200 lb lamb? (Fact checking a craigslist ad)

I'm thinking about buying a live lamb to slaughter. One local grower is advertising 200 lb lambs and says they were born January/February. Does that sound legitimate?

They're east frisian/katahdin crosses

I would say that sounds excessive. The internet is telling me that's just under the weight of an adult ram for both breeds. I would just send him a message querying the weight ask if there is a typo.

Hmm yes seems odd.
I killed two 12month old wethers today and they were 100-120lb.
Not sure about that breed but full grown rams will weigh that much.

Did the seller include a photo of the actual lamb for sale? Because it could be the lamb is obese, which would put them well above the normal healthy weight range. If that's the case, I would question the lamb's living conditions.

James Landreth wrote:They're east frisian/katahdin crosses

Katahdin can get really big in the first 8 months.  I've had up to 175lbs at time of butchering with a Katahdin-Islandic cross.  Often the crossbreds grow faster than the purebreds.

So it could be correct, or it might not be.  What weight are they charging?  By live weight, hanging weight, or finished (after it's been butchered) weight?  Depending on the animal and the abattoir, you can lose up to 60% of the weight from live to finished/butchered.  


If you can see the lamb, there is a calculation you can do to estimate weight based on measurements.  

Here's a picture.  They're charging $200 per live lamb

Thank you for your responses, by the way!

Hard to tell the size in the photo.
Depends on your location, but here $200 for a lamb over 100lbs is a good price.  Does the price include processing and butchering or do you pay extra?  

I'd have to process it myself but I can do that. I've butchered a lot of animals. Thank you again for perspective.  I'm trying not to get fleeced...lol

https://extension.wsu.edu/ferry/heart-girth-and-weight/#:~:text=Using%20the%20measurements%20from%20steps,30)%20%2F%20300%20%3D%20122%20lbs

How to Calculate Sheep or Goat Weight
1Unless you are a commercial sheep farmer, you probably do not own a livestock scale to weigh your sheep, goats, lambs or kids. Figuring out how to weigh a sheep or a goat is easy if you can measure the animal’s body length and girth. Use this guide to determine the weight of your livestock sheep or goat:

Measure the circumference of the animal, as shown in distance C in the illustration. Make sure to measure girth in relation to the location of the animal’s heart. On a sheep, ensure an accurate measurement by compressing the sheep’s wool so that the circumference reflects that of the body and does not include that of the body plus the wool.
Measure the length of the animal’s body, as shown in distance A-B in the illustration.
Using the measurements from steps 1 and 2, calculate body weight using the formula HEART GIRTH x HEART GIRTH x BODY LENGTH / 300 = ANIMAL WEIGHT IN POUNDS. For example, if a sheep has a heart girth equal to 35 inches and a body length equal to 30 inches, the calculation would be (35 x 35 x 30) / 300 = 122 lbs

from what ive seen in classifieds, craigslist, in west NC-East TN that is a very good price for a meat animal, pasture grazer or even breeding stock. all livestock prices I've looked at have doubled tripled even quadrupled since COVID took hold here in the USA

ok I just checked classifieds to be sure goat, lamb prices range from $150 to $500, weaned  piglets a few available start at $75 each. price has come down a little bit since I last looked a couple months ago. mules $1000-$10000, sheep $125-$300, cow $500-$2000

We have guessing contests on animals before we hang them.  We often come within 5-10 lbs. Using the grass for scale, I'd guess that sheep a bit under 200, maybe 150-175.  It does appear to be a Suffolk which is a large breed.  It has also been shorn which makes them look smaller than a wooly sheep.  If the sellers routinely run animals over scales they will know what one weighs, if they don't it is just a wild ass guess.  I routinely get hogs at lower than market prices because people underestimate their weight, but it goes the other way as well when shopping around.  Before we had a scale, we taped hogs and I calibrated my eye off of that, which held when we got the scale.

200lbs seems really high for an 8 months old sheep.  It's possible but I'd be pretty skeptical.  That photo you posted doesn't give any scale so hard to tell how big it really is.

If they're asking $200 for it, even if it was a typo (or outright lie) and it is really only 100lbs, that's still only $2/lb at live weight.  That's not bad.  When I sold a lamb last year the buyer seemed really happy with $4/lb hanging.  Live to hanging you usually lose close to 40-50% so that's not a bad price for a 100lb live meat lamb.  If the weight is exaggerated but not by too much, so say it's 150lbs, that's getting to be a pretty good deal.  If it actually is 200lbs that is a great deal.

If it's a lamb, i.e. under a year old, why has it already been shorn?  Or is that normal in your part of the world?

normal enough to sheer a month prior to butchering.  lambswool goes for top dollar.

that said, i think this is half hair sheep, so would expect a short wool staple if any

R is right, it's half hair sheep.  I'm new to sheep so I'm not sure what's normal besides.

This deal fell through but I'm glad I asked, so I have better context for my next attempts