The Mueller kids know the first rule of raising livestock: don’t make friends because you can’t eat a critter you’ve named.

Eighteen-year-old Trevor and 14-year-old Paige are old hands at raising sheep to sell at the 4-H livestock auction during the Island County Fair.

They will take two lambs apiece to the auction that takes place at noon Aug. 20 at the fairgrounds in Langley.

They fed the animals as a group from a trough. No hand-feeding allowed because this project reflects the reality of livestock farming, not raising pets.

The kids keep stringent records on weight gain and expenses, all information that must be turned in to 4-H officials before the sale begins. Then it’s up to the bidders to ensure the youngsters turn a profit on their animals.

Paige has raised market lambs since she was 8 years old at the family farm in Oak Harbor. She learned not to get sentimental.

“It was hard when I was little, but I got over it,” Paige said.

Handling her “show” sheep is an entirely different matter. They won’t be making a one-way trip to the fair.

Buelah, a 2-year-old ewe with a dark crimpy fleece, comes to the gate to greet Paige and beg for a goodie. Following close behind are Beulah’s lambs, Betty and Barney.

The Aug. 20 livestock auction will be Trevor’s last one. He’ll attend Skagit Valley College in the fall. And like any seasoned 4-H’er, he’s already mapped out a life plan. He wants to earn a degree in education and have a teaching career lined up after he retires from the State Patrol. Helping him pay his way will be the $600 scholarship he was awarded as 4-H’er of the Year.

The Muellers will join other 4-H’ers in selling sheep, and there will be cows and pigs on the auction block, too.

Purchasers can buy an animal for meat or to take home for a pet. Arrangements for the meat option can be made at the auction, because the butcher will attend the sale and work out details with the customer, said Renee Mueller, leader of the Whidbey Shepherds, the group to which her children belong.