Fat Scoring Sheep and Lambs
Below is Information and a List of the Related Websites on the Subject
Manual fat scoring is a personal, practical skill that is best learned by practice. It is of great benefit in managing feed and marketing sheep and lambs.
To achieve a reliable score, have the animal standing in a relaxed state, preferably in a race or liveweight scales. The animal will not be bruised if it is assessed in the correct manner by palpation with the fingertips and thumb.
The scorer must work fingers through the wool to skin level before feeling for fat cover over the bones. The best site to feel when assessing fatness is over the long ribs (Figure 1). This includes the GR site (Figure 2), where fatness is measured on the carcass.
Department of Animal Sciences, Oregon State University
By Dan Morrical, extension sheep specialist, & Gene Hettel, communications specialist, agriculture
By Yusaf Paracha - Animal Science Purdue University
(Figure 1).The best site for assessing fatness is over the ribs.
(Figure 2) The 12th rib GR site
Illustrations & information above came from NSW Agriculture 2003
This page was last updated on: January 6, 2008
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