Home-Raised Lamb for dinner

[Negligence]

Wow, what a difference in quality versus store bought.

I raised four lambs this year to market weight. Got 170lbs of meat total. Fed them a good supply of alfalfa (in addition to timothy/grass hay), grain, soybean meal, and some beet pulp. They were pastured in spring/summer/fall. Lots of marbling, amazing taste, and very tender. I had a feast last night.

Having never raised and slaughtered livestock of my own, I wasn't sure how the taste would compare to those selling for a premium in store (New Zealand type)... clearly this is as good as any an argument for locally-raised, non-feedlot meat. If anyone else here is thinking of raising some lambs on your property, do it! Results well worth it.

 

[CMSporthorses]

We kill about 3 lambs(well hoggets really) and a 2y/o steer each year.. nothing nicer than home raised meat finished for that last couple of weeks on saltbush. Cheap, tastey and you KNOW the animal has be raised ethically and chemical free.
Have raised the odd porker in the past, but can't justify the work(or the smell) for them really....lol

 

[tugboat-2]

Good grief Negligence,...you are makin me hungry. That lamb sounds just Oh, so mighty tasteeee!!! (I take mine with a little mint jelly if you please)

And a warm WELCOME ABOARD to you CMSporthorses,....this is a good place to spend some time,...solve a problem or share some help to another,...or, just enjoy the visit.

CHEERS!
. . tug

 

[wolc123]

My family raised sheep and cattle on this farm for 5 generations. Then, in the 1980's, the whitetail deer population exploded. This made it more difficult to produce feed for the livestock but proved to be a rich blessing. Venison is much better for your heart than beef or lamb. Also, more fun to harvest and not nearly the expense or hassle to produce. I still enjoy putting in crops using organic methods, mainly white clover and corn, which keep plenty of deer around and give the venison flavor that rivals or exceeds the finest lamb or beef. It sure is nice that the deer harvest the crops themselves with no worry about beating the rain to make hay or getting combines stuck in the muddy fall harvest season. No more vets, or frozen water in the winter, and I can take the family for vacations of weeks at a time if I want, without needing to hire someone to look out for the livestock. It is almost like I have died and gone to heaven in comparison to the days of raising sheep and cattle. The deer give me all the fun parts and few of the bad. I put (4) in the freezer last season, and already have one this year that a motorist was nice enough to hit and leave next to my mailbox last monday. I am also blessed to have a wife and kids who like eating venison as much or more than I do. She wont even cook beef since getting hooked on the venison. All that fat, that cooks out of it, grosses her out.