Finishing Lambs

[Muttley]

We are new to the sheep business. I am thinking about finishing our own lambs could anyone who has advice on what to do concerning weaning, rations, etc. please help. We start lambing the end of April.

[pandiana]

I am not a big time lamb producer but we do finish our lambs either for the packers or private sales. Generally speaking good finisher rations require grain (whole oats or barley work well and are probably cheapest if you grow your own) or store bought pelleted finisher ration. Sheep are better able to process whole grains than cattle. Are you able to weigh your lambs? Finished weight is a rather important part of this equation. Even if your lambs are all born in one 15 day cycle, because of the larger number of twins or triplets, you would expect significant differences in weights at weaning time. Creep feeding lambs helps to even them out a little.
I am sure there are bigger and much more knowledgeable producers out there but so far this works for me.

[Muttley]

Thanks for the info. Can you tell me roughly how long it takes to finish a sheep for slaughter? My plans are to use my own feed as I am hoping to sell privatley off farm. I never liked the taste of pork fed those bought rations, would sheep flavor be the same if fed a bought ration versus home grown grain?

[pandiana]

With a good growing lamb, the most I have been able to put on them is 1lb/day. Packers I think like lambs that have been grain feed for about a month.
Yes, what they eat makes a significant difference in taste, especially forage. Feed em stink weed and they taste like stink weed.

[nakodo]

Make sure you find a place that is carefull during the slaughter and skinning to prevent the wool touching the meat! One of my pet peeves is pieces of wool in the burgers and that lanolin yuck taste that results.

[cakadu]

Processing certainly is one of the keys to having good tasting anything. The problem of "yuck" tasting lamb is alleviated if you process hair sheep. Far less lanolin if any to be concerned with. Keeping the hair off the carcass is essential and we've worked with our processor to ensure that this is taken care of.

[Muttley]

I am using a Suffolk ram for breeding mainly white face ewes. What are some of the better breeds if one wants to be producing the lambs for feeding more than breeding? I have heard a little about Shropshire but can't find out much about it.

[cakadu]

Muttley, the following website has pretty good information about a variety of sheep breeds: http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/index.htm

Do you get any of the sheep publications such as Shepherds Journal, Sheep Canada or The Shepherd from the U.S.? They usually have pretty good information about the various sheep breeds.

What about sheep specialists in Saskatchewan? There are a couple here in Alberta that you could talk to and I'd be happy to pass on their contact information to you.

Linda

[brydonra]

Any information available .

[dwilliams]

We start lambing at the end of March. We have 12 ewes lambing this year, a little business which we started for our kids. They started with 3 ewes in 1996. Each year we butcher the ram lambs and keep the ewe lambs back for breeding. Anyways, the lambs and ewes hang out around our yard and surrounding pasture. They are usually ready for butchering in early October. We feed them grain 2-3 weeks before butchering. A prime weight for lamb is 55-60 pounds dressed. I have heard that Katahdin sheep are the best meat variety.

[jensco]

The other hair sheep - Dorper - also produces a good meat carcus. However, if you want to market either of the hair breeds (other than direct market), you are in for a surprise. Most of the dealers don't like dealing in them. They put on weight a little slower and are not well known. They both have an excellent marbling. Unfortunate that the market doesn't want to change - it is a slow go. We have been direct marketing our meat.

Our operation is now up to 17 ewes (Dorper and Katahdin crosses) this year (we started with 9) last year. They are good moms and have consistent twins even when the shepherds don't know what they are doing - US!! We are in the middle of lambing now and the ewes have once again done better unassisted. I need to stay out of the barn LOL!!

We mainly finish with grain and pasture. However, right at weaning we do get one or two bags of creep feed to get them off to a good start. We didn't like the finishing rations either.

Our experience is new too but I have not found too many "old pros" out here. The newbees may have to share their experiences and see how it goes.

Glad to talk to more shepherds!!

[cakadu]

There are likely as many arguments about which is the best lamb breed as there are about which is the best beef breed. What type of carcass is best depends on what fits you, your customers and your management practices. If your customers prefer leaner, light to medium carcasses, then you probably stick with the Barbados (which is what we grow) and/or the Katahdin.

Commercial operators/feedlots tend not to take Katahdin, Barbados and the lighter breeds because they are not agressive enough at the trough. Those Dorset/Suffolk crosses are mighty aggressive when it comes to feeding. Because of this, the feedlots offer about 15 cents a lb less for the haired sheep than they do for commercial crosses. (Technically a Dorper is not a hair sheep - it is a short wool sheep that has some strains that will shed - it is a cross between a Persian and a Dorset Horn - both woolled breeds.) A hair sheep is like a bighorn in that it has an outer covering of hair and will grow an undercoat in the fall, which is shed out in it's entirety in the spring.

Some Katahdins will dress out close to what the commercial breeds do, but again, the more well-known commercial breeds tend to win out. Even though they will attain a market carcass weight, it generally isn't in the 120 day range that commercial sheep breeders strive for. Normally they will get to market weight in about 6 to 8 months versus 5 or so. Another consideration is that processors want uniformity in the carcasses, which they know they can get with the tried and true Suffolk and Dorset etc.

There likely aren't enough Dorpers around and enough collected data on rates of gain etc. to garner attention. Unless you're in the purebred game with the Dorpers, most of the them are being used as terminal sires and the prices for breeding rams right now do not pencil out when it comes to what you get at the packing plant, i.e. the current price for lamb - around 70 cents a lb does not pencil back properly when you figure the cost of a purebred ram. Most of the commercial breeders that I have talked to say that if you have to pay more than $400 for a ewe, she will never pay for herself in her lifetime. How true that is today is anyone's guess.

We don't have to spend a lot finishing our sheep and we can normally feed 2 or 3 of them to one of the bigger breeds. Again, we know that we will never compete in the mainstream lamb market and we don't even try. We have customers that prefer the lighter, leaner carcasses and that is who we sell to.

What is important is that you can make the figures work for you in the long run, no matter what the breed..

[Muttley]

The main reason we have sheep is because our 10 year old son wanted something that he could handle himself. Well as it went dear old dad here was doing most of the chores anyway after the novelty wore off. But by golly when a few people asked me to save them a lamb for butchering, I decided the kid wasn't so crazy after all.
So not only do we raise alot of cattle but now we are in the sheep business. I see alot of potential selling butcher lambs right off the farm.
We may not get rich doing this but what the heck I haven't gotten very well off doing everything else anyway and if the kids like it that's got to make it worth a little more right.

[cakadu]

I think you're quite right Muttley. If you enjoy what you're doing, that also counts for something, no matter what it is you're doing.

Funny how when the novelty wears off, dear old mum or dad are out there looking after things, but the little dickens are so cute (the lambs and the kids too I suppose) that is benefit in and of itself.

If you have people willing to buy all you have to sell, then to me you're ahead of the game.

Good luck with your endeavours.

[jensco]

Back to breeds for a second...

Dorpers are not truly wool nor hair sheep. They are a combination of both which do shed out. As far as statistics on carcass production, Canada does not have a large number of this breed in production but other countries (like South Africa) have large numbers in prodution. They are in high demand in Mexico. However, I agree that breed choice is shepherd preference for raising and will always be up for debate just like with cattle.

Good luck this season to one and all!