Sheep weight: tables of average indicators in live form and carcasses of different breeds

Sheep live weight is an indicator that is used when calculating the slaughter yield of meat. On average, the weight of the carcass after cutting is 50 percent of the weight of the animal. Sheep recover intensively in the first months of life. In addition, during this period, animals eat relatively less than at an older age. Live weight and slaughter yield depend on the breed and quality of feeding.

Factors affecting live weight

Sheep and rams are mainly raised for their meat. Various factors influence the weight of animals. Conventionally, they can be divided into two main groups: dependent and not dependent on a person, feed and conditions of detention. Factors affecting animal weight:

• breed and hereditary traits;
• age (recommended for slaughter);
• gender (goats weigh more than females);
• Conditions and food quality.

Comparison table of the weight of rams and sheep of different breeds:

Average live weights

Breed	males/females
Meat greasy	129/95
Meat (foreign)	106/73
Fine-haired	102/47
Semi-fine-haired	105/60
Fur coats	72/45

Factors characterizing meat productivity:

• outer forms, constitution, animal appearance;
• live weight;
• slaughter weight;
• daily gain;
• carcass content of muscle, fat, bones, skin, entrails;
• chemical and grade composition of meat products.

Table of the ratio of body weight (100%) and its parts in different breeds:

Meat-greasyDairy

Body parts			Woolen
Carcass and visceral fat	59.6	36	41.5
Muscle tissue	43.7	25	20
Dice	8,7	12	15
Raw skin	6.2	7	12.9
Insides	18.6	50.6	37

Average ram weight depending on breed

Sheep and rams of meat-fat breed always weigh more than fur coats or fine-fleeced ones. The mass of animals increases with age. It reaches its maximum at the age of 2-3.

Meat-greasy

Meat productivity table:

Adult animal weight, kg 50.555Jaidara Hissar

Breed	males/females	Age before slaughter	Weight before slaughter, kg	Slaughter meat yield, %
Edilbaevskaya	120/70	7 months
110/65	6 months	51	55
130/80	9 months	52	54.2

Fine-fleece

Meat productivity table:

Adult animal weight, kg Soviet merino83/4612 months 5048Caucasian95/559 months4143.7

Breed	males/females	Age before slaughter	Weight before slaughter, kg	Slaughter meat yield, %
Prekos	90/50	6 months	45 kg	45
Vyatka	90/50	8 months	45	45

Fur coats

Meat productivity table:

Adult animal weight, kg

Breed	males/females	Age before slaughter	Weight before slaughter, kg	Slaughter meat yield, %
Romanovskaya	67/47	6.5 months.	31	45.9
Northern Shorttail	45/30	12 months	30	42
Karakul	60/50	9 months	45	45

Semi-fine fleece

Meat productivity table:

Adult animal weight, kg 100/807.5 months5049 Tsigai

Breed	males/females	Age before slaughter	Weight before slaughter, kg	Slaughter meat yield, %
Kuibyshevskaya	100/60	7.5 months	47	49, 2
Romney March
90/50	7.5 months	37	49

Dwarf

Meat productivity table:

Adult animal weight, kg Shetland 44West African36/20 12 months2043

Breed	males/females	Age before slaughter	Weight before slaughter, kg	Slaughter meat yield, %
French Ouessants	22/13	12m	15	50
dwarf	50/34	12 months	32

How much does a one-year-old ram weigh and how to calculate its weight

A female at the age of 1.5-2 years gives birth to 1-3 cubs. Depending on the breed, a newborn lamb weighs 2-5 kilograms (meat - 4-5 kg, meat-milk and wool - 2-3 kg). In the first month of life, the young growth, feeding on mother's milk, grows intensively. A small lamb gains 300 grams per day. With age, the daily weight gain becomes lower (200-100 g). On average, for the first six months of life, animals gain 30-40 kilograms. At 18 months, the weight of a ram reaches the prescribed (maximum) indicator for the breed.

In order to find out how much an animal weighs, it must be weighed. There are special scales for weighing sheep (platform or in the form of a cage). You can determine the mass of sheep by measuring the body with a tape measure. This method is used if it is not possible to weigh a ram.

It is recommended to measure with a measuring tape the girth of the chest behind the shoulder blades (behind the front legs) and the length from the withers to the tail. The results (in centimeters) must be substituted into the formula and calculate the approximate weight of the animal. The error of this method is 5-10 percent.

Mass formula:

A x B x 2.5 / 100=weight of a sheep, where A is chest girth, B is body length, 2.5 is a conditional coefficient.

How fast do sheep gain weight

Early maturing breeds grow and recover quickly, and at 6-8 months of life they weigh about 40-50 kg. At this age they are sent to slaughter. Animals intensively gain weight from the moment of birth and up to 10 months. The maximum value is reached at 2-3 years.After 4 years, the weight of animals almost does not change.

In the first two months of life, the average daily gain is 300-500 grams. During this period, the lambs are milk-fed. At 2-4 months of life, lambs gain 200 grams per day. Growing lambs are gradually accustomed to vegetable feed. With a properly composed diet, lambs do not suffer from digestive disorders and continue to recover intensively.

At 3 months of age, sheep are weighed before vaccination to calculate the amount of vaccine per body weight and to know their productivity.

From 4 to 8 months, the average daily gain of rams is only 70-100 grams. Animals need to be intensively fed in the first months of life. Young rams eat little, and all the feed is spent on weight gain.

Adult animals, on the contrary, consume large amounts of grass and hay, but recover very slowly. It is for this reason that sheep at the age of 10-12 months are sent for slaughter.

How to achieve rapid weight gain

The rate of weight gain depends on the breed of animals, the quality of the feed and the conditions of detention. The main food of rams and sheep is grass and hay. Animals should eat plenty, especially in the first six months of life. If at a young age the feeding of sheep is not given sufficient attention, then later males and females will constantly lag behind in growth and recover poorly.

The well-coordinated work of the digestive organs is facilitated by daily walks in the fresh air and cleanliness in the barn. Young lambs are castrated to improve productivity and meat quality.

Sheep recover quickly on legumes and cereal grasses. As a top dressing, animals can be given a small amount of grain mixtures (barley, corn, oats), sunflower cake and meal, boiled potatoes, finely chopped root crops (beets, pumpkin, carrots). On the day of sheep, it is recommended to drink 2 times (5 liters of water per individual). Top dressing (grain, meal) is given after grasses and hay, it is possible at night.

Meat yield at slaughter

Sheep are usually sent to slaughter at the age of 6-9 months. The carcass slaughter yield, on average, is about 45-50 percent. The fact is that after slaughter, the sheep loses up to half of its weight. Indeed, in addition to muscles, a ram consists of bones, viscera, skin, fat.

The highest rate of slaughter yield of pure meat in meat breeds. In such animals, after cutting, the waste is about 3 percent. The specific weight of meat is influenced by the age of sheep and their fatness. A gutted carcass of a fattened lamb can weigh half its live weight.

Approximately, you can focus on such indicators by weight: carcass of an adult animal - 30-50 kg, carcass of young animals (at 12 months) - 18-20 kg, carcass of lambs (6 months) - 10- 15 kg. After cutting, the edible part of the ram (meat, bones, offal) is 79%, skin - 18%, waste - 3%.

Record highs

Each breed of sheep has its own characteristics, which, in comparison with others, are record-breaking. For example, Hissar meat-fat lambs are able to gain 160-190 kg of live weight and 30 kg of tail fat.

Maximum weight recorded for a Suffolk ram. The record was set in 1991. A representative of this breed, originally from the USA, named Stratford Whisper, gained weight of 247.2 kg with a height (height at the withers) of 1.09 meters. Another record holder belonged to the fine-wool group. A ram of the Askani breed at the age of 3 weighed 183 kilograms.

The smallest is Bobby the lamb, which got into the Guinness Book of Records due to its body weight of 998 grams. For comparison: in 1991, a Finnish Landrace sheep gave birth to 8 he althy lambs at a time. Moreover, the weight of each exceeded the body weight of Bobby the lamb. British sheep from the island of Ouessant weigh only 13-16 kilograms even in adulthood.Kaj rams from Nepal have a body weight of only 16-18 kg. Jaffna sheep from Sri Lanka weigh 15.5 kilograms even at the age of 3.

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