[princesslayer]

I'll try and keep this short!

This is our second 'crop' from our sheep. We have four Jacob ewes.

Last year, the 6 lambs we had weighed between 43 and 50kg just prior to going to abattoir. Weights delivered to butcher were between 18.9kg and 24.8kg. Nice big joints, lovely.

This year, we had all twins, 8 lambs in total. I weighed them in mid August and they weighed between 34 and 42 kilos. I've taken the 5 biggest in on 25th October and three have come back at 14.1, 15.5 and 15.9kg, which seems significantly smaller. Butcher says they are all a similar size.

Same ewes, same tup, similar conditions. Have I got the wrong lambs back or is this likely to be a management issue?

Hope that makes sense and someone can give me the benefit of their wisdom.

[Fleecewife]

It can happen.  Some years ago we had taken Jacobs to our local abattoir, but the carcasses didn't look to be of a Jacob conformation, but had more rounded gigots.  I queried this but only proved I had the wrong sheep by determining their sexes, which didn't match what we had taken in.  They swapped the carcasses but they were still wrong.  Eventually it emerged that my lovely grass reared, tasty Jacobs had been sent off to Portugal, leaving me no choice but to accept substitutes.  I could barely eat the meat, which didn't match what I should have had.  As our own vet was in attendance, the abattoir was reported, investigated  and soon after closed down, for failing to maintain full traceability.


You should get back weight tickets from the abattoir, which will also have your name on as a cross reference.


Sorry but I can't remember dead weights of our Jacobs.  Your more recent weights would be at the bottom end to average of what we would expect from Hebrideans which are a much smaller breed than Jacobs.


Being pragmatic, before you complain you need to be sure of your facts, and decide if there is an alternative to that abattoir before you fall out with them.

[Womble]

I queried this but only proved I had the wrong sheep by determining their sexes

Pardon my ignorance, but how did you do that? 

[mojocafa]

Womble! The girls had breast meat

[princesslayer]

You should get back weight tickets from the abattoir, which will also have your name on as a cross reference

Thanks Fleecewife, I'm more worried now! The three tickets I've seen did have my name on but any sheep could have been put through with my name on I guess?

There are still two to cut. What I can I do to confirm they are mine?

Many thanks

[Foobar]

Unless you weigh them just before sending them off you can never be sure and it'd be hard to argue with the abattoir.  They could have lost weight for any number of reasons since you last weighed them - that's what they would argue.
I wish all abattoirs would put the EID numbers on the tickets, then everyone would know for sure.

[Womble]

Womble! The girls had breast meat

Sure they did. And the boys presumably had meatballs? 

[Fleecewife]

I queried this but only proved I had the wrong sheep by determining their sexes

Pardon my ignorance, but how did you do that? 

Psychology    I asked one of the slaughtermen who had come to gawp at this annoyed woman, if you could tell a male carcasse from a female one once it had no skin.  Oh yes he said, look at this and proceeded to show me which were male and which female.  I think it was that you can see where the urethra emerges, which is in a different place for the sexes.  He only realised he'd fallen into a pit when I declared that that proved they were not my sheep.  Oops!! 


Princesslayer - ask your butcher to check the shape of the animals when he's cutting joints, especially the legs and rib cage.  Jacobs tend to be longer with no rounding, whereas something like a texel has very rounded gigots.  Your butcher is the expert and can judge the size and shape of each carcasse.  Even if he is totally unused to Jacobs he should still be able to confirm whether or not they are likely to be yours ie they are unlike what he's used to.  Beyond that, I don't think you can prove it one way or the other.


At the abattoir we use now, when we take in our sheep they are in a separate pen in a different place to the general 'for the butcher' sheep. The door is labelled with our name and the butcher they are going to.  We've not had a problem here at all.

[Backinwellies]

I don't know about your lambs but I do know that I weighed mine in early August and booked them in for September assuming they would put on a little weight in 4 to 6 weeks .... they didn't!   (post weaning they plateaued)   

[devonlady]

A good few years ago I had a lamb back that apparently had three shoulders!!

[orkney danny]

The first time i put lambs in i thought i had gotton the wrong ones back but there was no way i could prove it at the time, so now i do it all myself, from the slaughter to the butchering, its well worth the money to do a days butchering course, and your guaranteed to get your own lambs which you have reared with so much love and attention. 

[princesslayer]

Thanks all, I've had a conversation with my vet and I think it's a management issue, as we've had lots of worm problems locally. Suffice to say, lesson learned for next year!

[Coximus]

Your talking of a kill out percentage less than 40%, thats not possible without condeming part of the animal.
I think its worth asking some questions.
Jacobs kil out between 45-52% usually, most hovering in the high 40's.
Such a low kill out implies the animals grew well and frame, THEN lost weight....

[fsmnutter]

35-40% is not abnormal as a kill out weight.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I have read this thread with increasing interest...... I trust my abbatoir and butcher implicitely and so far nothing has gone wrong, however in the future I am going to be investing in a sheep weigher, so that I can weigh them properly before slaughter, in order to double check. This has me both intrigued and paranoid!