Tables of average live weight of lamb and carcasses of different breeds

Lamb live weight is the indicator that is used when calculating the slaughter yield of meat. On average, the weight of a 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 of meat depend on the breed and quality of feeding.

Factors influencing 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: those dependent and independent of humans, feed and living conditions. Factors influencing the weight of animals:

• breed and hereditary characteristics;
• age (recommended for slaughter);
• gender (bucks weigh more than females);
• conditions of detention and quality of feed.

Comparative table of weight of rams and sheep of different breeds:

Factors characterizing meat productivity:

• external forms, constitution, exterior of animals;
• live weight;
• slaughter weight;
• daily gain;
• content of muscles, fat, bones, skin, viscera in the carcass;
• chemical and grade composition of meat products.

Table of the ratio of body weight (100%) and its parts for various breeds:

Average weight of a ram depending on breed

Sheep and rams of the meat-fat breed always weigh more than fur or fine-wool breeds. The weight of animals increases with age. It reaches its maximum at 2-3 years of age.

Meat-fat

Meat productivity table:

Fine-fleece

Meat productivity table:

Fur coats

Meat productivity table:

Semi-fine fleece

Meat productivity table:

Dwarf

Meat productivity table:

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, dairy and wool - 2-3 kg). In the first month of life, the young, feeding on their mother's milk, grow rapidly. A small lamb gains 300 grams per day. With age, daily weight gain becomes lower (200-100 g). On average, in the first six months of life, animals gain 30-40 kilograms. At 18 months, the weight of the ram reaches the prescribed (maximum) weight for the breed.

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

It is recommended to use a measuring tape to measure the circumference 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 the approximate mass of the animal must be calculated. The error of this method is 5-10 percent.

Mass calculation formula:

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

At what rate do sheep gain weight?

Precocious 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 rapidly gain weight from birth to 10 months. The maximum value is reached at 2-3 years. After 4 years, the weight of the animals remains almost unchanged.

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

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

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

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

How to achieve fast weight gain

The rate of weight gain depends on the breed of animal, the quality of food and 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 sufficient attention is not paid to feeding sheep at a young age, then later males and females will constantly be stunted and recover poorly.

Rams recover quickly on legumes and cereal grasses. As feed, animals can be given small quantities of grain mixtures (barley, corn, oats), sunflower cake and meal, boiled potatoes, finely chopped root vegetables (beets, pumpkin, carrots). It is recommended to water sheep twice a day (5 liters of water per individual). Feeding (grain, meal) is given after grass and hay, possibly at night.

Meat yield at slaughter

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

The slaughter yield of clean meat is highest in meat breeds. In such animals, after butchering, waste amounts to about 3 percent. The specific gravity of meat is affected by the age of the sheep and their fatness. A gutted carcass of a fattened lamb can weigh half of its live weight.

Approximately, you can focus on the following weight indicators: 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 sheep (meat, bones, offal) is 79%, skin - 18%, waste - 3%.

Record figures

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

The maximum weight was recorded in 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-fleece group. The Askanian breed ram weighed 183 kilograms at the age of 3.

The smallest is Bobby the lamb, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records due to its body weight of 998 grams. For comparison: a Finnish Landrace sheep gave birth to 8 healthy lambs at a time in 1991. 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 as adults. Khaj rams from Nepal have a body weight of only 16-18 kg. Jaffna sheep from Sri Lanka weigh 15.5 kilograms even at 3 years of age.