[Jacob-list] Our first butcher lamb

[gf]

Melody,

If you are not planning to sell the meat then you could learn to do the
butching yourself, save the fee. If you are curious about the weight, shave
them, you will quickly see how small they are. On the inside, I save the
heart, liver and kidneys for the dogs and cut the meat myself with a buchter
kit for Calbot's w/hacksaw. The skin and intestine are a significant portion
of the animal, not really edible. I butchered my first last weekend, cooked
a portion of the back in a crockpot with BBQ sause, great stuff.

Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Melody" <critterland at bendcable.com>
To: <jacob-list at jacobsheep.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2003 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Jacob-list] Our first butcher lamb


> I sent two rams to the butcher in January.  They were 10 mo. old.  I don't
> know what the live weight was, but I got back 34 lbs from one and 45 from
> the other.   Last year, a ram and two ewes of about the same age, sent the
> same time of year, came back 45, 33 and 32.  My sheep get free choice
> orchard grass hay in the winter, and just enough grain to keep them
running
> to me when I call them--about 1/4 lb each twice a day.    But all of these
> were nicely fat and, probably the key, from the larger ewes of my flock. I
> am always surprised at how little meat comes back from those big wooly
> critters. The butcher has a minimum charge for cut and wrap, so with the
> kill fees it costs about $70 per lamb.  Not the cheapest meat.  But it is
> very tasty, and I know what the animals have been fed and what their
health
> was, so I will continue.  The higher per-pound cost makes it difficult to
> make anything selling Jacob lambs for butcher lambs, though.  People want
> more for their money.
> Melody at CritterLand
> Redmond OR
>
>
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