11 Best Sheep Breeds for Meat Production

Suffolk

The Suffolk sheep breed have been around for a while now and they are a large, sturdy breed with a long body, black faces and legs.
They are quiet docile breed that can be used as a dual-purpose sheep breed for both their meat and wool.

They have an excellent meat quality with lambs maturing early and market ready by 9 to 12 weeks. The lambs average weights at 42 days old is around 15 kgs and about 53 kgs at 100 days old. The meat has a superb flavor with one of the highest proportion of lean meat to fat. Making the meat lean and it has a fine grain and good color. Read More…

Texel

The Texel is a strong hardy sheep with a sturdy robust build. They are heavily muscled, and the lambs grow relatively fast. They are today quite a popular meat sheep breed in a lot of countries throughout the world including America, Australia, New Zealand and countries in Europe.

The Texel is very popular for its high-quality meat it produces. They have a high dress out percentage with excellent meat to bone ratio. The have lest waste with a succulent well textured meat that has a unique full flavor of its own. The meat is in demand by butchers and consumers alike as the meat is lean and does not leave a fatty taste in the mouth. It also tends to take less time to cook the meat. Lambs can weigh up to 44 kgs at 24 weeks old. Read More…

Dorper

The Dorper Sheep is a hardy resilient South African breed of sheep that can withstand various harsh climates, environments and intensive operations.

They are used for both lamb and mutton. Their lambs have a high growth rate and reach weights of up to 36 kgs in 3 to 4 months. They have a premium quality of meat with a good meat to bone ratio and low percentage of waste. Read More…

Southdown

The Southdown sheep is a sheep that originates from the United Kingdom and it is medium sized sheep breed that has a long compact body in relation to the length of their medium length legs.
They are one of the oldest breeds of “down” sheep from the United Kingdom and are prized for their meat but also produce a decent quality and quantity of wool.

The sheep dress out well and produce a high quality with an excellent carcass. Their meat is flavorsome, rich in color, succulent and tender. Read More….

Border Leicester

The Border Leicester Sheep is a breed that originated in Britain a couple of centuries ago. They are a robust, hardy breed with a very distinctive face and ears that stand up long on straight from their head.

They have a body full of good wool, good meat to bone ratio and a docile, even-tempered nature that make them really easy to handle. They love to graze and forage which also makes them easy to maintain.

They are sought after for their fast maturing lambs and premium quality, succulently flavorful meat production. The lambs can reach up to 49 kgs by 4.5 months of age making them excellent for the production of premium quality lamb. Read More…

Corriedale

The Corriedale Sheep breed is one of the oldest of the crossbred sheep breeds and originated from New Zealand. It is one of the most popular sheep breeds in quite a few countries around the world including America.

It is a hardy, adaptive, good lamber, the ewes are great mothers and they have a premium grade meat and top-quality wool.

The Corriedale Sheep breed is a meat producing sheep bred specifically developed and selectively bred to produce a high-quality meat. The lambs are fast growers with high quality, large carcasses and reach their ideal slaughter weight at around 10 months.

Barbados Black Belly

The Barbados Black Belly sheep breed is a gentle docile breed that is active and alert. They are one of the best foragers and love to do foliage management. They produce a high-quality mild-flavored meat that is said to be very tender. Read More…

Shetland

The Shetland Sheep originate from the Shetland Islands in Scotland. They are very hardy small breed of sheep that have developed the ability to survive harsh conditions. They are highly adaptive, prolific and offer soft succulent meat and a myriad of colorful fine quality wool.

The Shetland sheep breed are historically known for producing delicious mutton of a high quality and outstanding flavor. They meat has a fine texture and far leaner than other breeds as the sheep tends to not store their fat solely around their muscle but rather more around their organs. The lamb of a Shetland just under one year of age is around 12 to 17 kg and has a delicate flavor that can be used for fast preparation as it does not need to have much added flavors or spices. The Hogget, which are aged at around 1 to 2 years of age get weights of between 16 to 20 kgs and the Hogget tends to be able to be cooked as you would the lamb only it tends to be a lot more flavorsome. Read More…

Teeswater

The Teeswater sheep breed is a hardy sheep breed that can withstand most climatic and environmental conditions. They have a long life and the ewes can produce lambs for up to 10 to 12 years of age.

The Teeswater has a lean meat with a good meat to bone ratio and light bone. Purebred lambs can reach a weight of 19.9 kgs at 8 weeks old. The lambs can also reach a weight of up to 30 kgs without excess fat. Read More…

North Country Cheviot

The North Country Cheviot sheep is a Cheviot breed of sheep that originated from Scotland in around 1791. They are a very striking looking sheep that are hardy and very alert. They are known for the clean smooth haired white faces and legs. They are bred in Scotland but are found in most parts of the United Kingdom as well as Ireland.

The Cheviot sheep breed is generally the lamb or sheep meat choice of most mothers. The meat has more meat and less fat ratio thereby giving less weight percentage. The lambs mature fast and tend to have a plump meaty carcass with delicately trimmed flesh with a great flavor and just enough fat on the meat to keep it succulent. The lambs yield a carcass weight of around 20 kgs between the age of 90 to 120 days old. Read More…

Wiltshire Horn

It is a large breed of sheep that originates from Wiltshire in the South of England and is mainly bred for its outstanding meat quality. They are known for the high-quality meat production. Lambs can grow to their required weight without putting on any excess fat and therefor eliminating wastage. They produce a full-flavored succulent meat. Read More…