How to Read a Show Lamb Feed Tag (Without Getting Fooled)

The feed tag is the most honest thing on a bag of show feed. The front panel is marketing; the tag is a legal document. Once you can read it, you can compare any two feeds in about thirty seconds — and you can spot the one number that actually matters for a sheep’s safety before it ever goes in the pan.

Here’s how to read every line that counts.

The guaranteed analysis, line by line

Every commercial feed carries a guaranteed analysis — a short table of minimums and maximums the manufacturer is legally bound to hit. For a show lamb ration, four lines do most of the work.

Crude Protein (minimum)

Protein drives muscle and frame. Most show lamb grower feeds land between 16% and 18% crude protein. Higher isn’t automatically better — past a point you’re paying for protein the lamb excretes rather than uses. Match protein to phase: more early when you’re building frame and muscle, slightly less as you shift toward finish.

Watch the wording. “Crude protein” is measured from nitrogen, so a feed can hit its protein number using non-protein nitrogen (like urea) that a young lamb uses poorly. Check the ingredient list for real protein sources — soybean meal, distillers grains — near the top.

Crude Fat (minimum)

Fat is energy, and energy is finish and cover. A grower feed might sit around 3–4% fat; a finisher or a dedicated high-fat topdress can run 6% or well into the double digits. If a lamb is lean and needs cover late, fat is the lever you reach for.

Crude Fiber (maximum)

Fiber is listed as a maximum for a reason: it’s an inverse proxy for energy density. A 6–8% fiber feed is grain-forward and energy-dense; push toward 12–15% and you’ve got a bulkier, more forgiving feed that fills a lamb without pushing as much finish. Neither is “better” — it depends on whether you’re trying to add cover or manage a lamb that’s getting too heavy.

Calcium and Phosphorus (the Ca:P ratio)

This pair matters more in lambs — especially wethers — than almost anywhere else, because it drives the risk of urinary calculi (water belly). You want calcium comfortably higher than phosphorus, generally a 2:1 ratio. Grain-heavy rations are naturally high in phosphorus, which is why good show feeds add calcium (and often ammonium chloride) to push the ratio back the right way.

The one number that can hurt a sheep: copper

Sheep are uniquely sensitive to copper. They store it in the liver with no early warning, and a level that’s perfectly safe for a cattle or goat feed can build to a fatal release in a sheep.

This is the single most important habit to build:

• Look for a stated copper level in the analysis or a “for sheep” statement on the tag.
• Be suspicious of any product labeled only for cattle, goats, or “all stock.” Crossover products are where sheep get hurt.
• When copper isn’t stated at all, treat it as unknown — confirm with the manufacturer before feeding it to a lamb.

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this line. Everything else on the tag affects how a lamb places. Copper affects whether it stays healthy.

A 30-second comparison routine

Standing at the feed store with two bags, run them in this order:

1. Copper / “for sheep” — is it safe at all? If not, stop here.
2. Protein — right for the lamb’s phase?
3. Fat — does the lamb need more energy and cover, or less?
4. Fiber — energy-dense grain feed, or a bulkier fill feed?
5. Calcium vs. phosphorus — is Ca meaningfully higher than P?

That’s the whole method. The tag already did the hard part — it just needs someone who knows how to read it.

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Nothing here is veterinary advice. Sheep copper tolerance is narrow and varies with genetics and the rest of the diet — always read the label, confirm a product is appropriate for sheep, and work with your veterinarian and feed dealer. Browse feeds and supplements in our directory, where every entry notes its show phase, feeding rate, and copper-safety status.