[Cjnewton82]

i sent 5 sheep off last wed and i just wanted to know what other people do butchery wise they ranged in age from 2 to 5 years old any help would be good im thinking whole legs and shoulders but othere than that im not to sure. thank you in advance

[Deere]

Hi,

I've just sent two lambs in to the abattoir this week.

They could have been fatter, but this time of year the cost to gain weight is higher, so they went to fill a few draws of the freezer and to relieve the very wet fields a little.

Usually I ask for lambs to be boxed in half lamb boxes that contain Full leg, shoulder, ribs, chops, neck liver and mince.

Have a look on the Eblex web site, I'm pretty sure they have cutting specifications of the different cuts available for you and your butcher.

As my lambs were not particularly fat and my other half isn't too keen on some of the cuts I've gone for Leg, shoulder and the rest mince.

If these sheep are for your own use you have to think about what you intend to use the meat for and what you like, e.g.roast lamb at the weekend and dishes that use mince during the week like shepherds pie etc.

[twizzel]

Ours come back as basic joints bone in- shoulder in half, leg in half, chops, breast whole, neck slices, offal if they want it. Although last year I did have one whole lamb cut with whole legs and shoulders, they were huge!

[Slimjim]

If you haven't tried it before, have a few leg and shoulder joints boned and rolled. They come back as  tied up meat Swiss rolls and are so much easier to carve as a roast joint!

[Bramblecot]

It depends on the size of the sheep and who is going to be having the meat . 

Our Shetlands make small joints but my customers like that.  If your customers like smaller joints, maybe have the legs halved, but if they are for 'entertaining' then some folk want a large complete joint.  You must know your market if you want resales or you will get 'it is too large/small/bony/fatty' .

We now just have leg, shoulder, chops and the rest as mince.  If buyers want any offal they can have it, but I now only put it in the boxes if asked for (otherwise it is a waste).