Webster County will be conducting a tag/weigh-in day for all 4-H and FFA sheep and goats that will be shown at county fair, State Fair, or Ak-Sar-Ben. The weigh-in will be held at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen on Friday, May 21 from 3:00-7:00 pm. Tags and affidavit forms are available at the UNL Extension Office in Red Cloud if an exhibitor wants to have it done before weigh-in.
Webster County will once again have a sheep and goat “Rate of Gain Contest” much like the beef, but in order to compete, you must weigh in market lambs or goats at the Webster County sheep and goat weigh-in. One of the main reasons that we are doing this however, is that there is a required mandate for any lambs or goats going to State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben which is stated as follows: “All sheep and goats have to be checked in, weighed and tagged at a designated place and time this spring if there is a chance they will be going on to State Fair and/or Ak-Sar-Ben and all Ak-Sar-Ben bound market lambs and goats have to be DNA Sampled!”
Another reason for the weigh-in is that any market lamb or goat that may end up at the Nebraska State 4-H Fair and/or Ak-Sar-Ben will also have to be DNA typed. So we will be pulling samples on those lambs or goats that may be identified for either one of these shows, and a common site makes this process a lot more proficient. There will be a cost for this for each lamb or goat that will be passed on to the exhibitor ($6 per DNA test) and is payable to the Webster County Extension at collection time. If exhibitors cannot bring their lambs or goats to the fairgrounds and are not interested in the market lamb ROG contest they must still check in your sheep, but it will be at the Webster County Courthouse by appointment. It has to be done prior to the June 15 due date, which is set for all livestock identification sheets.
Exhibitors are reminded that any ewe and/or intact ram of the ovine species (sheep) and any doe or intact buck of the caprine species (meat goat) must have a “scrapies” tag in it’s ear and be identified with this unique tag number in addition to the 4-H tag on the 4-H/FFA entry form.
If an exhibitor hasn’t found that special lamb or goat for either county fair, State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben, you still have some time. Most sheep producers that have lambs that will be ready for county fair have weaned their lambs for quite some time now. We have approximately 53 days from the May 21 weigh-in until the Webster County Fair. Most show lambs on a good quality ration and on full feed can gain between 0.75 and 1.0 pounds per day. However, in most cases, this gain will probably be too high, leading to over finished lambs. So realistically then, if you figure 1/2 -3/4 lbs a day and assuming that a good lamb will gain on the average about 4 pounds a week you need to put on about 30 pounds. If you want a 120-140 # lamb at fair, then a lamb weighing between 85-100 lbs at weigh-in is what you will be looking for. If you are searching for a State Fair lamb or goat then you have about 105 days, or 125 days for Ak-Sar-Ben, so you would need to adjust accordingly.
If you are looking at a meat goat project, you may want to look at a goal of about 90-120 lbs at county fair depending on breed and frame. Boer cross goat kids usually reach a weight of 75 to 90 pounds at about 5 months of age. A weight gain of 1/3 – 1/2 pounds a day (or more) in crossbred kids is not considered unusual. Goats usually gain 2.5 to 3.5 lbs. per week, depending on the genetics, nutrition, etc. Using an average of .40 lbs per day or about 3 pounds per week, you would probably put on about 25 pounds. So you will need to have a goat weigh about 70-85 pounds at weigh-in for county fair, and adjust accordingly if you are intending to go to State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Webster County Sheep & Goat Weigh-in May 21
Webster County will be conducting a tag/weigh-in day for all 4-H and FFA sheep and goats that will be shown at county fair, State Fair, or Ak-Sar-Ben. The weigh-in will be held at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen on Friday, May 21 from 3:00-7:00 pm. Tags and affidavit forms are available at the UNL Extension Office in Red Cloud if an exhibitor wants to have it done before weigh-in.
Webster County will once again have a sheep and goat “Rate of Gain Contest” much like the beef, but in order to compete, you must weigh in market lambs or goats at the Webster County sheep and goat weigh-in. One of the main reasons that we are doing this however, is that there is a required mandate for any lambs or goats going to State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben which is stated as follows: “All sheep and goats have to be checked in, weighed and tagged at a designated place and time this spring if there is a chance they will be going on to State Fair and/or Ak-Sar-Ben and all Ak-Sar-Ben bound market lambs and goats have to be DNA Sampled!”
Another reason for the weigh-in is that any market lamb or goat that may end up at the Nebraska State 4-H Fair and/or Ak-Sar-Ben will also have to be DNA typed. So we will be pulling samples on those lambs or goats that may be identified for either one of these shows, and a common site makes this process a lot more proficient. There will be a cost for this for each lamb or goat that will be passed on to the exhibitor ($6 per DNA test) and is payable to the Webster County Extension at collection time. If exhibitors cannot bring their lambs or goats to the fairgrounds and are not interested in the market lamb ROG contest they must still check in your sheep, but it will be at the Webster County Courthouse by appointment. It has to be done prior to the June 15 due date, which is set for all livestock identification sheets.
Exhibitors are reminded that any ewe and/or intact ram of the ovine species (sheep) and any doe or intact buck of the caprine species (meat goat) must have a “scrapies” tag in it’s ear and be identified with this unique tag number in addition to the 4-H tag on the 4-H/FFA entry form.
If an exhibitor hasn’t found that special lamb or goat for either county fair, State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben, you still have some time. Most sheep producers that have lambs that will be ready for county fair have weaned their lambs for quite some time now. We have approximately 53 days from the May 21 weigh-in until the Webster County Fair. Most show lambs on a good quality ration and on full feed can gain between 0.75 and 1.0 pounds per day. However, in most cases, this gain will probably be too high, leading to over finished lambs. So realistically then, if you figure 1/2 -3/4 lbs a day and assuming that a good lamb will gain on the average about 4 pounds a week you need to put on about 30 pounds. If you want a 120-140 # lamb at fair, then a lamb weighing between 85-100 lbs at weigh-in is what you will be looking for. If you are searching for a State Fair lamb or goat then you have about 105 days, or 125 days for Ak-Sar-Ben, so you would need to adjust accordingly.
If you are looking at a meat goat project, you may want to look at a goal of about 90-120 lbs at county fair depending on breed and frame. Boer cross goat kids usually reach a weight of 75 to 90 pounds at about 5 months of age. A weight gain of 1/3 – 1/2 pounds a day (or more) in crossbred kids is not considered unusual. Goats usually gain 2.5 to 3.5 lbs. per week, depending on the genetics, nutrition, etc. Using an average of .40 lbs per day or about 3 pounds per week, you would probably put on about 25 pounds. So you will need to have a goat weigh about 70-85 pounds at weigh-in for county fair, and adjust accordingly if you are intending to go to State Fair or Ak-Sar-Ben.
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