Livestock study

classic

What is evaluated for an ideal market lamb?

1. Middle/width of frame

2. length of frame

3. length of rump

4. angle of rump

5. size and muscle of leg

What is conformation and why is it important?

Measure of the anatomy and structure for soundness and balance

• contributes to heath, productivity, and lifespan

What is BCS? What is the range? Where on the sheep to you check?

1. Measures fat and muscle covering the body

2. 1-5 (1 = emanciated, 3 = ideal, 5 = obease)

3. Check the spine, between the shoulder blades, and the ribs

What is a ram

adult intact male

What is a wether

adult castrated male

What is a ewe

female

What is a baby sheep

a lamb

What is a polled sheep

a sheep born without horns

What is a yearling

a sheep under 1 year old

what is a hogget

a sheep between 1-2 years old

What is mutton

meat from a sheep over 2 years old

When do lambs typically go to market

6-8 months old

What kind of breeders are sheep

seasonally polyestrous short day breeders

When can you start breeding a ewe

when they reach 70% of their adult body weight

How long are sheep pregnant

around 145 days

When can you start breeding a ram

5-7 months at about 50-60% adult body weight

Why do we dock tails

to reduce the risk of fly strike from scours

what can happen if a tail is docked too short

vaginal, uteran, or rectal prolapse

What are UMass sheep used for

meat, wool, and teaching

What kind of sheep do we have

Dorset and Dorset Finnsheep crosses

What is the white ear tag fort

Scrapie program identification

What is scrapie

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy - contagion that attacks the nervous system

What is the colored ear tag for

farm identification

What do the numbers on the color tag identify

first digit is the last number of the year they were born, the last two is the order of birth, Males are 01-49 and females are 51-99

What are ewes fed

second cut hay and grain

What is grassy bloat and/or frothy bloat

Excessive built up of gas in the rumen

• frothy bloat is a gas that forms a bubble mat blocking air in the rumen

When were our sheep sheared

March 20th?

What is the staple of wool

Length of the fiber

What are microns of wool

the diameter of the fiber, helps determine softness

what is FAMACHA, what is the scale

1. it helps determine anemia level which can be affected by parasite load

2. 1-5 (1 = healthy, 5 = severely anemic

What kind of digesters are they and what are the parts of the stomach

1. Foregut fermenters

2. Rumen, Reticulum, Omasum, Abomasum