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!
[fbcomments]
South African Mutton Merino sheep
| Place of Origin | South Africa |
| Origin | This unique South African white wooled mutton sheep breed is considered to be a dual purpose breed. Developed from a small nucleus of German Merino sheep, it has adapted to most environmental conditions of South Africa. SAMMs were imported into South Africa by the Department of Agriculture from 1936 to 1974 from Germany where the Deutsche Fliesch Merino is a common meat sheep of Germany, Austria, and Poland. In South Africa, the name was translated as Duits Vleis Merinoand then into English as German Mutton Merino. In 1974, the South African Breed Society changed the name to the South African Mutton Merino. When imported into Australia in 1996, Western Australian SAMM breeders registered the name Prime SAMM, as the Australian usage of the word "'Mutton" relates to a description of extremely old and inedible sheepmeat. The translation used in Australia is "South African Meat Merino." |
| Purpose | Meat and Fiber |
| Characteristics | Bred specifically to produce a slaughter lamb at an early age (35 kg at 100 days of age) but still being able to produce good volumes (4kg) of medium to strong wool. Lambing percentages in excess of 150% are common and the ewes have ample milk to raise the healthy well-grown lambs. The SA Mutton Merino is a polled breed with the rams having mature masses of 100-110 kg (~220-245 lbs) and the ewes having mature masses of 70-80 kg (~155-175 lbs). |
