Type the name of the breed you're looking for below

[wpdreams_ajaxsearchlite] Don't see the breed your're looking for? Click here and let us know!
Meatmaster sheep
[fbcomments]

Meatmaster sheep

Place of Origin South Africa
Origin The Meatmaster is a breed of domestic sheep native to South Africa. Bred in the early 1990s from various hair sheep breeds, the Meatmaster was created with the goal of improving the meat characteristics of African fat-tailed sheep breeds. The fat-tailed sheep had various advantageous characteristics such as hardiness and suitability for desert life, but was slow to mature, had a poor distribution of fat and lacked the muscling of the hind quarters of European breeds. The composite breed increased the amount of muscle and had a better distribution of fat but retained the hair (rather than wool) coat and other desirable traits such as resistance to tick-borne diseases and a good flocking instinct. The new breed was tested, and demand was established, before the breed register was set up around the year 2000. The breed was registered in 2007 and a breed society was set up the following year. Today, Meatmaster bloodlines may be a composite of any number of breeds, such as Van Rooy or South African Meat Merino, but must contain Damara breeding.
Purpose Meat
Characteristics Meatmasters are fat-tailed hair sheep (meaning they lack wool which requires shearing), come in a diverse array of colours, and may be either horned or polled. The focus in breeding is mostly on meat production, but they are also very hardy and with good mothering instincts (inherited from their Damara breeding). Rams weigh from 85 - 105 kg (190 - 230 lb) and ewes 60 - 70 kg (130 - 155 lb). They are now found in all nine provinces of South Africa and are especially valued in the northern bush veld areas. Meatmasters have been exported to Namibia, Australia, and Canada.
Recent Blog Posts
  • Who is your Vet? Demystifying the facts!

    People are creatures of habit and we repeatedly do things that we have done in the past.  We drive the same route to and from work, we shop at the same stores, we buy gas at the same gas stations.  We are often on auto-pilot and don’t give a lot of thought to why we […]

  • Meet Dr. Katz at Petmapz!

    My name is Dr. Katz Piller and most of my clients refer to me as “Dr. Katz”. I have had meaningful relationships with various animals since I was a toddler and after losing one horse to severe colic and another to cancer. I made a commitment to studying veterinary medicine and to helping alleviate the […]

  • Why you should have your pet spayed or neutered

    The decision to spay or neuter your pet is an important one for pet owners. But it can be the single best decision you make for their long-term welfare. A USA Today (May 7, 2013) article cites that pets who live in the states with the highest rates of spaying/neutering also live the longest. According […]