Selecting Your Market Lamb By: Lyndsey Keller When selecting your market lamb, you have to know what you are looking for. This is often difficult if this is your first market lamb and/or if you think all lambs look identical. The following is the top 15 things you should look for when selecting a market animal. These aren't necessarily in the correct order because everyone has different preferences on what detail should come before another. 1. Healthy and vigorous appearing 2. Structurally correct 3. Adequate size for its breed and age 4. Strong and straight over the topline. 5. Greatest percentage of length in the hindsaddle 6. Walks wide on its rear legs 7. While looking down on the lamb, wider in rear than in front 8. Thickness from top to back 9. High volume of red meat 10. High yielding carcass with adequate fat cover 11. Adequate volume 12. Good pattern and profile 13. Good spring of rib 14. Bold muscular forearms 15. No excess skin in the throat or chest area A good lamb should catch your eye when you first see it. The lamb should be evaluated on the move as well as being held by someone and being braced if possible. This gives you a good idea to how he will look to the judge at the fair whether he is being held or on the move. Never select a lamb standing in the headracks. Take the lamb out and handle it. The lamb should be structurally sound on his feet and legs with his legs square under all four corners. Its neck and head should be held high with his neck coming out at the top of his shoulder, tall fronted, possibly appearing as if the lamb is standing uphill. The lamb should be straight and prominent down his top and square out over his dock. The breastbone should be laid in flat and smooth. The point of the shoulder should be tight and smooth as well. The lamb's mouth should be correct to avoid problems with eating. Lambs that are parrot-mouthed or monkey-mouthed may do poorly. To get a good look at the hind view of a lamb, watch him walk away from you. The narrowest point should be his neck and widest part should be the center of the leg. The spine should be totally covered with muscle and you should be able to see his muscle work down his top as he walks away from you. The rump design should be wide and full with the dock sitting at the top of the rump and leg area. The lamb should be deep and full through the crotch while appearing to walk wide in his leg area. The top, rump, and leg should handle firm. 50-60% of the lamb's top should be in the hindsaddle. Select a rapidly growing lamb, it will use feed more efficiently. Select lambs with enough length of body and leg to denote growthiness but with good muscle development over the loin and in the rear legs. Avoid short, fat, and early maturing lambs or rangy, narrow types that lack muscle development or ruggedness. |
This page was last updated on: January 7, 2005
The Lambinators 4-H Club of Scioto County, Ohio |
