You didn't say how old the ewe was or her live weight, so it is hard to tell if 27 is normal or not.
I butcher ram lambs at 9 months of age and typically get about 40-45 lb dressed and packaged meat. A 1.5-year-old ram dressed out at 70 lb. In contrast, a 9-month ewe was 37 lb dressed, whereas a 2.5-year-old ewe she dressed out at 47 lb.
Moral: ewes don't put much weight on after 9 months; rams do.
Chops are usually small in this breed (I put 'em in the crockpot and cook the meat off the bones), but 27 lb is not very much meat. If you butchered at 9 months or more, I'd say either your sheep are underweight or your butcher lost a lot of meat in cutting.
Carol
At 10:49 AM 1/5/2004 -0800, you wrote:
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We have 4 ewes and 1 ram which we acquired in the spring. We just butchered the oldest ewe and only got 27 pounds of meat. The chops are very, very small. Is this normal for the breed? I am rethinking the BBB and perhaps moving on to Khatadins or another larger hair sheep breed. Your experience and comments are appreciated.
L. Erickson Coeur d'Alene Idaho
Carol Elkins Critterhaven Estate Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz NEW! Christmas ornaments, stickers, calendars, and more at the Blackbelly Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/blackbellysheep SAVE $5 off a purchase of $50 or more until November 15!
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