Sheep Labeling the Parts Muzzle Top of Shoulder
Sheep
Labeling the Parts Muzzle Top of Shoulder Rack Loin Neck Hip Dock Point of shoulder Chest floor Leg Lower leg Fore-arm Knee Pastern Fore-rib Flank Hock
Market Lamb Selection Criteria • Potential Carcass Value • Muscularity • Correctness of Finish • Handling Quality • Weight and Extension • Skeletal Correctness • Balance • Attractiveness • Structure
Breeding Sheep Selection Criteria • Functionality • Performance • Balance and Eye Appeal • Muscle • Breed Characteristics Not for placing (IDs and reasons only) • Mouth soundness
Muscle Evaluation • Areas to identify muscle • Forearm • Rack • Loin • Hip • Leg • Behind • Side
Areas to Evaluate Skeletal Width • Chest Floor • Square/Wide chested • Youthful • Rib Cage • Bold and productive • Base Width • Wide, but square to their corners (ground)
Areas to Evaluate Muscle Top of Shoulder Rack Chest floor Fore-arm Loin Hip Dock Leg Lower leg
Determining Meat Animal Shape • Muscle is easily seen from distant views rather than “up on” the class. • Leg muscle content can be seen from a direct rear view and a profile view • Top shape and dimension is seen from a frontal aerial view
Powerful and heavily muscled Light muscled
Muscle Shape and Dimension Narrow, tappers out of his dock and is light muscled Stout, square and powerfully muscled
Determining Leg Shape Powerful lower leg. A lot of muscle shape through his lower leg. Flat and plain through his lower leg. No muscle shape!!
Retail Cuts
Optimal Finish • Ideal fat thickness ranges from. 15 -. 25 • Discounts for Yield Grades 4’s and 5’s • Stale tops are just as bad as too fat • Common error: • Mistaking Fat for Freshness
Ideal Finish Heavy Finished
Placing Techniques • Have a placing before handling the sheep • Use handling as a way to confirm what your eyes have already told you • Typically, do not switch more than a pair after handling!
Proper Handling • Only handle with the tips of your fingers • Handle consistency • Handle each lamb the same way and in the same area • Use the 12 -15 seconds you are allotted • Do not rush and manufacture handling differences, only say what is there!
Skeletal Correctness • “Square Corners” (Genuine and Square) • Chest Floor elevation • Skeletal Strength • Youthful round rib design • Youthful neat chest floor • Heaviness of Structure
Structural Correctness • Typical feet/leg issues: • Weak pasterns/coon footed • Bowed hocks • Sharp hocks • Bucked knees • Terrain • Rough/Rocky • Large pasture/Grazing setting
Balance/Attractiveness • Neck Extension and Attachment • Long fronted vs. short fronted • High in the attachment of their neck out of their shoulder vs. “ewe necked” • Length and levelness of lines • Hip construction (Crucial!!) • Length and levelness • Shoulder design • Smoothly wedged in vs. Round and course • Body depth • Uniformity of body depth from chest to flank (flank should be slightly deeper than chest)
Volume • Big ribbed, somewhat uniform in their depth of body (progressively deeper back through their flank) • Volume is measured by: 1) depth of body 2) shape of their rib • Livestock that are high volume, sound and have gain ability are considered “productive”
Performance Measure • Height at the top of their shoulder • Cannon Length • Length of Body • Weight is a 3 -D measurement: • Width • Length • Height
Suffolk
Hampshire
Southdown
Montadale
Mouth Soundness Monkey Mouthed Parrot Mouthed
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