Anyone know about sheep?

I'm going to pause for a moment to laugh at some of the comments I'm sure will come along. Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha. Ok, I'm good lol. I know nothing about sheep, only spring lambs are very pricey. Can you get older ones cheap? Are they good to eat? Is there an age cutoff when they get to gamey?

I heard the ones living around you have on plaid skirts and matching lipstick and when someone drives by they make a noise that sounds like caaaaaaatch....come..baaaaaack!!!

i've heard the big uns are baaaaaaaad

Taste depends on what they have been fed to finish out. Mutton is meat from an older sheep, I like it better, if it's been fed right. Back in the olden days lambs were very seldom sold, they would keep them to 2 or 3 years old. Ran them in a separate herd called a wether(sp?) herd after they were separated from their mothers. Ewe lambs were mostly kept for replacements. The best thing about mutton is, the chops are much larger.

Hay breath it takes some getting accustomed to.

Spring lambs are always expensive here, I think mostly 4h kids buy them now.

turn em around,ya wanna talk some "gettin used to."

Thanks billcat. I'm looking into this as a potential for cheap meat. Maybe find a farmer willing to sell a live one, I can butcher it. I just don't know what to look for and don't want to end up with meat tasting like a hobo's taint lol.

I just read an article on hogette (sp). I guess that's in between a lamb and mutton.

You want them ..no more than a year old.

Cheap meat. How bout rabbits?

We ate the younger lambs on the farm and one time we "tried to eat an old buck" gag a maggot!

Yep, that's what I want to avoid.

Sprung, rabbits are on the list. We used to raise them years ago and you can put a bunch of meat in the freezer quick with them.

I have and do raise sheep. The ones I did raise in the past were wooly type sheep. They are much fatter. Wood butcher them at about 100 lbs. or so. I thought they were good eating. Chops and such cooked in the broiler to let the fat drain away, Sheep I currently raise are American Blackbelly Sheep. They are a hair sheep have a coat more like a deer. Leaner and more like eating venison. Butcher them after a year old as they grow slower.

In the us any sheep over a year is considered mutton when butchered. You might be able to find a fall lamb or a 4h lamb that the fair was canceled. If the fair does happen try to get on the buy back list and get one at market price also backup lambs or lambs that didn't make weight can normally be bought for market price too.

Do yours get just grass and hay or grains as well in the winter cw? Just so I know what to ask when I start visiting farms. I'm gonna wear my bibs so they don't think I'm a greenhorn lol.

BR549.

Are those your neighbors sheep Nessy lol.

Their his friends!!!

I Feed them a good alfalfa hay. Also a rolled corn oats and molasses mix in the morning. Also they have a sheep mineral always available. One thing you need to be aware of. If you purchase a feed mix or supply a mineral. Be SURE it doesn't contain any copper as it will kill them.

I raise sheep and eat a few -- I don't worry about flavor on anything under 21/2 years old for ewes and weathers and about a year on rams. We have been enjoying a good market for a few years now. I still remember getting .45 per pound at auction. Now i am hoping 1.75 for this years.

Jeff, don't forget you can purchase lambs and other meat animals at the Mt. Hope Auction. The Easter lamb sale is 4/7/2020. The auction is an essential business and still open

https://www.mthopeauction.com/sale/special-sheep-goat-sale/2020/04/07

The regular livestock sales at Mt. Hope may or may not be cheaper. The regular livestock auction is every Wednesday at 10:00am.

Last weeks prices:

"Head Sheep____1,568____
Bucks & Ewes______$60.00-95.00_______358 head__
Lambs: Prime: 40# - 60# ___$240.00-257.50___272 hd__
Choice: 40# - 60#___$220.00-237.50_ 287 hd_
40# - 60#____$200.00-217.50_____ 44 hd__
Choice 60# - 80#__$230.00-245.00__ 248 hd_
60# - 80#_____$182.50-227.50___ 139 hd___
80# - 100#____$182.50-232.50____ 111 hd__
100# -130#____$145.00-212.50____41 hd__
130# & Up____$130.00-190.00____ 24 hd __"

Keith

Thanks Keith, I'm not sure I want to get out till this thing blows over. Also, I don't think I know enough yet to buy at auction. I'd probably end up with a 8yr old Buck lol. Is that price for the ewes per hundred weight?

Those are my sons sheep....he shows them at all the local fairs , sells market lambs, sells Rams and Ewes all over the country.

A few months ago a buddy of mine got a great deal on a pig at the Mt Hope sale. It was market weight and he paid 40 bucks for it because it had a rupture. I'm looking for those too. Do sheep get anything like that and you can get them cheaper?

Get a Southdown ..or Dorper for meat. There are plenty of sheep farms in Ohio.

Yeah, they are all around me, a lot of Amish raise them too. I just want to know what I'm doing lol.

I knew they were all around you after I made up my post and read it!!!

You can go to the “Ohio Sale “ in May.....at the Darke County Fair Grounds in Greenville.....and talk to them....if that’s with in driving distance.

What do you call a guy from Wabash with more then five sheep?


Pimp

That's about 3 hours west of here. I could call the OARDC and talk with them, thank you.

might have already been said but...…...pm savell

Yes Jeff, the prices are by hundred weight. Some few auctions, like Degraff, go by head on animals like goats. I have a hard time understanding some of Mt. Hopes' auctioneers. Especially at the Exotic Auction, some of the auctioneers will slur and jump the price higher than normal.

There are lots of lambs on Craigslist. In Ohio farms are deemed essential and allowed to sell still.

Keith

Thank you Keith. Your in the biz and know a lot. Any suggestions on cheap meat? I do plan on going to some sales and meeting Farmers after this virus blows over. Maybe instead of taking a ruptured pig to the sale I could strike a deal with them.

Wait til after easter if you can prices usually drop a little then -- Orthodox easter not the easter we think of.

After 1 year a lamb loses his 4 lamb teeth... he it then concidered mutton....and loses quite a bit of value . when i get a fat lamb for butcher.. i look for 140 -150 lb corn fed lamb ... i have eaten yearling definitly not as good as lamb
older ewes i know nothing about eating quality... i think properly cooked it is edible ... i know when the gang of mexicans came and sheared they always took a barren ewe for feeding there familys.
but the last thing i think of when im sinkin my teeth into a rare lamb chop hot off the grill is the price..

I have a hog guy, I'll pm you his number. I just got a 285 pound hog from him on $200.00 trade on a goat. It's about $40.00 over market price, but he can get it into the butcher right away, since many of the hogs they sell come from him and I don't have to smell it, load it, stink up my truck or deliver it to the processor.

Beef is dirt cheap right now too. There is a long wait to get a beef in usually. I have only helped butcher one beef, when a friend had a cow's stomach twist. It is a lot of work for a couple of guys.

You can get spent layers from the Amish for as low as 25 cents each if you buy by the thousand. They are mostly comets or isa browns. There is not much meat on them, compared to the cornish rock crosses, but there is a lot of meat for the price. If you don't want to buy a 1000, the guys that pick them up usually sell them for $2.00 each on Craigslist or $1.00 each for 100 or more.

I suspect a lot of fairs will be canceled due to Covid-19, so there should be a lot of cheap meat animals around.

Keith

The hispanics that get lamb from me always want an old ram or ewe (prefer ram) I can't see how they can eat the thing. The greeks ( for easter) always want 70 lbs +/- . I prefer a little older ( worth the effort of butchering) 120-140. Definately look at the teeth -- that is the most definative way to age them. I've raised a few dorpers and was not overly impressed with their quality ( I called them goats ) Most of the breeds that have wool will be of similar flavor if raised correctly. I do not grain feed mine, however they usually get alfalfa ( high protein) hay. Remember that sheep dress at about 45% .

at about70- 90 lbs most commercial lambs are put on straight corn with added pellets w protein and supliments.... no hay.... takes about 70-90 days till there finished

When men were men....and sheep were scared..

I'm warning em,,AGAIN.I was wonderin why you always wear them painter pants with the hammer holder slots on both sides.Sheep legs fit right in them don't they?

And his Velcro gloves

We mix the older cull ewes with venison (if we get deer) and beef and lean pork
to make sausage and it is very good sausage. We like the lamb for sure but cull ewes bring zippo and we are developing good markets for our 70-100 lbs meat sheep lambs.

Bryce

are them southdowns nessie?? good lookin lambs...that one right there in front on road looks ready to eat :}

Thank you Bryce. Have you tried eating the cull ewes like you would a lamb and what kind do you raise? There's a farmer down the road that has suffolks. The market for lambs is good for the sellers for sure.

The younger the better. This one is probably over the hill unless you prefer more maturity.

That will end up as a pin up in pcr's fur shed.

That’s a flock of Oxfords....another meat breed....tasty too !

A Taint-- haven't heard that in awhile Catch that's funny

I've raised and REALLY like Katahdins, they are a hair sheep. Taste great. Very easy keepers, lamb easy and after their first season usually have twins or triplets. More meat than a Blackbelly. Parasite resistant.

Thanks everyone for your help, it's much appreciated!

x2-i actually learned a bunch of info i may come to need soon.

I know enough about them to have gotten rid of them.

no money in raisin them Hobbie??we have 2 sales barns around i planned on hangin around on auction day but beaver trappin has got in the way.

Our sheep are Katahdin's. They are a meat and no wool sheep. They are smaller. Ewes probably average 80-120 lbs. We sell our lambs live to a person who has developed a good market for lamb meat. Most Suffolk, Hampshire lambs get sold from 120-160 lbs. Ours are a good 40-50 lbs less. We lamb in March and most are sold in October.
As to eating ewes? Yes we have and we know it is older and tougher but we put the roasts etc. in our slow cooker with seasonings like Thyme, sage, worchester sauce etc. and it is really not bad at all that way. As with venison it needs to be eaten hot, especially the older meat. Older ewes don't have as much off flavor as the deer we harvest from the national forest that don't eat a lot of alfalfa and or corn.

Bryce

Thanks Bryce.

Hey Catch, been raising some big rabbits for meat and it's a lot to try and move after dispatching them, so I decided to saddle them and ride them to the butcher shop. Maybe they could help fill your meat for the freezer problem. I could send you some eggs if you want to try hatching some.

yeah sheep are everywhere just drive to a urban location. mainly everyone you see is a sheep,lol

Lol, I'll get the incubator warmed up and ready, and I'll start looking for a saddle.

Sheep are just coyote decoys.If they were actually any good to eat,you wouldn't have to camouflage the taste with a pound of mint jelly.

Fellow gave me a quart of mutton stew. His fire station makes a kettle full each year. Ate about two spoonfuls and tossed it out.

I hear ya, buddy gave me a cooked roast, I don't have a acquired taste for it. Yuck that stuff is awful.

I can't even stand the smell of it cooking.I do like wool hunting cloths though.

All I know is after having been a member for a few years now and I read this title, I believe you are the bravest man alive for asking that question on Trapperman!

Anyone run sheep with their cows? Will they stay contained in a poor barbed wire fence or are they always looking to wander? Will they help clean up low shrubs like blackberry and multi-flora rose? I am considering buy a few and throwing them in with the cows for a year or two and see what they do to help clean up some brush or will they just compete with the cows?