Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, I have never eaten a 5 year old ram. The oldest I've eaten is a 3 year old ram. My 3 year old ram was 50% Polypay (wool sheep) 50% Dorper (hair sheep). I would think this 3 year old ram would taste stronger than a Blackbelly of similar age. We ground the meat up and it tasted fine! Consider grinding up the neck muscles on older rams as it tends to get tough. I would bet your 5 year old ram will be edible. People eat 5 year old deer all the time. Your ram would have to be quite large to get 50 pounds of ground meat. The amount of meat you get is totally dependant on the size of your lambs. It would not be unusual for Blackbelly lambs carcass weights to be 35-45 pounds. After processing the carcass the packaged meat could easily shrink to 25 pounds depending on the cuts. Your January ram lamb will taste just fine without castrating! The only reason to castrate would be if you wanted to guarantee he would leave the ewes alone. Personally I would rather butcher such a lamb early rather than risk infection and weight loss. I typically band the newborn lambs at three days of age. Prospective ram lambs are observed to around 3 months. If they have any flaws I will do a late castration then. Most ram lambs after this point I leave intact. I prefer to do late castrations more in the colder months (no flies). I castrate for ease of flock management not taste. Mark Wintermute butchering him even though he is about 5 years old. My concern is taste. with their experience on these sheep they don't think he'll be 50 lbs of meat. I hate to spend the money then not be able to eat it. On another note- they are charging $65-$75 here for kill fee and cutting/wrapping and say the lambs usually get 35-45 lbs of meat off of them. How does that price compair and does the weight sound right? We have a January ram lamb we were planning to butcher in Novemberish. With more ewes birthing soon am wondering if we should band for taste reasons??? Elizabeth ___ ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, I do my own slaughterting and butchering and the job is not to hard. I know you say you don't want to do it yourself but the kill cost seems high to me. Do you have any friends that are deer hunters? If so see if they might be willing to do the job for part of the meat. 22 bullets are cheap and a brain shot is a very quick kill. As for the taste I raise mine to 15 months for butcher as their is not enough meat on the carcass for my liking before that. So your young guy should be just fine. I don't band (no particular reason) but have friends that do. I have eaten meat from both and find no difference in the taste. Your old guy should make fine hamburger or slow cook the loin in a pot roast. Their is usually not enough fat to make good burgers but spaghetti or chili or chunks for stew would be great. I find no comparison with beef hamburger as I find the lamb so much more tasty. Have to go to town now, would be glad to answer any other questions you might have on the subject later. Garland in OR. ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, The butcher who told you a 5-year-old ram is too old to eat may not have any experience with blackbelly sheep. This could be a learning experience for both of you. If you do decide to butcher him, please let us know how it turns out--his hanging weight, the amount of packaged ground meat, the flavor, etc. The oldest ram I've butchered was 3 years, I think. He was tasty, although a little tough, and I wish I had had the meat ground instead of put into steaks. His toughness might have been due more to how he was processed. I used to transport rams to the slaughterhouse, which is 30 miles away. They were frightened and full of adrenaline. I believe this affects the taste and tenderness of the meat. Now I have a skilled butcher come to the farm and humanely slaughter my sheep. He skins them on site, so I can process the offal for my dogs and salt down the hide. He takes the carcass to his meat market for hanging, cutting, and wrapping. The slaughterhouse I used to use charges $60 kill fee. I took a 120-lb ram to them with instructions to grind all the meat. I got back 7 lb and a bag of bones. I will never use that company again. I personally processed the meat from another young ram, perhaps 100 lb, and because he had died mysteriously, I chose to use all the meat as dog food. I packaged about 40 lb of meat. Carol At 10:39 AM 8/17/2006 -0600, you wrote: SO, those of you who have done hamburger with older rams-- how does it compare with beef? I hate to spend the money then not be able to eat it. On another note- they are charging $65-$75 here for kill fee and cutting/wrapping and say the lambs usually get 35-45 lbs of meat off of them. How does that price compair and does the weight sound right? ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[blackbelly] We are IN the money literally!!!!
My husband has informed me that he thinks our ship has just come in and Its
about time. The emails reads as follows
.hello,I saw your ad on the {sheep} and it fits what I
have been searching for. I will be paying with money order or cashier cheque
, get back to me with your final asking price so that i can proceed with the
payment
Our Reply:
You misunderstood we sell sheep dung. It is $5 a pound how much do you want?
His reply
Hello ,
i have seen
the price and
its ok by me
then i have
instructed my client in{usa} to issue the cashiers check or money
order to you.meanwhile i also instructed him to include $2950 on
the payment so you will be receiving a cheque of $3000 out of
which you will deduct your selling price with extra $50 for your
running around
and send the excess to my shipper.
.the funds will be used for the shipping of the {sheep dung for 10 which is
$50} along side
3 other sheep i placed
order for in care of my shipper.i'll imploy you to wire the balance
via western union money transfer to my shipper as soon as you
RECEIVE the check.My SHIPPER will come for pick up on a specicified
date that will be convenient for you.i hope i can count on you for
my
balance I ALSO WANT THIS TO BE BASE ON TRUST
CAN I TRUST YOU?...
P.S i need ur contact info,such as name in full,adress,ur city ur
state ur zipcode ur phone#both cell and home.pls email me asap with
all details.
Our Reply:
Hello, I will need help to load. Does your client have rubber boots and a
scoop shovel ? It is at its premium right now since it is still moist. As
far as time it is best to do at night since the flies and gnats get bad in
the day time. They can be swallowed if not careful and he could choke on
them and we do not want to be liable for this. It looks like everything is
in order we will have to see a verification of insurance on your client to
make sure it is okay. Oh ya make sure the shipper has non slip rubber boots
because he could slip and break his leg if not careful. We also have some
vintage seasoned sheep dung that could be bagged easily but not trying to
pry but pea size dried sheep dung make good necklaces when strung with
needle and thread. If spray painted they make nice Christmas decorations if
you believe in Christmas. Please get back with us on the insurance
verification soon because its getting really deep .
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 5:53 PM
Subject: blackbelly Digest, Vol 2, Issue 153
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Today's Topics:
1. Looking for Chris in Ontario re: Blackbelly sheep
(Mary Lou Campbell)
--
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:34:34 -0500
From: Mary Lou Campbell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [blackbelly] Looking for Chris in Ontario re: Blackbelly
sheep
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hi,
Would Chris from Ontario who posted Blackbelly sheep for sale, please
contact me privately at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thanks!
Mary Lou Campbell
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 3:36 PM
To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info
Subject:
[blackbelly]unsubscribe!
By the way, if there is anyone in my area that is looking to add to
their
flock ##'s
I have several ewes , ewe lambs and a couple of ram lambs for sale at
good
prices. All are healthy, and are horned genetics. I am located in
Ontario,
Canada.
Chris.
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End of blackbelly Digest, Vol 2, Issue 153
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Re: [blackbelly] Blackbelly Sheep for sale
Hope I am not out of line in posting this on the list. I am offering for sale Blackbelly Hair Sheep breeding stock. All are pure stock. No crosses. Not registered. I have several ewes(1yr-4yr), ewe lambs and ram lambs, also One 3yr old ram(beautiful, good natured)--all for sale at very reasonable prices. These are not culls. All are good breeding stock. All are HORNED genetics. (The ewes are polled or scurred). All pedigrees and breeding/health records are included. Raised Naturally, pasture fed. Low grain input. No growth hormones or stimulants used. We do not buy and sell at sale barns. All stock is born and raised here. I can send pictures and prices if interested. Shipping is responsibility of the purchaser. Location is Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Canada (approx 2 hours northeast of Toronto or 4 hours west of Ottawa) Please email me direct. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks Chris Handley ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
