Which is the best tasting sheep breed? Can you rear it for money? Does it have many demands? Join me as we go through this very interesting topic about sheep. Most people do not mind having a decent chunk of good-tasting lamb and mutton. Thing is, they do not exactly understand where the meat has been sourced from and which sheep breed is behind the impressive taste. Here are some of the best tasting sheep breeds that are preferred by shepherds from:
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Suffolk
This is a very popular sheep breed, that is reared for its meat and milk. It is also loved for its excellent reproductive capabilities and is thus a great choice for farmers who want to increase the size of their flock faster.
These sheep are usually calm and docile, and they have an appearance that’s different from that of other sheep. You can tell them apart from the other breeds due to their black face, ears, and legs, which do not have any wool.
This breed has an impressive feed-conversion characteristic and happens to have a very fast growth rate (one of the fastest amongst all sheep breeds). Its meat is loved for having the following properties:
- Good texture
- Excellent taste
- Distinctive flavor
- Decent moisture content
- Less fat content
The ewes usually give birth to 3 lambs annually, and these lambs grow up pretty fast. Suffolk has been found to be a very great terminal breed with other sheep breeds. The crossbreeds produced are quite heavy and can be marketed at about three months of age, or with a weight of about 100 pounds. The fact that you can sell the lamb at a very early age simply translates to less medical expenditure, less feeds, and less labor in general.
Suffolk is a great breed, but they only perform well on a good pasture and require consistent supplementation. Supplementation is a must if you do not have top-notch pastures. Some shepherds complain about how this breed feeds a lot, but this should be normal, considering that they have a very fast growth rate.
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Charolais
This is one of the recognized domestic sheep breeds in the present-day world, that have their origin in Burgundy (France). This breed is medium to large-sized and has somewhat larger than average muscles. You can recognize them by their pink-grey faces and legs, and the generally fine to medium wool that covers their body.
This breed has generally been used as a terminal sire to help increase the muscling process of the lambs. The resulting cross breeds also have a faster-than-average growth rate.
Charolais are generally heavy muscled, and they give rise to lean carcasses, that are quite ideal for the meat trade. Generally, we can say that the Charolais is a desirable sheep breed amongst shepherds due to the following properties
- Fast growth
- Lean quality meat
- High yield
- Easy lambing
They are, unfortunately, poor foragers, and would need supplementation if they do not have access to good pastures.
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Cheviot
This breed was originally a mountain breed that was reared in the Cheviot Hills that are found between Scotland and England. Cheviot is quite hardy and can withstand very harsh winters. You can tell them apart with their small head that is covered with very fine white hair, which is also found on their legs.
This breed makes it to this list due to the two outstanding traits that make it ideal for use in sheep farming, which are:
- Although they are short, they also have very good meat quality, and they are hardy. The ewes are known for having very strong mothering instincts, and for having problem-free lambing.
- Cheviots usually perform quite well on poor quality pasture and can survive without high supplementation needs.
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Tunis Barbari
Tunis is suspected to have originated some 3000 years ago in the African nation, Tunisia. They are fat-tailed sheep that regular lamb eaters prefer.
Shepherds have identified these sheep as being impressive foragers and grazers. They do not usually need extra supplementation and are very profitable.
Also, as much as this breed is a dual-purpose breed, nowadays these sheep are mostly raised for market meat production. They’re hardy and can do well even in a hot and dry climate.
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Icelandic Sheep
Viking settlers introduced this sheep breed to Iceland about 9000 years ago. It is currently known to be one of the purest sheep breeds in the world, owing to the fact that it has not been crossbred with other sheep breeds. Their meat is appreciated in all corners of the world for having a mild flavor, as well as its organic purity.
Icelandic sheep are yet another breed of sheep that can earn you impressive profits. They do quite well even on poor pastures, without requiring extra supplementation. The meat of Icelandic lamb is quite tender and is loved for its very fine texture. Their lambs are ready for marketing at about 4 to 5 months.
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Blackbelly (Barbados Blackbelly and American Blackbelly)
The Barbados Blackbelly is one dark-haired breed that came from Barbados. The American Blackbelly, on the other hand, resulted from crossbreeding the naturally polled Barbados with the following sheep:
- Mouflon sheep
- Dorsets
- Merinos
These breeds happen to be very similar in their general characteristics, and they both have small carcasses.
Even with the small body size, they do not disappoint when it comes to excellent taste and quality of meat. Unlike the other breeds that we have already mentioned here, this breed is not very common amongst farmers who rear sheep for meat.
Farmers who rear them have often reported that Blackbellies are great at resisting parasites, as well as heat stress. These sheep do not also clear pastures very fast and do not have many feeding demands.
Their ewes give birth twice a year, and they get 1.5 to 2.3 lambs each lambing session.
Sheep farmers make lots of money selling part of or their entire flocks. We have seen from time to time how the agricultural industry is bound to thrive owing to the fact that food is a basic need. As the human population increases, so does the demand for different types of food, including animal proteins such as lamb and mutton. That said, there are investors who have discovered ways to make money even as the looming food shortage becomes a reality. Have a look at the recommended resource below:
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That’s all for this article about the best tasting sheep breed. I hope you now know which sheep breed will fetch you more money in the meat market. If you came across this post as you were looking for ways in which you can make more money as a farmer or investor in the agricultural industry, then you should have a look at what the recommended resource has to offer.
I wish you well,
Eric, Investor and Team Member at Gold Retired!
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