[Jacob-list] Reply to multiples re: butcher lamb

[Shawn Hoefer]

> If you are not planning to sell the meat then you could learn to do the
> butching yourself, save the fee. 

You can also sell the meat on the hoof anbd let the buyer take the animal to butcher, or if you re
on a farm and haev facilities you can allow the buyer to butcher at your location. This can hel;p
is you want the pelt/hide or internals (read on) and can get you a decent price. I have a friend
that gets $1.50/lb for her goats on the hoof. Of course this is just something to consider if you
plan only on selling locally.

> 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...

For the dogs! Live a little :) Get adventurous!! I tried steak and kidney pi lst year and it is
now a favorite dish around the house. Our poor dogs are now stuck with nothing but dog food. I am
even interested in trying a haggis, but the last time I tried, it.. ahem... exploded and was a bit
of a cleanup problem...

> 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.

We process all of our animals that we plan on eating at home. Anything we sell at the market has
to be processed at a USDA approved facility.

> Gary
> ----- Original Message -----
 
> > 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

I wa curious about the cost myself, did some research and found that your prices are about right
for a reputable meat packer. I feel that $70 was acceptable for 35# of meat in the freezer. So
called 'natural lamb' (so-called because in spite of any and all assurances, there's still no way
of knowing short of taking it to a bio lab) runs about $4+/lb here - when you can get it at all.
We prefer our own lamb, get our beef from a local rancher, raise goats for meat and milk and raise
our own chickens for meat and eggs. I really hate getting anything from the store anymore, but
wont raise pork on the farm and find that seafood doesn't do too well in s drought stricken, land
locked state :)

Enjoy it...

Shawn
Laffing Horse Farm

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