Health and Nutrition for Lambs

Health

• Normal body temperature for lambs: 102.5-104°F
• Normal heart rate: 60-120 beats per minute
• Normal respiratory rate: 12-20 breaths per minute

Nutrition

• Six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and water
• Protein provides essential amino acids
• Carbohydrates provide energy for body functions, growth, and reproduction
• Fats are a concentrated source of energy (2.25 times more than carbohydrates)
• Minerals are essential for various body functions and are found primarily in bones and teeth
• Vitamins are required for health, development, and metabolic reactions
• Water is the most important nutrient, making up 70% or more of plants and animals

Digestive System

• Ruminant animals have a four-chambered stomach
• Examples of ruminants: cattle, sheep, goats
• Four compartments of the ruminant stomach: reticulum, rumen, omasum, abomasum
• Functions of each compartment:
  • Reticulum: stores foreign materials, prevents damage to other organs
  • Rumen: breaks down feed with the help of bacteria and protozoa
  • Omasum: squeezes out water from feed before it enters the abomasum
  • Abomasum: breaks down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into simpler substances

Meat

• Grades of lamb: Prime, Choice, Select, and Commercial
• Three maturity grades: lamb (less than 1 year old), yearling mutton, and mutton
• Quality grades reflect differences in eating quality based on marbling scores and maturity scores
• Prime grade: superior marbling, proper carcass conformation, and adequate maturity
• Choice grade: most economical and desirable, with adequate marbling and carcass conformation
• Select grade: may be referred to as "no-roll," with slight marbling
• Standard grade: usually older or thin animals with minimum marbling
• Commercial grade: usually processed into lunch meats, soup, and canned meat products
• Cull grade: not acceptable for human consumption

Wool

• Growth of wool, hair, and mohair occurs in the root bulb of a follicle in the outer layers of the skin
• Intermingling of wool fibers is called felting, which can cause shrinkage when wet
• Wool fibers have waves called crimp, except for kemp fibers which have no crimp and reduce the value of the fleece

Signs of a Sick Lamb

• Bloating
• Lethargic
• Loss of appetite
• Quick breathing
• Diarrhea
• Cold mouth
• Pale gums
• Gasping
• Coughing
• Swelling or redness of the navel

Predominant Breeds

• Meat type breeds: Dorset, Suffolk, Hampshire
• Wool breeds: Columbia, Corriedale, Merino
• Hair breeds: Barbados Blackbelly, St. Croix, Katahdin

Production

• Meat production is more efficient in sheep due to twinning (frequency: 40-60%)
• Many lambs can be marketed as fat lambs at 5-7 months of age (average weight: 100-130 lbs)
• Wool production and value is an asset characteristic only of sheep, representing less than 20% of the gross return

Health

• Normal body temperature for sheep: 102-104°F (102.5-104°F for lambs)
• Normal heart rate: 60-120 beats per minute
• Normal respiratory rate: 12-20 breaths per minute

Nutrition

• The six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and water
• Protein provides essential amino acids
• Carbohydrates provide energy for body functions, growth, and reproduction
• Fats are a concentrated source of energy (2.25 times more energy per unit of weight than carbohydrates)
• Minerals are necessary for body functions and found primarily in bones and teeth
• Vitamins are required for health, development, and metabolic reactions
• Water is the most important nutrient, making up 70% or more of most plants and animals

Digestive System

• Ruminant: an animal with four distinct compartments in its stomach
• Examples of ruminants: cattle, sheep, goats
• Four compartments of the ruminant:
  • Reticulum (honeycomb, 5% capacity)
  • Rumen (paunch, 80% capacity)
  • Omasum (manyplies, 7% capacity)
  • Abomasum (true stomach, 8% capacity)

Functions of the Compartments

• Reticulum: additional storage space, holds foreign materials such as nails and wire
• Rumen: largest compartment, storage area for feed, breaks down feed with bacteria and protozoa
• Omasum: squeezes out water from feed before entering abomasum
• Abomasum: chemical changes to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats

Regurgitation

• Ruminants chew their feed just enough to make swallowing possible
• They regurgitate and re-chew their food after consuming it

Meat

• Grades for lamb: Prime, Choice, Select, and Commercial
• Maturity grades: Lamb (less than 1 year old), Yearling mutton, and Mutton
• Quality grades based on marbling scores and maturity scores
• Prime: superior marbling, proper carcass conformation, and adequate maturity
• Choice: most economical and desirable carcass grade, adequate marbling and carcass conformation
• Select: slight marbling, inspected but not marked with a stamp
• Standard grade: minimum marbling or below-average carcass conformation
• Commercial: includes designations of cutter, canner, and utility
• Cull: not acceptable for human consumption

Wool

• Growth of wool, hair, and mohair takes place in the root bulb of a follicle in the outer layers of the skin
• Felting occurs when wool fibers intermingle, making woolens but also causing shrinkage when wet
• Crimp in wool fibers, with some fibers called kemp having no crimp, being large, black, and reducing the value of the fleece

Signs of a Sick Lamb

• Bloating
• Lethargic
• Loss of appetite
• Quick breathing
• Diarrhea
• Cold mouth
• Pale gums
• Gasping
• Coughing
• Swelling or redness of the navel

Predominant Breeds

• Meat type breeds: Dorset, Suffolk, Hampshire
• Wool breeds: Columbia, Corriedale, Merino
• Hair breeds: Barbados Blackbelly, St. Croix, Katahdin

Production

• Meat production in sheep is more efficient due to twinning (40-60% frequency)
• Many lambs can be marketed as fat lambs at 5-7 months of age (100-130 lbs)
• Wool production and value is another asset characteristic only of sheep (less than 20% of gross return)

Meat Grades

• Standard grade: usually older animals and thin animals, minimum marbling or below average carcass conformation
• Commercial: includes designations of cutter, canner, and utility, usually processed into lunch meats, soup, and canned meat products
• Cull: not acceptable for human consumption

Wholesale and Retail Cuts

• Wholesale cuts: larger cuts of meat shipped to grocery stores and meat markets, e.g., fore quarter or chuck contains roasts, stew meat, etc.
• Retail cuts: family-sized or single-serving cuts purchased at the market

Wool

• Growth of wool fibers takes place in the root bulb of a follicle in the outer layers of the skin
• Intermingling of wool fibers is called felting, which can make woolens but also shrinks when wet
• Wool fibers have waves called crimp, except for kemp fibers which are large, black, and reduce the value of the fleece

Signs of a Sick Lamb

• Bloating
• Lethargic
• Loss of appetite
• Quick breathing
• Diarrhea
• Cold mouth
• Pale gums
• Gasping
• Coughing
• Swelling or redness of the navel

Predominant Breeds

• Meat type breeds: Dorset, Suffolk, Hampshire
• Wool breeds: Columbia, Corriedale, Merino
• Hair breeds: Barbados Blackbelly, St. Croix, Katahdin

Production

• Meat production is more efficient in sheep due to twinning, with a frequency of twinning of 40-60%
• Many lambs can be marketed as fat lambs at around 5-7 months of age, averaging 100-130 lbs at marketing condition or finish

Digestive System

• Ruminant animals, including sheep, have a four-compartment stomach: reticulum, rumen, omasum, and abomasum
• The rumen is the largest compartment, serving as a storage area for feed, where millions of bacteria and protozoa break down the feed
• The omasum squeezes out water from the feed before it enters the abomasum, where digestive juices begin chemical changes to break down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats

Meat

• Grades for lamb include Prime, Choice, Select, and Commercial
• Three maturity grades are: lamb (less than 1 year old), yearling mutton, and mutton
• Consumers in the U.S. demand almost exclusively lamb
• Quality grades reflect differences in eating quality of meat based on marbling scores and maturity scores

Health

• Normal temperature: 102-104 degrees Fahrenheit (lambs: 102.5-104)
• Normal heart rate: 60-120 beats per minute
• Normal respiratory rate: 12-20 breaths per minute

Nutrition

• Six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, vitamins, and water
• Protein provides essential amino acids
• Carbohydrates are used as energy
• Fats are a concentrated source of energy
• Minerals are needed in nearly all parts of the body
• Vitamins are required for health, development, and metabolic reactions
• Water is the most important nutrient, accounting for 70% or more of the composition of most plants and animals