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Author Topic: live weight for slaughter, lambs  (Read 12235 times)

Young Ed

  • Joined Apr 2014
live weight for slaughter, lambs
« on: July 30, 2014, 04:11:50 pm »
okay a nice easy question today
what sort of live weight should i be aiming to have my lleyn lambs (wethers) when sending to slaughter?
oh and one more  :P
how do you weigh your lambs/sheep with out a weigh crate?
Cheers Ed

Bramblecot

  • Joined Jul 2008
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, 04:40:03 pm »
Pick them up and stand on the bathroom scales, then subtract your weight.  I hope you're a strong lad :roflanim:
I think the aim is 38kg which will give you (very roughly) approx 18kg of meat.  But if it is for your own use, you can send them when it suits you, you will get roughly half the weight back as meat.. 
There was a post where SITN explained the weights required for commercial lamb.

Bionic

  • Joined Dec 2010
  • Talley, Carmarthenshire
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, 04:41:45 pm »
Gosh Ed, you've only just got them and you are already talking about sending them off  ;D


For lambs we use bathroom scales. Weigh yourself and then get on the scales holding a lamb. Not quite so easy to do that with a full grown ewe though. You might be able to rig up a spring scale for that.
Life is like a bowl of cherries, mostly yummy but some dodgy bits

twizzel

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, 05:24:35 pm »
The golden liveweight is 40-42kg for a commercial carcass, any more than that and it is penalised for being too fat.

We send ours off and they normally come back around 10.5-13.5kg per half, so 21-27kg deadweight, roughly 42-53kg liveweight. But the KO % differs for different breeds, normally for a commercial carcass it's about 50% for primitives it's a bit less. Also worth noting you can let them get a big bigger (not fatter) if they are for private kill, our lambs would be far too heavy for commercial slaughter but we sell them butchered privately... the butcher is always amazed how they grow big but don't go overfat... I have no answer to that aside from they are not forced and have very good grass :)

We don't have scales but I go on how they feel. We've got 4 going off in mid August who feel a lot different to the others that aren't quite ready yet.

This is a very good guide which tells you what to feel for-
http://www.eblex.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/brp_l_Understanding_lamb_carcases250713.pdf

And just as a visual aid, these are the first 4 of our lambs that will be going off in August-

As does this farmers weekly article- I found this very helpful
http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/22/09/2011/129142/assessing-lambs-to-ensure-they-hit-spec.htm
« Last Edit: July 30, 2014, 05:28:32 pm by twizzel »

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2014, 06:57:34 pm »
There was a post where SITN explained the weights required for commercial lamb.

linky
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Porterlauren

  • Joined Apr 2014
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2014, 06:59:30 pm »
As said, depends what you want, in general here, commercial lambs are finished between 39.5 and 42. But there is a big export trade for lighter lambs etc, so depends on market. Home kill, its what you fancy for yourself.

Young Ed

  • Joined Apr 2014
Re: live weight for slaughter, lambs
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2014, 08:28:50 am »
right, when i get a family member to lend us a hand i shall steal the bathroom scales and do a complete check of weights for lams and feet for both ewes and lambs, ewes shall also have udders, teeth and eyes checked oh and i will try top feel for condition
Cheers Ed

 

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