Selecting your Project
Where to get your project animal?
Home Raised
May be cheaper than purchasing your project
Must have good ewe base and nutrition to produce fast growing lambs/goats
Need to have good management
Ewes need to be bred to lamb after January 1st
Purchase from a producer
Make sure you can trust the producer
Good producers will help you throughout the year with your project if you have questions of if issues arise.
Prices can vary from $100-$2,000+
There are many producers locally and statewide
Purchase from an auction
Know what you want to spend before you get there
What breed should I get?
Purebred Sheep
Dorset, Columbia, Rambouillet, Suffolk, Hampshire, Southdown, & others
Commercial
Crossbred or non registered purebred
What to look for when selecting a project animal
Remember that you want to produce an animal with a high quality, lean, muscular carcass that it within your budget.
Market lambs
A market lamb should be slaughtered between 110-140 lbs.
Appropriate size at fair is between 115-135 lbs
Final weight varies depending on breed, frame size, and nutrition.
Lamb should weigh between 40-70 lbs at the spring weigh in
Must be born January 1 or later
Can be a wether (castrated male) or ewe (female)
Selecting a Breeding Ewe
Appropriate size at fair 120-160 lbs (ewe lamb)
Ewe lamb born after January 1
Yearling ewe born after January 1 the year before
Adequate muscle
Firm, hard, muscle tone in leg, loin, top
Large outside leg muscle
Must be proportionate
Should walk and stand wide
Muscle on the inside of the leg
Wide muscular top
Large rib cage=lots of capacity
Length
Hind saddle (from the last rib back) should be equal to or longer than the front portion of the back
Too long of lamb will have a weak top and may break behind the shoulder and/or hip/loin junction
Shoulder/shank
Smooth shape muscle
Structural Correctness
Correct skeletal or bone structure
Neck should be erect & extend out of the top of the shoulder
Top line should be long, level and straight
Legs should have a large bone
Strong pasterns to support the body
Stand with feet and legs wide apart
Long, smooth steps, with a wide track while walking
Animals should not limp
Good mouth-bottom teeth should line up with the upper dental pad
No overbite (parrot mouth) or underbite
Style and Balance
Clean fronted
Blend together
Don’t want a huge front end with a tiny hind leg
Overall smooth outline (level top and square rump)
Don’t want a weak top or steep rump
Want a well rounded complete project (don’t pick based on one particular trait).
Potential
Lamb/goat that has growth potential
Frame size
Very large or very small framed animals will finish are weights that are less than ideal
Long body
Thick loin