Sheep Senior Study Guide.docx

**Health** - Temperature: 102-104 degrees Fahrenheit (Lambs 102.5-104) - Heart rate: 60-120 beats per minute - Respiratory rate: 12-20 breaths per minute **Nutrition** **All feeds include six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids,** **minerals, vitamins and water**....

**Health** - Temperature: 102-104 degrees Fahrenheit (Lambs 102.5-104) - Heart rate: 60-120 beats per minute - Respiratory rate: 12-20 breaths per minute **Nutrition** **All feeds include six basic nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, lipids,** **minerals, vitamins and water**. **Protein** o Provides essential amino acids. o Are essential in livestock feeding because they are needed throughout life for growth and repair. o Helps to form the greater part of muscles, internal organs, skin, hair, wool, feathers, hoofs and horns. o Contains carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) (in common with fats and carbohydrates) but also contains a fairly constant percentage of nitrogen (N) (about 16 %). **Carbohydrates** are used as energy to enhance movement for body functions, growth, fattening, reproduction, etc. o Represent the largest part of an animal\'s feed supply. o Usually the fibrous part of the diet. o Include sugars, starch and cellulose. o Composed of carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). **Fats are a concentrated source of energy, up to 2.25 times as much energy per unit** of weight, as do carbohydrates. o Form cholesterol, steroids (including some hormones) and other body compounds. o Found in every cell in the body. o When absent from the diet, affects (among others) the condition of the skin and hair. o Composed of carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H), but contain much larger proportions of carbon and hydrogen than do carbohydrates. o Other functions: - Energy reserves - Protection for vital organs - Insulate the body **Minerals** are needed in nearly all parts of the body but are found primarily in bones and teeth. o Make up important parts of many organic materials including blood. o Affect heartbeat, which depends upon mineral balance to maintain its regularity. o Involved in nerve transmission. o Divided into two groups based on amounts needed by the body: 1. Macro minerals 2. Micro minerals (or trace minerals) **Vitamins** are required for health, development, and metabolic reactions. o Needed only in small amounts but are essential for life and health o Divided into two groups: 1\. Fat-soluble **Water** is the most important nutrient. Accounts for 70% or more of the composition of most plants and animals. o Functions of water in the body are: - Controls body temperature. - Enables living plants and animals to hold their shape. - Is involved in the transport of nutrients and waste throughout the body. - Helps in the digestion of feeds. - Is a major (by volume) part of all body fluids **Digestive System** **Ruminant Defined** An animal with four distinct compartments in its stomach, which swallows its food essentially unchewed, regurgitates it, chews it thoroughly and reswallows it. o Examples include cattle, sheep, goats Four Compartments of the Ruminant 1\. Reticulum -- honeycomb -- 5% of capacity 2\. Rumen -- paunch -- 80% of capacity 3\. Omasum -- manyplies -- 7% of capacity 4\. Abomasum -- true stomach -- 8% of capacity **Functions of the Compartments** Listed in the order that feed passes through them: **Reticulum** (nicknamed the hardware stomach): o To furnish additional storage space and hold foreign materials such as nails and wire which may cause serious damage to the other body organs if they pass through the digestive system. o Often a magnet is fed to ruminants to catch and hold this foreign material in the reticulum. ** Rumen** o Largest compartment; capacity of 40 to 60 gallons in mature cattle. o Serves as a storage area for feed. o Millions of bacteria and protozoa break down the feed in the rumen. o Bacterial action is the reason ruminants can digest large quantities of roughage and live on a much lower protein diet than a monogastric. o The rumen does not develop in the young until they begin to eat solid food (as they are weaned). ** Omasum** o A muscular section that squeezes out the water from the feed before it enters the abomasum **Abomasum** (the true stomach) o Digestive juices begin chemical changes to break down the proteins, carbohydrates and fats into simpler substances which can pass into the small intestine for further digestion and absorption into the blood stream. ** Regurgitation** o During the process of eating, ruminants chew their feed just enough to make swallowing possible. After consuming their feed, it is brought up from the rumen and chewing is completed. **Meat** o Mutton from mature sheep o Lamb from young sheep o Quality Grades -- Similar to beef but depend more on maturity o Grades for lamb include Prime, Choice, Select and Commercial. o Three maturity grades are: 1\. Lamb, anything less than 1 year old 2\. Yearling mutton 3\. Mutton o Consumers in the U.S. demand almost exclusively, lamb. o Most lambs are grade Choice. Quality grades, reflect differences in eating quality of meat based on: o Marbling scores -- amount of fat interspersed in the muscle. o Maturity scores -- reflects age of animal at slaughter. Types of quality grades are: o **Prime** -- Superior marbling, proper carcass conformation and adequate maturity.  Found in fine restaurants and gourmet stores  Beef of this grade is not economical for the meat packer because the cattle are required to get very fat to obtain enough marbling and only a small percentage of cattle meet the conformation standards. o **Choice** -- Most economical and most desirable carcass grade.  Adequate marbling and carcass conformation are required. o **Select** -- May be referred to as \"no-roll\" since it isn\'t stamped with the USDA grade.  Must have slight marbling.  Meat is inspected but not marked with a stamp as Prime and Choice, so it can be sold under store names. o **Standard grade** -- Usually older animals and thin animals.  Minimum marbling or below average carcass conformation fit into this category. o **Commercial** -- Includes designations of: cutter, canner and utility.  Usually processed into lunch meats, soup and canned meat products. o **Cull** -- Not acceptable for human consumption. **Dressing percentage**  Dressing percentage is the percentage yield of chilled carcass in relation to the weight of the live animal. Usually lambs are sheared before slaughtering. - Prime -- 52% - Choice -- 50% - Select -- 47% - Utility -- 45% Wholesale cuts are larger cuts of meat that are shipped to grocery stores and meat markets. For example, a fore quarter or chuck contains roasts, stew meat, etc. Retail cuts are family sized or single serving cuts purchased at the market. **Wool** Growth of Wool, Hair and Mohair Wool or hair fiber growth takes place in the root bulb of a follicle which occurs in the outer layers of the skin. Intermingling of wool fibers is called felting. Felting can make woolens but also shrinks when wet. Wool fibers have waves called crimp. Some wool fibers called kemp have no crimp, are large, black and reduce the value of the fleece. These fibers do not dye well and show in clothing. **Factors Affecting the Value of Wool** Two major factors that affect the value of wool are nutrition and breeding. The value of the wool can also be improved by how it is handled. o Amount of feed. o Protein content of feed at 8% or above. o Selection of rams for quantity and quality of wool production. o Avoid stressing of animals. o Example, no food or water or too much heat. o Handling of fleece when shorn and prepared for market: **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 - **Good Management for Disease Prevention** Be alert for signs of disease and conditions which can cause stress and strain. Provide clean, disinfected quarters, free from draft. Provide adequate ventilation and plenty of sunlight. Provide proper drainage of holding areas, barns, free stalls, etc. to help maintain the driest area possible. Protect them from the sun, rain and wind without overcrowding. Practice rigid sanitation and manure removal procedures. Provide a well-balanced diet. Get accurate diagnosis of health problems immediately so that treatment can be provided. Avoid unnecessary stress and strain. Buy disease-free stock from healthy herds. Isolate new animals for a period (to be sure they are healthy) before introducing them to your herd. Follow a set vaccination program. Be cautious of visitors from other operations as they may carry disease pathogens on shoes and clothing. Dispose of dead animals immediately. **Reproduction** Estrous: 17 days Gestation: 147-150 days Nursing: 3 months Growing: 3 months Processing: 1 month Conception to plate: 12 months **Predominant Breeds** Meat type breeds o Dorset o Suffolk o Hampshire Wool breeds o Columbia o Corriedale o Merino Hair breeds o Barbados Blackbelly o St. Croix o Katahdin **Production** Meat production in sheep is more efficient primarily due to twinning. Frequency of twinning in sheep \~ 40-60%. Many lambs (\~ 30-40%) can be marketed as fat lambs at about 5-7 months of age. Fat lambs average 100-130 lbs at marketing condition or finish. Normally require 45-60 days on high grain or lush pasture diets. Some are marketed directly off the ewe if creep fed. Wool production and value is another asset characteristic only of sheep. Wool represents less than 20% of the gross return. Lamb is responsible for 80% or more of the gross return in fine wool breeds. More interest in hair breeds for heat tolerance. Lamb production must be emphasized and improved more in the future. **[\ ]**