Explanation of Measurements & Scoring

     Generally data gathered on the rams is done in Iceland, in the fall, when they are around 18 months.
 The data on the Icelandic Rams is then given in the following major categories:

Explanation:

1) Rams Name, Number, and Parents
The rams are numbered as follows: The first two numbers in the ID number refer to the birth year of that ram.       Thettir, # 91-931 was born in 1991.


2) Body Measurements- Weight and Length Measure:
Weight and measure is in the same sequence for every ram. There are four numbers given here representing-
* Weight of the ram- A heavier the ram usually correlates to bigger, growthier offspring.
* Chest Circumference- A measurement of body depth.
* Width of Rack- The wider the rack, the greater the yield from this choice cut.
* Cannon Bone (front leg) Length- A shorter cannon bone correlates with a meatier, faster finishing market lamb.

Example:
These are measurements for Thettir's 75-102-21-116, which means :  These numbers represent as follows: Weight 75kg;  Chest Circumference 102cm; Width of Rack 21cm;  Front leg (cannon bone)  length; 116mm.   One kg = 2.2lbs, so  in English units this would be: Thettir was 165 lbs. Chest circumference is always measured in cm, 1inch = 2.5cm so his chest was 40.8 inches. Rack is also measured in cm so his rack (measured from the transverse process to the other transverse process) measured 8.4inches. The leg (cannon bone) is measured in mm, ten mm=1cm or 1inch=25mm, so his leg measures 4.64inches.


3)Score: Individual Body Parts- Second Set of Numbers:
This is a way to judge and compare the ram based on the factors given:

     This set  of numbers are the points given for individual body parts. The numbers will always be in this order: Head - Neck and Shoulders - Chest and Springiness of Ribs - Back(Rack) - Loin - Leg - Wool - Feet. However, you will notice that some of the rams have 9 sets of scores and that one of the scores is over 10.
Explanation: Three or four years ago the scale was changed somewhat. The score for legs was doubled (probably to give added weight to the leg muscle- the most expensive cut) so to get comparable score to the guys that have less than 10 for legs, divide the high leg score by two. At the same time a new score was added for overall scoring of conformation taking into account length of body etc.      *note- Front or front body refers to the whole front body, not just shoulders.



4) Ram Description:
A straightforward description of the ram and his qualities. When the fleece is described the term "yellow" or "tan"  refers to the reddish colored fiber seen most easily on white sheep  and is called phaeomelanin. This shows up usually on the head and legs and sometimes in the body of the fleece. In Iceland, this is undesirable for processing as this fiber has to be sorted out of the white fiber and dyed. In the US we prize colored fleeces even those with a large amount of phaeomelanin.


5) Production Results:
Production results include:
Market Lambs average score- based on market lamb carcass, actual weight and grade
Production Years of Daughters- how productive was his offspring


Most (if not all) lambs in Iceland are born in May and June and are slaughtered in September/October..
     The scale for market lambs (after slaughter) is from 0 to 5.
     The scale for daughters is indexed where the average is 100 with a variance of 10.