© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved  KENYA STANDARD    D KS 2774: PART 3: 2017  
                      ICS …… 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification 
 
 Part 3: Sheep   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
     PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT, NOVEMBER 2017 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 2017         First Edition 2017   
  KENYA STANDARD    DK S 2774: PART 3: 2017  
ICS ……………… 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification 
  
Part 3: Sheep 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
No copying of this standard without KEBS permission except as permitted by copyright law  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
PUBLIC REVIEW DRA FT, NOVEMBER 2017  
 
   
© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved  
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION 
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical C ommittee: 
 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livestock and Fisheries- Directorate o f livestock production 
Ministry of Agriculture. Livestock and Fisheries - Directorate of veterinary services 
Kenya Camel Association (KCA) 
University of Nairobi (UON) 
Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) 
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock  Research Organization (KARLO)  
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) 
Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC)….Proposed 
Farmers Choice (K) Ltd 
Consumer Information Network Ministry of Health- food safety unit Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives  
National Public Health Laboratories 
Government Chemist’s Department 
Kenchic (K) Ltd. 
Kenya Meat Commission 
Kenya Nut limited – Morendat Farm 
Choice Meats limited 
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS 
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya standar ds shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvement to published standards, addressed to the Managi ng Director, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome. 
  
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards , 2016 
 Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyrig ht 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau  of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in w riting 
from the Managing Director. 
 
 
  
ISBN 9966-19-638-2    
 KENYA STANDARD       
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
Grading live animal for meat trade - 
Specification   Part 3: Sheep  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS) 
 
Head Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi-00200, Tel.: (+254 020) 605490, 602350,  Fax: (+254 020) 604031 
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© KEBS 2017 — All rights reserved Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the Meat and Meat Products Technical Committee under the 
guidance of the Standards Projects Committee, and it is in acco rdance with the procedures of the Kenya 
Bureau of Standards. 
 
The preparation of the first edition of the standard was found necessary so as to align the microbiological 
requirements, heavy metal limits and Minimum Residue Levels for  pesticides and veterinary drugs residue 
with the current advances in science. 
   During the preparation of this standard, reference was made to  the following documents: 
 
Determination of living animals for slaughter: KS 01-837: part 1 and 2 
 
Kenya Meat Commission Act Cap 363 of the laws of Kenya 
 ILRI discussion paper No. 22, Improvement and Diversification o f Somali Livestock Trade and 
Marketing; Towards a formalized grading system for export quali ty livestock in Somalia 
 Stuth, J. et al., (2006). “Livestock Market Information System for East Africa: The Case of LINKS/GL-
CRSP.” In J.G McPeak and P.D Litt le , eds Pastoral livestock ma rketing in Eastern Africa: Research 
and policy challenge ES 2789:2012-Grading live animals and carcass 
Australian Standard for the expor t of livestock (version 2.3) 2 011 
PNS/BAFPS 87:2010: Live grading for slaughter cattle 
 Kadim, I. T., Mahgoub, O., and Mbaga, M. (2014). Potential of camel meat as a non-traditional high 
quality source of protein for human consumption. Animal Frontie rs 4:13-17. doi:10.2527/af.2014-
0028  
Cap 360 of Animal welfare Act  
The assistance derived from the above sources is highly acknowl edged.©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 3: 2017 
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved   
 
Grading live animal for meat trade –Specification 
 
Part 3:  Sheep 
 
 
 
1. SCOPE 
 
This Kenya Standard specifies requirements for grading of sheep  for meat trade 
 
2  Normative references 
 
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the ap plication of this document. For 
dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated r eferences, the latest edition of the 
referenced document (including any amendments) applies. 
 
I. KS 01-837: Parts 2 1990 Definitions for living animals for slaughter 
II. KS 317: Part 1, 2, 4 Carcasses and meat cuts  
III. Code of practice for animal welfare during transportation. 
 
 
3. DEFINITIONS 
For the purposes of this standa rd, the following definitions sh all apply: 
3.1 Grade  –  
the defined parameters that segregate live animals for meat tra de into homogenous groups applied by 
market participants  based on weight, age, sex, body condition and body conformation.   
 
3.2 Sex –  
refers to whether an animal is male or female. 
 3.3 Body condition  – 
overall body state of an animal assessed through visual observa tion taking into account fat and muscle 
deposition as it occurs in various places on the animal’s body 
 
3.4 Body condition score -  
Is the score assigned through visual appraisal of specific body  parts. The extent to which specific skeletal 
body parts {including; hips, hooks and pins, rump, shoulders, b ack (spinous processes of the thoracic 
vertebrae), ribs} are either hidden or smoothened by flesh or f at. The animals are thus categorized as 
excellent; good; fair and poor;  
 
3.5 Body conformation ©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 3: 2017 
 
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved  
 is the symmetry, size and shape of the various body regions of a n  a n i m a l  r e l a t i v e  t o  e a c h  o t h e r  o r  t h e  
general appearance of the animal according to what is considere d a desirable appearance.  Features of an 
animal that comprise the ‘desirable appearance’ include 
a) Big frame or skeletal size of the animal—under this feature height and length as crucial elements to 
consider. Top quality animals are those that shall be tall with  large body frame; 
b) Good muscling— under this feature, thick and long muscling i s preferred; 
c) Good appearance of feet and legs—important features to consi der here shall include a long and 
straight (level) rump; long and broad loin; long and straight b ack; and well set and straight legs. Cattle 
exhibiting a large heart girth in relation to overall body size  (height and length of body) will attain a 
higher score. 
3.6 Conformation score 
- This is a qualitative categorization of animal features based  on body frame, animal height and defects. 
They shall be described as excellent, good or fair.  3.7 Castrated male: 
Male animals whose testicles have been rendered dysfunctional t hrough an approved procedure.   
3.8 Live weight :  
the weight of an animal before slaughter determined through an appropriate and acceptable method.  
 
3.9 semitendinosus   is a long superficial muscle in the back of the thigh. Thus c an replace with “ back 
muscle of the thigh ”. 
 
3.10 quadriceps  are all four powerful extensors of the knee joint. They are cr ucial in walking, running, 
jumping and squatting. Because rectus femoris attaches to the i lium, it is also a flexor of the hip. 
Thus can replace with “ front muscles of the thigh ”. 
3.11 apophysis ; plural noun: apophyses : is a natural protuberance from a bone. Thus can replace with 
“natural bone protuberance ”. 
 
 
4.0 Grading specifications for sheep 
The grading of sheep shall be done in accordance to age (dentit ion or records), sex (male castrated, male 
un-castrated, female), weight and body condition  
4.1.Age: categories will be based on records and/or dentition as outline d as per KS 01-837: Part 2 1990.  
Sex categories  shall be based on; male castrated, male un-cast rated and female 
4.2 Weight : The live weight will be determined by any appropriate method including weighing scale and 
weight band. The minimum weight of 25 kgs will apply for Grade 1 and 2.   
  
4.3 The body condition of sheep shall be determined according to T able 1. 
Table 1: Descriptions for body conditions for Sheep 
  
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 3: 2017 
 
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
 Body 
Score Hind leg Loin Shoulder Ribs Brisket Tail 
Excellent   Muscle very well 
developed i.e., 
semi   
tendinosus, 
biceps femoris, 
quandriceps  Wide and 
very well 
developed 
loin up to the 
shoulder 
region, spinous 
processes 
are hidden 
or 
smoothened 
by flesh 
and/or fat    Shoulder 
muscles very 
well developed. 
Shoulder blade 
not visible  Ribs not 
visible Brisket well 
developed, 
covered with 
flesh and/or 
fat well 
developed fat 
deposit  
Good  
 Moderately 
developed Moderately 
developed 
loin, spinous 
processes 
not seen but 
easily felt.  Shoulder 
muscles 
moderately 
developed, 
shoulder  blades 
slightly visible Ribs  
visible, 
moderate 
flesh 
cover Brisket  
moderately 
developed moderately 
developed fat 
deposit  
poor  
  Pin bone 
prominent Poorly 
developed 
loin, spinous 
processes 
visible  Poor developed 
shoulder 
muscles, 
shoulder  blades 
prominent Ribs 
visible B r i s k e t   p o o r  
developed poor 
developed 
tail head 
slightly 
raised, 
limited fat 
deposition.  
 
  4.4 Body Conformation Score(CS) shall encompass the symmetry, size  and shape of the various body 
regions of the goat relative to each other or the general appea rance of the animal as outlined in Table 2: 
 
 Table 2: Body conformation clas sifications and descriptions for  sheep 
 
 ©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 3: 2017 
 
 
© KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved  
 Scores Description 
Excellent sheep of good   height (tall), with large frame and long and st raight rump, loin and 
back, large heart girth and straight legs. 
Good sheep of medium height with medium frame, shorter but straight rump, loin and back, 
medium heart girth and straight legs 
Fair sheep with defects including a short and small frame, a small  heart-girth in relation to 
the overall body size; lordosis or kyphosis, or feet and legs t hat are post-legged, buck-
kneed, splay-footed or sickle-hocked. 
 
4.5 Sheep grades  
The interaction of the characteristics identified above (sex, a ge, body condition) shall be categorized into 
three grades: 
Table 3: Grade categories for Sheep  
Grade Sex category Age (Months) Live weight (kg) Body conditionBody 
conformation 
1. Male(Castrated and un castrated) >6 >25 Excellent Excellent 
Female 6-18 >25 Excellent Excellent 
2.  Male and female >6 >25 Good Good  
3.  Male and female >6 No limit Poor  Fair   
 
 
 
Table 4 Sample Pictorial presentation of grades  
 
Grade Sex category Pictorial Presentation
1 
Male(Castrated and un castrated)
 
Female  
 
©KEBS  DKS 2774: PART 3: 2017 
 
 
  © KEBS 2017 —  All rights reserved 
  
 
 2  Male and female  
3  Male and female