Why wether sheep

They have usually produced offspring. Lambs are less than one year of age. They have usually not produced offspring. Lamb and mutton Lamb is also the term for the flesh of a young domestic sheep eaten as food.

The meat from a sheep that is older than 12 months is called mutton. Yearling mutton is the meat from a sheep between 1 and 2 years of age. Mutton has a much stronger flavor than lamb. Wool The fiber that most sheep grow is called wool. The wool from one sheep is called a fleece. Many fleeces from the same farm, wool pool, region, or state are called a clip. Shearing is when the wool is cut off or shaved from the sheep. Recently, the lack of a defined market for wethers has seen the loss of this type of animal from our hills.

The project will see if sustainably produced wether meat could become a component of local farming systems once again. In addition, the Woodland Project has identified a need to re-introduce grazing in a number of broadleaved woodlands to help control ground vegetation.

It is proposed that wethers, as stronger animals, could have a role to play without becoming entangled in briars. This site requires a JavaScript enabled browser.

Are there any advantages of leaving male lambs entire? The answer is certainly, yes, but producers who consider reaping the benefits must also be aware of the management challenges it creates.

Ram lambs bred in commercial ewe flocks and left entire will finish faster, have better conformation and produce leaner carcasses compared with lambs that are castrated.

These advantages have been proven repeatedly in trials over many years, but for most sheep producers who intend to market their lamb crop in late summer, the idea of leaving ram lambs entire is seen as putting undue pressure on the way they have to manage their flock. See also: Read more technical articles on lamb production and sheep management.

The fact that entire lambs grow faster has most recently been proved yet again in trials conducted by Teagasc in Northern Ireland, where results showed lambs left entire achieved superior growth rates and weighed an average 1. Entire lambs were also slaughtered 16 days ahead of the castrated lambs and produced leaner carcasses.

The average weight of entire lambs was The carcass weight comparison was There are many good reasons to castrate male livestock. The most important is to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The other is to eliminate unwanted behaviors and odors. There may be some processing and meat quality issues with older males. Wethers are easier to manage and can be co-mingled with females.

Sometimes, there is a market preference for wethers. But what do you give up when you castrate a ram or buck? Intact males usually grow faster and have better carcass composition leaner than castrated males. Thought it varies, all methods of castration cause some pain and discomfort to the animal.