Are you smarter than a 4-Her?

Livestock skillathons test youth's knowledge of livestock. They can be very challenging.

One aspect of a skillathon is a written test. This blog entry provides links to the Senior test from the 2012 Sheep & Wool Skillathon held recently at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. Most of the questions pertain equally to sheep and goats.

Here are a few sample questions:

1. Which volatile fatty acid (VFA) increases in the rumen when grain is added to the ration?
1. Acetic
2. Propionate
3. Butyrate
4. Caproate


2. If you breed a ram with an RR genotype to a ewe with a QR genotype, what is the probability that the offspring will be resistant to scrapie?
1. 0 percent
2. 25 percent
3. 50 percent
4. 100 percent


3. Which kind of diet develops the rumen in a baby lamb faster?
1. Milk
2. Grain
3. Hay 
4. Pasture

Senior test - without answers
Senior test - with answers