OXFORD — Raising a sheep as farm livestock is not much different than raising a pet sheep until it’s auction time at the Oxford Fair.

That’s where young people from around the county gathered Friday morning to auction off their livestock to the highest bidder and a trip to the slaughterhouse.

“We raise them for that so I don’t mind,” said Emily Billings, 11, of Milton Township, who auctioned off her sheep with other members of the Oxford County Beef and Sheep 4-H Club.

Preparing for the show began in April when the sheep, who are sometimes named by the children, are born.

“We shear them, and we cut their hoofs. We make their hair look shiny,” Billings explained of the preparations for the auction.

The Suffolk Oxford sheep was born in April on her family farm and raised by Billings. She said she had to teach the sheep to walk around the ring and then “pose” for the buyers to display the sheep in its best light. Little things, like keeping some hair on the leg, are done to enhance the sheep’s saleability.

Billings’ sheep garnered about $200 to $300 at the auction. Her 4-H Club colleague Brook Carrier, 10, of Mexico, earned just over $200 for her sheep “Mia,” which she bought for $100 in April and sold Friday for $215.

Sue Billings, Emily’s mother, said there was a significant drop in the number of buyers this year. The big loss was Hannaford Bros. supermarket, which traditionally sends buyers to the auction and this year did not, she said, because of budget constraints. But other longtime buyers, such as the Bahre family, the Grover family, Paris Farmers Union, Double D Fence, the Big Rig Shop and even Norway Savings Bank, had bidders on hand.

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Brook Carrier of Mexico, right, and Emily Billings of Milton Township show off their sheep, which were auctioned at the Oxford Fair on Friday.