Author Topic: Soay meat (Read 4390 times)

in the hills · « **on:** August 04, 2013, 06:18:58 pm »

The time will soon come to send our Soay wethers on their way (around 18 months old).

Can anyone help with the following, as it is our first time.

How many Kg of meat approx. can we expect back from each animal (after butchering).

How much should we charge? ..... we have friends and neighbours asking to purchase

Any other advice?

Oooooo ..... not looking forward to it

but must start to get organised.

mmu · « **Reply #1 on:** August 04, 2013, 07:38:34 pm »

I don't know the answers to the techy questions, but I bet you'll enjoy it when it arrives!

landroverroy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2013, 08:09:31 pm »

I usually expect to roughly get back the same number in pounds of meat that it weighed in kg when alive.
As for price - look up on the internet what people are charging for lamb. (I know your's is technically mutton, but it's a premium product.) Or else, check how much sheep are fetching at your local market, add on for killing and cutting up, and for your time in getting it done, then add at least a tenner per half to make it worth your while.
I'm sure it will taste delicious.

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2013, 10:59:09 pm »

IME, you won't get anything like 50% liveweight back from a small primitive.

My Castlemilk Moorit wethers went in at a combined live weight of around 135kgs and I got 55kgs of meat back. It was truly tremendous though.

It'll cost you a lot more per kilo to butcher, because it costs the same per head to kill and cut as a prime lamb which returns 20kgs plus. Mine cost nearly £2/kilo (deadweight) to kill and cut, against £1/kilo for a prime lamb.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2013, 01:26:02 am »

The gigots are about 1.5 - 2 kg each, if I remember, the shoulders a tiny bit smaller. The chops are really too small to be worth chopping up, but they make a good crown roast or Valentine chops. There's no scrag end of neck, or really any other cuts - but what there is is really good and so different even compared with Hebridean and Shetland. At 18 months it is usually called hogget, and as landroverroy says, it is a premium product - Soay meat is rarer than the sheep themselves because of the relatively expensive slaughter and butchering costs compared with the amount of meat.

in the hills · « **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2013, 09:04:13 pm »

Thank you for your answers.

Any ideas on a fair price to ask per kg?

Or do I ask for a certain amount for whole sheep in a box? If so how much?

Did look on the net. Few places selling Soay, though.

Jac · « **Reply #6 on:** August 06, 2013, 03:09:58 pm »

Hi all
I sent 2 Soay rams last year and was surprised by how much I got back.
No idea what you should ask price wise as we kept ours and used it ourselves.
So all I do know is it was very tasty and well worth breeding if only for your own use.
xx

sarahdean_66 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 09, 2013, 06:34:43 pm »

hi the soays i had last year went off a bit earlier than yours and got back 10kgs meat each amazing taste! sold for £8/kg and had ppl offering to pay more when i had ran out coz they found it so yummy! just sold to friends also