[Blackbelly] Barbados Blackbelly Growth Chart

[Joanne Vaughn]

Hi Carol, et al.
Thanks for the information. Yes I did mean Barbados Blackbelly.  It is
great to get that information
on grass-fed weights since that is our intention to eliminate grain as our
pastures are developed.

We are in Rochester NY. Though we have a harsh winter we expect to be able
to provide fresh graze for at least 200-250 days of the year with proper
management.

Because the BB and the BB crosses we have will develop more slowly we would
like to develop some benchmark weights to guide us to evaluate the
nutrition that our pastures are providing and at which times of the year.
Other factors we will take note of will include singleton/twin, initial
birth weight, season of birth and sex of lamb. All but 2 of our ewes are
dorper x BB being crossed with BB ram so we will have to consider Dorper
traits as well.

At those live weights, what weights do your lambs dress out on a graze only
diet?

Joanne
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Re: [Blackbelly] Barbados Blackbelly Growth Chart

[Carol Elkins]

Joanne, it is refreshing to hear from a breeder with a well-defined 
breeding plan.


Depending on what you are feeding in lieu of pasture now, you 
probably don't need to feed grain. BB sheep do well on most grass 
hay. So unless your available hay is seriously low in protein, I 
recommend only giving grain to ewes that are lactating or gestating.


I have not found initial birth weight to be a good indicator of 
overall growth rate or performance. Parents' genetics is a better 
indicator of overall growth rate, assuming a nutritionally adequate diet.


I breed for lambing in April and November and haven't seen much 
difference in performance between the two groups. Other breeders 
have, however, so other factors may contribute to seasonal lambing 
differences, such as geography and diet. I'm in Colorado; breeders 
reporting seasonal lambing differences are generally from the East Coast.


My 90-lb ram lambs dress out to 45-55 lb of packaged meat, depending 
on how the customer has asked it to be cut. But in general, you can 
expect a 50% yield percentage, which is par for the sheep/goat market 
averages. It just takes longer to get a BB sheep to slaughter weight, 
and that reduces your profit depending on how much you have had to 
supplement their diet during the 9 month growth time. So if you can 
schedule your lambing to take advantage of 8-9 months of pasture, 
you'll have a greater profit.


I sell my slaughter lambs for $3.50/lb LIVE weight and have a line of 
customers always willing to buy. I provide on-farm slaughter 
facilities, and the customer pays someone else for 
slaughter/dressing/packaging. That $3.50/lb live weight is all mine. 
Getting that premium price required developing a market that 
appreciated all-natural, grass-fed, chemical-free meat. My customers 
are primarily health-care professionals and people who shop at 
higher-end health-food stores. It took awhile to build that market, 
but it has paid off.


Carol

At 07:27 PM 12/26/2014, you wrote:

At those live weights, what weights do your lambs dress out on a graze only
diet?


Carol Elkins
Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep
(no shear, no dock, no fuss)
Pueblo, Colorado
http://www.critterhaven.biz

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