamb. * You want a completely weaned lamb that has been weaned from its mother for a month and is on hay and other feed. This will avoid any lapse in weight gain as it tries to adjust to life without its mother or her milk. Buying a lamb about 3-4 months old will also allow you to judge its conformation. Learn where a lamb carries the meat and judge accordingly when choosing your animal. Conformation judging of meat animals is based on where the most expensive cuts are carried. On lambs this is the loin and the rear leg. They need a straight topline and width too. While ewe lambs are slightly smaller than wether lambs, both wethers and ewe lambs will gain weight at approximately the same rate.

Having found your sale - either a club lamb auction with multiple breeders, or a breeder of club lambs with a set price, you need to decide what size lamb you need. Most sales are held about 3 months before the Fair season. There will be different size and weight lambs in the sales since some people will be buying lambs for different Fairs, some for competition in ongoing livestock competitions without auctions. The lambs will be slick shorn before the sale making it easier for you to judge them. Go to the sale early. The lambs will be penned for you to look at. Sometimes they will be in head locks for you to go over them. Don’t be afraid to feel the lambs, and ask the breeders and others to point out what you should be looking for in a good lamb. Ask about weights so you can mark your catalog with the ones that fit your requirements. Make sure to choose several since some of them may go for more than you are willing to pay. Be sure you know what you want to pay beforehand.

Let’s say you have 3 months, or 12 weeks, before your upcoming Fair. You need to figure how much weight your lamb will probably gain. At ½ lb. per day, that will be 3.5 lbs. per week X 12 weeks or about 42 lbs. That means you cannot buy a lamb any smaller than 85 lbs. or larger than 90 lbs. in order to make weight between 125 lb. and 140 lbs. at weigh in at your Fair in 3 months. If your lamb gains at a lower rate of gain or a higher rate of gain, you will have to adjust the feeding program. If you have more or less time before Fair, you have to adjust the weight at which you will purchase your lamb. Remember that most State Rules require ownership of the lamb for at least 60 days or so. Check the rules.

Having bought your lamb and put him/her on the correct diet, you need to halter break him. This is not for showing, but for your own convenience. Next you will start learning Showmanship from your FFA Ag instructor or your 4-H leader. Lambs are shown without a halter, you lead them by the head. Since this is your first lamb, you will want to practice a lot. With so many shows on-line now, you can probably find some training videos and shows on-line as well. However, they can’t take the place of hands-on training and practice.

Next, shearing for the show. Check with your AG instructor. Usually, they will arrange for someone to come in and do all the school lambs at once. If the instructor brings in someone, make sure to book a place with the shearer. You might have to pay a fee, but it will be cheaper than buying a sheep shears and blades. Let alone learning to use them properly without nicking your lamb. The cheapest shears cost about $300.00. The shears are also fairly heavy to use. Blades cost around $25.00 each and you will need several in difference sizes. The blades will need to be sharpened each year, costing about $10.00-15.00 each to have sharpened. You will need Kool Lube to spray the blades when they get hot, and blade wash for the blades to remove hair and lanolin. Even though my children and I sheared our breeding flocks, we hired a fitter to slick shear our market lambs. My 4 children all showed hogs, rabbits, goats, veal calves, _as well as_ their market lambs, and dairy herds and any other breeding animals they were exhibiting. That was a lot to get ready and transport to the Fair grounds. Since all those animals needed bathing, shaving, and hoof trimming, we went ahead and hired the fitter to do the lambs. All we had to do was wash them with dish detergent – dish soap cuts the grease in the wool – and give them a rinse with very diluted laundry bluing. Then they went into lamb stockings to keep them clean.

You will learn a lot more from your FFA Ag instructor. This information might help you understand what you will be doing, and when you will be doing it for a Fair.

BY THE WAY - if your Fair has "add ons" try to get family and family friends to come to the auction and put "add ons" on your animal.  "Add ons" are just that, a specific amount of money added onto the price of your animal by someone during the auction.  "Add ons usually range between $10.00 through $100.00.  These "add ons" are an easy way for family and friends to support you without having to pay for the entire animal.   They are paid to the auction and are tax deductible which you need to point out to bidders.  My children often got as much in "ad ons" as they did for the animal since our auction was notoriously poor.  "Add ons" can make the difference between losing money or coming out ahead.  Also don't forget to send out letters to buyers and approach local businesses about bidding on your animal.  If your community is supportive of the Fair and Youth Auction, you can get buyers to come just for your animal.  Approach feed dealers, tractor dealers, farm supply companies, etc.  Make sure you talk to the manager or owner.  Lots of farm supply stores in smaller towns use buying at the Fair as advertising for their business.  

You are going to have a wonderful time showing your lamb, and being at the Fair with your FFA classmates! You will meet other kids from different schools, as well as kids in 4-H clubs. Don’t be afraid to ask kids that may seem more experienced for help and tips. Most of them will be glad to help you. Being at the Fair with livestock if a fantastic experience. Our whole family used to go and camp at the Fairgrounds. We really miss it! *HAVE FUN!*


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 19, 2021)

Excellent info from Ridgetop!!

I would like to mention if you are going for "show line" suffolk be aware they gain faster then 1/2lb per day. Suffolks can quite easily gain 1/2-3/4lb per day and are on the upper end of that scale esp for a ram/wether from show lines. Hampshires also gain fast if they are from show lines so just make sure to keep an eye on the weight and know your goal. Your FFA or 4-h club/fair will have weigh-ins as few time before fair so you can know for sure the weight of your lamb and it is gaining to fast or to slow. 

Our local groups have a 4 month, 5 month, 5.5 month and fair day weigh in. Heat can negatively affect gain so a winter fair in the south gives you less problems. If it is cold and your lamb isnt gaining fast enough or has fallen behind you can try keeping a sheet on them so they will convert their feed more efficiently.


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## Poka_Doodle (Mar 19, 2021)

misfitmorgan said:


> Excellent info from Ridgetop!!
> 
> I would like to mention if you are going for "show line" suffolk be aware they gain faster then 1/2lb per day. Suffolks can quite easily gain 1/2-3/4lb per day and are on the upper end of that scale esp for a ram/wether from show lines. Hampshires also gain fast if they are from show lines so just make sure to keep an eye on the weight and know your goal. Your FFA or 4-h club/fair will have weigh-ins as few time before fair so you can know for sure the weight of your lamb and it is gaining to fast or to slow.
> 
> Our local groups have a 4 month, 5 month, 5.5 month and fair day weigh in. Heat can negatively affect gain so a winter fair in the south gives you less problems. If it is cold and your lamb isnt gaining fast enough or has fallen behind you can try keeping a sheet on them so they will convert their feed more efficiently.


Really good breed advice. One thing to know about, is leg hair is so important now that having more Suffolk in a lamb can be a little harder to work through because they naturally have very little hair on their legs.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 19, 2021)

Poka_Doodle said:


> Really good breed advice. One thing to know about, is leg hair is so important now that having more Suffolk in a lamb can be a little harder to work through because they naturally have very little hair on their legs.



Very true, suffolk adults have little to no fleecy leg hair, though the lambs will have some and usually enough to fluff up some. The fluffly legged black face sheep are hampshires. Many use dry shampoo, texture spray or hairspray to add volume and fluff and hold the bit of leg hair suffolks lambs have but mostly suffolk are just shown bare legged so learning how to set the lamb up well and breeding or buying good stock is important. Truthfully though if you have a smaller fair like 25 lambs or less showing you dont need to be to worried as the expectations for the lambs won't be nearly as high as the huge shows with 100+ lambs. If you really do want leg hair and a black face you can go after a hamp or a suffolk/hamp cross which are pretty popular. If you want a white face sheep I believe all the whiteface meat breeds outside of polypay have leg fluff.


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## Baymule (Mar 19, 2021)

Why is the leg fluff important?


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2021)

Yes, why?  

Must be something recent since when my kids were showing market lambs they were completely slick sheared.  We didn't like fluff anyway since it picked up stickers and hay chaff.


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## Poka_Doodle (Mar 19, 2021)

Baymule said:


> Why is the leg fluff important?





Ridgetop said:


> Yes, why?
> 
> Must be something recent since when my kids were showing market lambs they were completely slick sheared.  We didn't like fluff anyway since it picked up stickers and hay chaff.


I think it has come up in the past ten or twenty years. I really do not get it, but I think it is a way for the judge to see the wool of the animal. It ends up taking up the biggest portion of our time in the summer.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 19, 2021)

I really don't understand why the wool would be of any interest to the judge.  While there _are_ breeds that are considered dual purpose wool and meat breeds, Suffolks and Hamps are not dual purpose.  Their wool is inferior in spinning quality.  They are considered as meat breeds which is why they are preferred for auction lambs.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 25, 2021)

The real sole purpose of the leg fluff is to make the hoof look bigger and the leg look thicker, to give the appearance of bigger bones when you are talking about showing. Some people will argue it allows the person showing to try to "minimize" any negative aspect/flaws of the legs, not really true as a good judge will see thru the fluff. We personally select stock without adult leg fluff because the animals stay cleaner. I am really against the entire leg fluff idea, you should not encourage people to use leg fluff to try to "trick" the judge into placing it higher as it just leads to inferior sheep being bred. Yes in normal smaller fairs the animals is sold to slaughter but in the higher levels they are often taken to several shows depending on the breeders desires for their stock. The idea being the more lambs that they breed that place well and then go on to breed, will make stock they can charge more for.


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

That's stupid show rules. Show animals get derailed on common sense that sometimes is detrimental to the breed.


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## misfitmorgan (Mar 25, 2021)

Baymule said:


> That's stupid show rules. Show animals get derailed on common sense that sometimes is detrimental to the breed.


Sadly happens with most any animal thats shown.


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## Poka_Doodle (Mar 25, 2021)

Baymule said:


> That's stupid show rules. Show animals get derailed on common sense that sometimes is detrimental to the breed.


I definitely agree. But at a prospect show the judge was talking about how the lamb itself looked with the fluffy well fit legs. I've seen a breeder that my friends show for, have a whether go for close to twenty thousand, and at that point its a little ridiculous. I am lucky that my breeder charges the same for every lamb. I got his best this year, for the same price as every other lamb he is selling.


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## Baymule (Mar 25, 2021)

Nice of him not to gouge kids for the better lambs.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 29, 2021)

Leg fluff does not make the lamb better, just fluffier!  LOL

No meat on the legs belong the knee so any judge that is misled by that should not be judging.  Granted, a straight sturdy leg is essential for grazing animals.  But unless this is a wool breed where 50% of judging points are on quality and condition of wool, the meat breeds should be shown slick shorn (in my opinion) since the standards for those breeds are judged 50%+ on meat allocation.  Not wool.  We only kept about 2 weeks of wool on our breeding stock for showing too.  Back then all breeds except wool breeds shown in wool had gone to slick shorn so the structure was more easily seen.  However, 20 years before that all breeding sheep were shown in full wool that could be sculpted to ae the animal appear as perfect.  LOL  I have also seen this done in other species with long hair - I myself (when showing dogs) was pretty good with a grooming scissors!  LOL

Wanting leg fluff to hide any defects in the legs or hooves is just another way for the better fitters to win over a better animal with a beginning fitter.  My opinion.  Again I prefer a slick leg due to our terrain with brush instead of grass pasture.  Probably why I prefer Dorpers now.


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## Show Sebright (Sep 28, 2021)

Hi sorry I was gone for a long time. Thank you for all the help. I was looking in to a house for my sheep. I can’t have him ever eating the real grass sadly because we have 2 or 3 deadly plants in the grass.


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## Show Sebright (Sep 28, 2021)

Here are some ideas… probably with a wood flooor or something cheap.


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## Poka_Doodle (Sep 28, 2021)

Those are interesting ideas, and to be honest, I probably should take note because I will have to find a place for mine to stay for a bit come spring. I am probably not the one to tell you what exactly to house them in, but what I can tell you is that I kept mine in a horse stall in our barn, with a horse run available. You do obviously have to use extra fencing so that a lamb can not get through the fence and get out.
Regarding green grass, in general, green grass on the stomach of a show lamb or show goat causes diarrhea. It is ideal to not allow for them to eat green grass for the most part.


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## Poka_Doodle (Sep 28, 2021)

Just re-read through this thread, and found a thing or two that I think is worth discussing.
I know how darn expensive the vets are, and while I understand luck, I would expect AT LEAST one trip to the vet for something. I know I was unlucky this past year and was on weekly (sometimes daily) vet calls for one lamb, but do expect to get to know your vet. Things happen with sheep, and unfortunately you do need to be close with your vet.
Leg wool I would say is a choice, I do believe in it, but depending on how competitive you want to be, you don't entirely NEED to worry about it.
When it comes to feeding, I would talk to the person you buy your lamb from, my breeder has the attitude of it all being the same thing in a different bag. Really feeding is a personal choice, and to be honest, I think that they all have pretty good reputations.


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## Show Sebright (Sep 28, 2021)

Poka_Doodle said:


> Just re-read through this thread, and found a thing or two that I think is worth discussing.
> I know how darn expensive the vets are, and while I understand luck, I would expect AT LEAST one trip to the vet for something. I know I was unlucky this past year and was on weekly (sometimes daily) vet calls for one lamb, but do expect to get to know your vet. Things happen with sheep, and unfortunately you do need to be close with your vet.
> Leg wool I would say is a choice, I do believe in it, but depending on how competitive you want to be, you don't entirely NEED to worry about it.
> When it comes to feeding, I would talk to the person you buy your lamb from, my breeder has the attitude of it all being the same thing in a different bag. Really feeding is a personal choice, and to be honest, I think that they all have pretty good reputations.


Yeh our fair has a fitting competition for the leg wool. You shave them slick to this knees and there fluff around horns. I was looking as the Purina show champ feed for lambs since I like Purina. Hay I was going with call Saul because it is the cheapest and it is a good grass like hay. Probably keep a small bail of alfalfa as a treat


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## Ridgetop (Sep 29, 2021)

Where the leg hair and fluffing will really pay off is in the showmanship classes where the emphasis is in how the child fits (grooms) the animal and shows it to advantage.  While a poor lamb will always be a poor quality animal, I have seen a good showman whose grooming was excellent place above the Grand Champion in showmanship classes. Showmanship is supposed to be only judging the child's grooming of the animal, him/herself, and how they present the animal to the judge.  In that instance the leg fluff, and how it is brushed out, would make a difference in placement.  

Winning the Showmanship in each species can put the child into the Round Robin or Master Showmanship classes where the showmanship winners of each species show all species and compete for a chance to go to State Fair to compete in Master Showmanship. In that case it would be important to at least know how to fit leg fluff.


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## Poka_Doodle (Sep 29, 2021)

One other thing that I think helps with the leg fitting, is another weird thing, but I saw it with my own eyes. At State Fair, the judge was obviously very used to seeing good lambs with very fluffy legs. I think walking in knowing that my animals were not quite as nice as some in the ring, but had gotten all the work put in with leg fluff, really helped one of mine make the cut in a competitive class. And my other good one was one of the very few lambs with a lot of leg hair, who didn't make the cut. In his case, it was an abscess hole in his rear that I think cost him.


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