Showing your Sheep

If you have a flock of sheep and are interested in seeing how they compare against other sheep in your region, province/state or even country, a show is the best way to find out.  Shows can be found in nearly every region and are usually an affordable event.  Some of the biggest shows in Canada include the All Canada Sheep Classic, Royal Winter Fair, and Canadian Western Agribition.  At these larges shows you will see hundreds of sheep shown.  Recently we took our flock to a much smaller and local show at the Priddis & Millarville Fair where there was <100 sheep.  Each of these shows, no matter how large or small has at least 1 judge who picks his/her top animals from each class.  The animals are shown in separate classes based on their age and/or sex.  Some shows have special classes which registered purebred animals show specifically in.  These shows usually have classes where you show animals as pairs or group rather than the standard class which you show each animal individually.  An example of this case from the Fair we just attended was the "Pen of Two Purebred Lambs" which an exhibitor could enter a pair of two purebred rams (intact males), ewes (females), or one of each.

An Example Small Class of 4 with a Judge(man in cowboy hat) and Ring-person(woman in blue)

There are four main types of classes you can enter at each of these shows : purebred, commercial, market, and wool.

Purebred: Judged on specific characteristics.  (Ex. Suffolk sheep are a black, open-faced breed.  It's wool should be completely white without any black fibres.

Commercial: Judged on confirmation and ability to produce offspring.

Market: Judged on confirmation as well as market weight, finish, and amount of meat cuts on the animal.  Over finished, over fat, or over weight animals will usually place above the under finished, under fat, and under weight animals as you will get more meat from the first animal than the latter.

Wool: Judged on quality of the wool.  Not as common of a class in Canada as market, commercial or purebred classes.

The judge will place classes on his/her opinion and the top placing animals will usually be rewarded with prize money, ribbons, banners, or other prizes.

Champion Purebred Ewe with First Place Ribbon as well as Sponsored Bag.

Leave a comment if you have any other questions, including those about how a Sheep Show works.

Summer Synergy Scholarships

This summer I will be participating in the livestock show "Summer Synergy". As a component to qualify for scholarship money each senior member had to put an item up for a fundraising auction (all proceeds go to Summer Synergy). My item is a framed drawing done by Marleen Palsson called "Bullseye". She won the 2011 Calgary Stampede Western Art Scholarship (Rural Division) with this drawing and now a framed print of it will be auctioned off to help my chances at winning a scholarship. If you'd like to own a piece of Calgary Stampede art history and an original drawing by Marleen while helping my chances out a bit, feel free to bid at:

http://livestockxchange.ca/sale/summer-synergys-online-fundraising-auction/bullseye-print

The auction is open until 7:00pm on June 18.

Thanks for the support.

Sheep Fact #21

21- Sheep have a gestation of 147 days.  When the ewe is ready to lamb, the interior of her should be set up like this for and ideal birth.

If the ewe is having trouble lambing, chances are the lamb/s is/are either very large or that the lamb/s is/are not in the correct position.

Here are some of the possible other positions:

Breech

 Elbow Lock

 Four Legs - One Head

 Head Back

 Hind Legs Only

 One Leg Back

 Twins - Front and Back

 Both Forelegs Back

Here is a video pointing out many aspects of lambing and actual footage of a lamb birth.

Lambing and Pulling

Sheep Facts #16-20

16-  Like dogs, sheep are sometimes trained to fight.  Fighting matches are held are held for public to watch like in the "Eid al adha" (the Festival of Sacrifice).  Winning rams are paraded down a main street in the city.

17-  Some sheep are also raced competitively.

18-  Sheep are used in rodeos in the event mutton busting.  Mutton busting is for kids ages 4 to 7.  In the event they must ride a sheep while wearing a helmet and trying to hang on to their wool for 6 seconds.

19-  Sheep have been domesticated for more than 10,000 years.

20-  Did you know George Washington raised sheep on his Mt. Vernon estate. Thomas Jefferson kept sheep at Monticello. Presidents Washington and Jefferson were both inaugurated in suits made of American wool. James Madison's inaugural jacket was woven from wool of sheep raised in his home in Virginia.

The Sheep Walk of Fame #3

One of the first movies I ever watched is one I still remember today.  Babe is filmed in Australia and is about a pig who's raised by sheepdogs and learns to herd sheep with a little help from Farmer Hoggett.  This film included a lot of animals, 970 in total including : 550 sheep, 48 pigs, sheepdogs, horses and ducks.