Prospect/Feeder Lambs
Judge: Vance Christie
Judging Contest Winners:
Under 15: ewegobaa
15-18: 2TLivestock, gabby08, ilovesuffolks, kingfridgevii, marketchamp
Over 18: Apes, cindyfreed, classic1112, EmsoffLambs, Ladyshrops, PeteM, shadowran
Official Placing: 2, 1, 4, 3
Cuts: 2, 4, 3
First of all let me start by stating that it is quite an honor for me to be asked to assist with the Online Sheep Show and Judging Contest. Livestock in general and especially the evaluation of sheep is a passion for me and I truly appreciate this opportunity.
In regards to this class, I want to concur with some of the posts on mylamb and the comments of the other judges in the past couple of weeks when it comes to sorting young lambs with various ages from pictures alone. Particularly looking at the 1 month and younger baby pictures makes lining them up more difficult. I love to watch them at this age in the pen, but feel there is a great deal of projection that has to go into getting those lambs sorted. However in defense of the site, many of you are selecting lambs at this time and more and more the highest quality lambs are being spoken for in their “baby fuzz and still on mama.” So the educational value of us looking at lambs of this age is the same as sorting lambs that are more market ready, just harder to sort.
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First Place: 2
Entry number: 230 Exhibitor: wuvewes State: IA Sheep name/number: 8211 Breed: Crossbred Website: www.moserclublambs.com |
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In this class, I am going to opt to start the one I feel is the most fault free. I prefer the added muscularity, stoutness of construction and overall power of the 2 lamb. I’ll be the first to admit he is very young in the picture, and there is a great deal of predicting that must be done to get this lamb this high in class. I am also not sure that if you are looking for a heavyweight that this would be the one of choice. Still, he is extremely level down his top, appears to be very correct in his rib shape and the stoutest boned lamb in the class. As a bonus he is bigger hipped, more expressive in his muscle and much more ideal in the set of his hock when compared to 1.
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Second Place: 1
Entry number: 207 Exhibitor: ilovesuffolks State: VA Sheep name/number: Faylene Breed: Suffolk/Hampshire |
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The extremely long sided ewe lamb is a logical second, and if you are looking for one that appears to have more growth potential, this is certainly the one you would prefer. I simply question her out of her hock and doubt that she is going to have the muscularity and power that 2 shows relative to frame size. Yet as we compare 1 to 4 she is much more level down her topline. She ties a longer thinner neck better into the top of her shoulder, and is leveler and squarer out of her dock.
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Third Place: 4
Entry number: 245 |
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There is not doubt that 4 is a thicker made lamb that may more closely follow my class winner in terms of sheer muscle mass and potential. However as young and raw as this lamb appears, there are some structural faults that may only accentuate themselves as this lamb gets older. More specifically, he is bolder in his front end, and even with consideration for the extra joint in his dock, he drops more out of his hip than the two we start the class with. Still when compared to 3, 4 appears to be a higher quality lamb with a more muscular look for this stage of development. With his youth in mind, he is slightly better in his design, smoother and shallower though is shoulder and chest floor, and most importantly is thicker ended and much deeper through is twist.
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Fourth Place: 3
Entry number: 243 |
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I find the long sided, stout boned 3 in the concluding position primarily due to his stage of development. As a breeder, I feel this lamb at the time of the picture is at that awkward stage either just pre-weaning or shortly following weaning, where it is awful hard for us visualize their potential. With that said, and the photos we are presented with, the lamb is the coarsest through his front, appears to be the lightest muscled down his top and the lightest legged. However the biggest fault that lambs do not grow out of, is the fact that 4 is the most off in his hip. In general four really nice prospects all with positive features and good potential. Care and environment will fix several of the issues that I had with these lambs, so structure and design become major priorities in this class. I prefer the lineup on this difficult class to sort 2, 1, 4, 3 with cuts of 2, 4, 3.
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