I think the best weight for slaughter is one and one half years. Seems that they are finished with most of their growing and after that your grain turns to fat. BB's are very mild and that is due somewhat to their lean carcass weight. "Mutton" flavor is due partially to fat content so aim for the "lamb" taste. We butcher with the bone in because one of our generous neighbors has a meat saw. We used to bone everything as we did with elk and deer. Rams under 2 years yielded lean boned out meat average about 27 lbs. When we have butchered older animals the meat retained goes up but there is quite a bit of fat scraping to do and they even start packing on the internal fat. They sure are good eating! Mark & Lin, Foley Peak Farm
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