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Written By: Hampman (5/11/00) Are you going to a sale or a breeders place, or are you in on a group buy? Are the sheep you are looking at going to be on a rack or running free? Will the sheep be in full fleece or sheared? For simplicity lets say you are going to a sale with the lambs sheared and on a rack. First of all you need to decide on a budget or amount you are willing to spend. Second, you need to figure out the size and age of lamb you need. Third, do you care about the sex: ewe or wether. Ewes tend to be a little higher than wethers of the same caliber. If you want to stay away from a future breeding project my advice to you is buy a wether. Fourth, pick out several lambs, normally the higher priced lambs are in the front end of the sale. You may have to adjust your lamb budget depending on the quality of lamb you desire, hopefully you will be able to stay within your budget or price range. Ask around to see if there are other sales coming up so if you don't get the lamb you want you don't get pressured into buying a lamb you can't afford or don't want. If this is your first sale find someone that is in the know about sheep to guide you through the auction. Here's a free hint, sometimes the high prices paid for a lamb isn't the quality of the lamb but when two fools meet at an auction. Quote by Carmel Spaudling.... Fifth, if possible buy two lambs, they tend to do better in pairs as far as eating and growing etc. Also you have two lambs to choose from or you can always sell one to a last minute kid needing a project. Most people end up selling the better of the two lambs, don't ask me why, it just happens. Now that you have arrived at the auction/sale, hopefully you have arrived early enough to see the lambs running around and not already racked up. Look for a lamb that is high headed and walks proud, don't worry there is always one that stands out and looks like a winner. Remember if two lambs are equal and they come down to the final drive the one that looks like a winner will win... Well let's suppose you arrive and all the lambs are already racked up. Well get out a notebook and pencil. Remember all these lambs will be artificially jacked up or raised up in their front ends. So after you go through the lambs go back and pick out the ones you have decided on and pull them off the rack. What you will be checking is how they walk hopefully wide walking/tracking in the back. Also check the rear legs to make sure they aren't hocked. Trust me as the lamb grows the faults will get worse. Then walk around to the front end and see if it is clean or narrowed shaped. Sometimes to get a heavy muscled rear end you have to take a lamb with a wider front end. Make sure the front feet set themselves correctly, no toe out or funny looking bones etc. If possible have a friend or a kid hold the lamb. The breeder will sometimes jack them up or know the lamb's weak point and be able to hide its faults. Treat the breeder like a used car salesman some you can trust and some you can't. So if you are just starting out, trust no one until you have been around for awhile, it won't take too long to figure out the bad eggs. Well lets study the neck design. Make sure the neck is long and blends nicely into the shoulder. Look at other lambs and you will see short necked lambs that look more like a camel than a lamb. Head shape, look for a pretty headed youthful looking head shape. Now go to the side and view the animal. The shoulder should be higher than the rump section. The lamb should be balanced and flat topped, no breaks behind the shoulder or dipping loin, or a hugh jump muscle protruding. By being balanced the lamb should measure out nicely. At least 60% of the lamb should be loin and rump/tail section. Ideally the lamb should be 1/3 back 1/3 loin 1/3 rump. As you continue to look at the lamb in a natural position or on the move check to see if the tailset is fairly level. If it docks or falls off too much move on to another lamb. By this I mean where the hip bones protrude up the rump shouldn't look like a kid's slide. As we are looking down the back of the lamb. Look for an angular shape coming from the shoulders towards the back of the lamb. It should have a triangle shape. There should be a nice raised edge on the outer edges of this top design. Some people are already looking for a groove down the lamb's back, a lot depends on the age and condition of the lamb. Some lambs are fed a really hot ration and look really bloomy. These lambs tend to fall apart on people, I call them flat liners because they never look as good as the day you bought them. Loin shape and depth should be uniform and thick but the better ones are flat across the loin surface. A lot of loins are curved or rounded. Next is the tailset. Some lambs have a pinched butt, I refer to it as a football shaped rear end. The tailset should continue the triangle shape/design. The leg muscle shape should be full with a deep twist. Think of a fat short tear drop design. A lot of lambs lag in the outer lower leg area. You don't have to have a super muscled lamb like in the 1980's but an adequate leg is still required. The shape or design still needs to be there. Flank design should be smooth and long appearing. Bulky front ends throw the smooth appearance off. Cabaniss/Hampshire sheep have about the best front end design around from the side profile. Now we end up with feel/touch of the lamb. If the lamb is spongy or soft feeling move on. Feel for a lamb that is hard to the touch and braces easily. Lambs that pull away from you are almost impossible to train, especially for a rookie. Now you need to find the longest bodied lamb that puts everything together for you. Remember you won't find the perfect lamb but you are in search of one. Sometimes you have to choose between lambs at an auction. So go through your list and see if any of the pieces of the puzzle is missing that you can live without. Usually the sale order will eliminate your choices for you. There is something I forgot to tell you. If there are a lot of sheep to sort through you will come down with sheep blindness, where all the sheep look alike. If you have a small child don't pick out the biggest lamb at the sale, and see if you can find a friendly lamb for a first time kid. You'll know if you are selecting the best lambs by the bid prices on the ones you pre chose. Breed or breed character can be confusing, probably better to pick for a lamb you like and as you gain more experience you can decide on that. Well good luck. Oh, yes, talk to the breeder and see what they have been feeding the lamb and see if you can have or purchase some feed to keep them on track. For more information on how you can submit an article to the Breeders' World, Click Here. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION! The Breeders' World is a subsidiary of Cornerstone Enterprises. |