It’s important that when you show your animal that you train them and practice these steps over and over before show time. First impressions are important when showing livestock, grooming your lamb properly before the show is a must. Follow the steps below and you will be sure to succeed!

To move the lamb, stand on its left side, grasp it under its chin with your left hand and put your right hand on its dock. Guide the lamb with your left hand and move it by pressing on its dock with your right hand. Never work your lamb for long periods of time or it will become restless and stubborn

In the show ring, the lamb should stand quietly with the front and hind legs squared beneath them and the head should be held up. Be sure to remember to always work on the side of the lamb opposite to the judge.

Bracing is a term that means having the lamb hold its back rigid and hind saddle flexed when someone touches it. Stand in front of your lamb and cup its chin in your hands. Pull downward with your hands and apply enough backward pressure to the lamb’s brisket to cause the lamb to arch or bend its back. Do not choke the lamb or grasp so hard that you hurt the animal.

Depending on the type of sheep you are showing will determine the amount of grooming needed. There are wool breeds and short wool breeds, both of which require different grooming techniques.

Wool breeds are not shorn, they are shown in full fleece. Long wool breed lambs should not be washed because oils in the fleece are a natural form of protection. Full fleeced lamb should be dampened, and chaff picked out and locks separated. Part wool down the center of the back. Trim dock, chest and wool tips. 

In Short Wool Breeds shearing is done six to eight weeks before show time. This will eliminate most of the work of cutting wool to proper length by trimming. Wash your lamb one week before a show. Washing your sheep with FlexTran’s Ring Out Shampoo will ensure you are show ready! This makes trimming easier and protects your lamb from harmful fungi and parasites while also revitalizing their coat at the same time! About three hours work is required to trim market lamb if it was shorn early in the project.

Leave enough space between your sheep and the next sheep. If your sheep has a lot of space around it, it will stand out to the judge. 

 If the judge is in the center of the ring walk slowly around the ring, maintaining your distance from the other exhibitors. The sheep should move at a fairly slow and even pace with its back level and head in normal position. If the judge is at the side of the ring, walk around the circle but as you approach the judge turn the sheep`s head in towards your stomach and switch hands. This will give the judge a 360 degree view of your animal and will move you to the other side of the animal so that when you walk in front of the judge your back is not facing them. Once you have passed in front of the judge, switch back to the other side of the animal and continue around the circle. 

You should be on the opposite side of sheep from judge. If you are on the sheep's left side, your left hand should be under the sheep's chin, well out towards muzzle, not choking him off in the throat. Your right hand, with fingers closed, should be on the sheep's dock. It would be considered very poor showmanship to grasp the wool with an open-fingered hand at any time. While it is fairly "showy" to move the sheep without touching its dock, this often results in loss of control and would not be considered good showmanship. The sheep should move at a fairly slow and even pace with its back level and head in normal position. Stop the sheep a few feet from the judge and pose it correctly.

If you have a herd of goats on your farm, you need to know general kid management guidelines to successfully raise baby goat kids should they appear. Giving a newborn kid proper nutrition, care and shelter is the best way to ensure your goat grows into a healthy and productive adult animal. As always, if you are unsure about how to handle, feed or treat a baby goat, contact your veterinarian for advice.

-Trim the navel cord to 3 - 4 inches long and dip the goat's navel cord into an iodine solution to prevent bacterial infection and promote fast drying. If the navel cord is bleeding, tie it with surgical suture material.

-Decide if you will either bottle-feed your newborn kid or if they will be feeding from their mother for the first 6 to 8 weeks. 

-If you decide to bottle-feed the kid it is important they get the important colostrum based milk within the first 2 hours of life if possible. Colostrum, or "first milk" is the antibody-rich milk produced by mother goats that helps establish the newborn's immune system and fight infection throughout the life of the animal. Feed the newborn goat kid colostrum supplements if no maternal colostrum is available.

Bottle-feed the goat kid frequent, small meals of milk or milk replacer. Kid goats should be fed at least 4 times per day to avoid digestive issues until they are 30 days old. At this point you can reduce the number of daily feedings to 3. This mimics the natural nursing behavior of baby goats. When the kid is old enough, you can begin feeding milk in pails or automated feeder units. Provide electrolyte supplements for kid goats that develop scours, or diarrhea. This will prevent dehydration in goats. Do not replace more than 50% of the normal daily milk replacer volume with electrolytes. If scours continues, consult with your veterinarian.

House newborn goat kids in a clean, draft-free shelter with lots of bedding. To maintain good biosecurity, keep goat kids housed individually or in a small group to avoid exposure to other animals that could be carriers of infectious disease. Remember, baby animals are especially susceptible to infections of all kinds, and you must allow their immune systems to develop prior to letting them mix with adults.

Once the goat kid is about 1 week old, provide high-quality starter grain with at least 16-18% of crude protein to "kick-start" rumen development. Animals that ruminate must digest food by re-chewing partially digested roughage. At about 3 weeks old, provide high-quality forage, or fine-stemmed hay or pasture mix. Wean the goat kid off of milk replacer after about 30 days old. Finally, as with all livestock, always provide clean, fresh water at all times.

According to some estimates, there are more than 1,000 breeds of sheep worldwide and more than 50 in the United States alone. More breeds are being introduced to the US all the time. While only a handful of breeds are usually of economic importance to a commercial industry, all breeds should be valued, as they contribute to the genetic diversity of the species and worldwide industry.

Deciding which breed to raise is an important decision that each shepherd must make, with thoughtful consideration. The reason for raising sheep should be primary consideration when deciding upon a breed or type. This is because if you are interested in producing wool for the hand spinner's market, your breed choice would be much different than if meat will be your primary product to sell.

Conversely you wouldn't choose "wool" breeds, if the majority of your income is going to be derived from lambs meat. If your children want to compete in 4-H or junior market lamb shows, breed type will affect their success in the show ring, thus their satisfaction with the experience. Price and availability will also have a bearing on which breeds are chosen. Not all breeds are available in all geographic areas. It is not easy or inexpensive to import live animals, semen, and embryos from other countries.

At the same time, it is important to remember that there are no "best" breeds of sheep. All breeds have traits, which may make them desirable or undesirable, depending upon the production system and marketing objectives. In addition, there is usually as much difference within a breed as between breeds. 

There are crossbred, purebred and registered types of sheep. Unless the objective is to raise and sell purebred and/or registered sheep, it is almost always better to raise crossbred sheep. This is especially true for beginners. It is better to "practice" shepherding with hardier, less expensive animals. As shepherds, we also tend to make excuses for purebred animals that we pay a lot for. Shepherds are more likely to cull a less expensive crossbred ewe or ram.

When selecting your breed there are many different factors to take into consideration. Here are just a few of the characteristics that can influence your breed/type selection: wool type, meat type, sheep’s purpose, face color, coat type, type of tail, level of reproduction, level of care and adaptability.

There are many different types of chicken breeds out there but these 10 are perfect for new chicken owners due to their high production of eggs, personalities and ease of being able to take care of.

Whether you are planning to get your flock started or you already are a backyard bird owner, take a look at the list of the 10 most popular chicken breeds:

These chickens are a great choice for any flock owner, new or old! They are considered to be dual-purpose birds, meaning they are used for both their eggs they produce and their meat! 

Orpington chickens are fluffy, friendly and beautiful! Another dual-purpose breed, they are quite hardy and come in many different colors! These chickens lay around 200 light brown eggs a year!

This type of chicken lays very colorful green, blue or pink eggs. They are very charming and colorful and may have fluffy beards, earmuffs or crests!

Plymouth Rock chickens are calm, love to free-range and are very hardy and lay around 280 pinkish-brown eggs a year! 

Sussex chickens are dual-purpose inquisitive and sweet birds that lay about 250 eggs annually in various shades of light brown.

These breeds of chickens tend to be sweet and have many different laced color varieties. Another dual-purpose breed you can expect your Wyandotte to lay around 200 tan or brown eggs annually!

These chickens are large, calm and hardy and lay up to 150 brown eggs a year! Brahmas do well in cold or damp climates and are a very popular breed in northern climates.

These blue, black and white giants are the largest of all the pure breeds of chickens. Jersey Giants are clam, docile and excellent for beginner flocks. You can expect this dual-purpose breed to lay about 260 brown eggs a year.

These chickens are productive layers lying up to 280 white eggs a year. Leghorns startle easily and are not calm or docile chickens. 

Although this type of chicken isn’t formally recognized as a breed they are very popular productive hybrids! They lay about 260 brown eggs a year and are calm and an excellent chicken for flock owners new and old!

Showmanship is important because it allows you to show off your sheep to the judge. Showmanship should be employed in all classes whether they are breed and marketing classes or those designate as showmanship classes. When exhibiting sheep the animal should be under the perfect control of the exhibitor.

-Always try to keep the sheep between the judge and yourself. You may need to switch sides or turn the sheep to make this possible. 

-Only move around the front of the sheep, do not walk around or step over the back. 

-Keeping eye contact with the judge is important. It shows you are alert and interested. Keep your eye on the judge and your animal at all times

-When stopped, stay crouched, avoid kneeling and stand only when necessary.

-Be sure you and your clothes are neat and clean. Check the show guidelines or standards for specific clothing requirements. Do not chew gum.

-Be alert, polite and courteous to the judge and other show people. Always be on time for a show.

-You should appear keen but relaxed regardless of where you are placed, accepting the judge's decision in a sportsmanlike manner. Remember that the class is not over until the class exits the ring. Keep showing until you are out of the ring. 

-Keep your animal under control at all times and make frequent glances at the judge to watch for his/her directions. -Be prepared to lead any animal that the judge designates.

-Be prepared to answer questions that would normally be asked by a judge about a lamb such as birth date, breed line, diet., etc.

-Avoid grandstanding or showing off. Don't be sidetracked by members of the audience.

-Always shake hands with the champion and the reserve champion. Sportsmanship is a big part of the show!

Coop Care’s Chick Fresh is safe and easy to use with unmatched control of odors caused by litter, bedding, old feed, animal urine, manure & dirt. Chick Fresh will reduce respiratory infections and stress in your birds by eliminating all odor causing compounds and toxic ammonia vapors. Naturally safe microbes in Chick Fresh consumes the urea and other odor causing compounds found in litter, old feed and bedding, making our product safe and environmentally friendly. We believe there is no other product on the market that does as good of a job protecting your bird’s respiratory system and improving your coop's overall air quality!

Keeping your chicks safe and healthy after receiving them from your hatchery is very important. Using Coop Care's Chick Fresh product will keep your chicks safe and healthy from the brooder phase all the way to the coop phase. 

When first receiving chicks, make sure they have a deeply bedded brooding area with large wood shavings. Give the bedding a few sprays with Chick Fresh before putting the chicks in to keep ahead of the smells that a brooder can accumulate.

As chicks get older and grow out their brooding areas they get moved out to the coops. Deeply bedding the coops and changing out the bedding often are highly encouraged to keep the ammonia levels down. When changing bedding, spraying our Chick Fresh product is a great preventative measure to stay ahead of the ammonia smell and dangers. High ammonia levels can have dangerous effects on the respiratory systems of your birds can lead to bacterial respiratory infection or E. Coli infections. Keeping coops well ventilated and bedding clean by spraying our Chick Fresh product daily will help ensure healthy chickens.

Overall, Chick Fresh is cost effective and versatile. It “pays for its self” and will; prolong the life of your animals, help maintain healthier living conditions, promote more productive egg laying, allow you to raise healthier and more productive animals, and delivers a more compost friendly waste for gardens. Get your bottle of Chick Fresh today by clicking here 

*For best results, spray daily around coop floor where odors develop. Also spray walls, nests, roosting areas and especially around wetter damp areas. 

At 5 Star Equine Products, we have built the company on the premise of quality materials and unapparelled craftmanship. We only use the finest 100% pure wool in the manufacturing of 5 Star pads. We employ talented craftsmen and women that are dedicated to quality in the finest details every step of the manufacturing process. We have a vigorous quality control process, and we will only send out product that meets our high standards. 

While 5 Star has not wavered from our high-quality standards, we have developed a wide array of colors and styles over the years. 5 Star offers our 100% wool in 10 beautiful color options: natural, cinnamon, dark chocolate, black, turquoise, pink, purple, royal blue, red, and burgundy! We also have a full line of wear leathers options to choose from including basic, stamped, hair on hide, and our new line of printed artisan leathers! No matter if you are a Barrel Racer, Roper, Reiner, or All Around rider we have a wool color and leather combination to suit your needs.

5 Star doesn’t just stop at leathers, we also offer several standard embroidery options as well as a custom embroidery option. Send us your design or brand, and we will get a custom quote put together for you. And why stop at embroidery? Add a little bling to your design with our selection of 100% genuine Swarovski crystals! If you prefer a more subtle approach, 5 Star offers spots in silver, antique and brass to trim out your wear leathers or buck-stitch in a wide array of colors to coordinate with your pad and wear leather choices.

In addition to all of our many options to truly customize your 5 Star pad to your personal style preference, we offer award pads for your event. When you order 4 or more award pads with custom award embroidery, you will receive 25% off your award pads! Contact one of our dedicated sales representatives to customize your award pads for your next event!

From the very beginnings of our company, 5 Star has been dedicated to quality materials and craftsmanship to create a product that offers the best protection for your horse’s back. As we continue to offer more options to customize your 5 Star pad, we stand strong in the belief that we will never compromise our quality!

-Jodie Mesko

5 Star Equine Products

Ringworm is one of the most common skin diseases in cattle. It is not caused by a worm but rather a fungi called Trichophyton Verrucosum.

They infect the hair follicles and surface of the skin. Exudates ooze from the damaged skin and mix with debris from skin and hair forming a crusty scab. Spores from the scab and hair fall off which can then contaminate other animals and people.

The timing of being infected by ringworm on show cattle or any kind of show animal can be very detrimental. Because ringworm is a transmissible infectious disease, animals with lesions are barred from exhibitions or shows by regulations of the State Board of Animal Health. 

If you know your animal has ringworm it is usually best to quarantine it at home to keep it from passing the ringworm to other animals or even people. If you see another animal that has ringworm at a show it is best to stay clear of it and speak to your teacher or parent about how to communicate with the owner of the animal. Some people don’t understand how contagious ringworm can be and how it can impact others around them.

Symptoms of ringworm include:

-Loss of hair around the area

-Itchy skin

-Grey-white areas of skin with an ash like surface

-Usually circular in outline and slightly raised

-Size of lesions can become very extensive

-In calves most commonly found around the eyes, on ears and on the back. 

-In adult cattle it is often found on the chest and legs

If your animals have any of these symptoms seek out help immediately. No one wants an outbreak of ringworm! Ringworm will usually heal on its own but may take up to nine months which could impact your show season and the thousands of dollars you have invested in your animal!

Prevention is the best treatment and the best way to prevent Ringworm is with Ring Out Concentrate & Shampoo! Spraying and washing your animal with Ring Out regularly is a great way to clean and eliminate the outbreak of ringworm. When you see any type of skin blemish start spraying Ring Out on the area twice a day if possible until the spot goes away. 

Treatment and curing ringworm can be difficult. Quarantine your animal right away and clean your barn by spraying areas with Ring Out everywhere that your animal has contacted. If possible, shampoo the animals completely with Ring Out Shampoo and then start spraying the infected skin area twice daily. Usually the area will start clearing up in 7-10 days. Consistency and patience is key but if the area worsens you may want to consult with your local veterinarian.

Why Ring Out is preferred by the experts:

Easy & Safe to Use, No Discoloration or Odor, Non Toxic, Antibiotic Free, Natural, Environmentally Friendly, Biodegradable, Water Soluble, Hypo-Allergenic, GRAS Ingredients (Generally Regarded As Safe)!