Aug 7, 2012

Tuesday EWESday: Ohio State Fair Edition

Ruby one of our fall ewe lambs is getting a bath at the Ohio
State Fair. She did not mind the water but the band marching
by did make her a little nervous. We do not have many
marching bands going down our road out in the country.
When you take livestock to the fair you are bound to get good questions. Here are a few oft the most common questions we fielded this year. The best part is that Campbell and Parker are getting old enough to talk to people and answer these questions on their own.

Why do the sheep wear covers? To help keep them clean after being washed. It does not hurt them or affect them from doing normal behaviors. We in the sheep business call them blankets.

Does it hurt them to get their haircut? First off sheep have wool not hair. It is just like getting your head shaved or cut. Most sheep farmers shear their sheep 1 time each year.

Are these goats or sheep? Our breed are Horned Dorsets. Both rams (males) and ewes (females) have horns. This is a breed characteristic. The Rams have larger thicker horns than the ewes.

What do sheep eat? They eat grass or hay when there is not grass to eat like right now. Our lambs also get pellets when they are young and then a grain mix when they are in their growing stages birth-7 or so months. We want them to get the best start as possible from birth so they can be a quality meat protein or a ewe or ram to reproduce healthy quality lambs.

Do we eat our sheep? Yes we do eat our sheep. We keep the best sheep in our flock to produce new lambs. By best I mean sheep that will make our breed of sheep better. We want to continue to better our breed of sheep so we can provide an even better end product. We raise sheep to eat them. It is a fantastic healthy and tasty protein. We take our jobs a livestock stewards very seriously. We want to raise the best lambs to feed to our family and our customers.

Where do we buy lamb? Most every grocery store will have lamb. If you do not see it out in the meat case ask the butcher and they may have it in the cooler or will be happy to special order it. You can also buy straight from the farmer like us. We do sell off the farm as do many farmers.

How do I prepare the lamb? You should not stress about cooking with lamb it is easy. Do not over think it. Lamb can be substituted for many recipes that call for beef. Try making meatloaf or meatballs out of your own family favorite recipe. Lamb is best when not over cooked and feel free to use chicken or beef broths to add even more flavor to your dishes. Visit www.americanlamb.com for some great recipes.

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