Heritage pastured lamb is an option with so much more to offer! There are many heritage sheep breeds. Each breed with unique qualities in its meat, milk and fibre. We raise a variety of heritage breed sheep, some of which are on the verge of extinction.
Below you will find a breakdown of the heritage sheep breeds we raise. Our heritage pastured lamb offers delicious flavour. We focus on wool-breed sheep that bring more than food to the table. Their hides, fibre, and bones are put to use as well. Our goal is always to use as much of the animal as possible. They are raised on Alberta pastures and offered quality forage, hay and grains as needed to meet their nutrition requirements with extended grow-out times.
Each breed we raise is here because it holds historical significance or is currently on the endangered list by the Livestock Conservancy or Heritage Livestock Canada. We believe their numbers will increase by creating space in the food system for these endangered and heritage breeds. Heritage breed numbers initially decreased due to centralized intensive farming practices. As a result, the demand for many of these unique breeds was lost. We believe in the initiatives to increase the demand for these fantastic breeds, including the Eat em’ to Save em’ encourages and with sheep, Shave Em’ to Save Em’, a program run by the Livestock Conservancy.
Heritage Pasture Lamb – Learn More
The Heritage Sheep Breeds We Raise:
At Hogs & Horns Homestead, we raise heritage pasture lamb. Our breeds include Icelandic, Jacob and hybrid crossed sheep for meat, fibre, hides and horns. Each offers unique properties for the table and elsewhere. We chose these breeds because of their exceptional flavour, great temperaments, historical significance and conservation status. By farming these truly great breeds, we can offer you and your family a variety of pastured lamb and mutton.
Jacob Sheep:
Jacob sheep offer lean, tender meat. They are a small breed, and you should expect to get 60-65 pounds of meat from one sheep. Jacobs are fine-boned with a good meat-to-bone ratio. Their meat has an excellent mild flavour that is not too gamey.
Icelandic Sheep:
These sheep are renowned for their tender, fine-grained, mild flavoured meat. These sheep are one of the most ancient and pure sheep breeds today, remaining genetically unchanged since Viking times.
Why Eat Lamb Meat?
Lamb meat has a very healthy nutrition profile. It’s known to contain a wide variety of essential nutrients and be known to be a rich source of high-quality protein. Lamb consumed regularly may help promote muscle growth, maintenance and performance. Grass-fed lamb meat tastes like a slice of grassy and well-balanced meat. Since sheep have a branched-chain fatty acid, this contributes to their more earthy flavour than beef.
Our Goals and Ambitions:
Hogs and Horns Homestead raises pure lines and crosses of these breeds alongside Southdown Babydolls, Cotswold, Finns, East Friesians and Gotland x’s. This allows us to offer distinct heritage meat to you and your family.
What’s The Major Difference?
Jacob and Icelandic sheep are slow-growing. Since this breed is smaller, we allow them to grow the maximum amount of time before turning from lamb to mutton. We allow our sheep to forage naturally, pasture, enjoy the fresh air and free-range in the sunshine. In doing so, this develops meat with an intense and deeper flavour – well worth the wait.
How Do They Live?
Hogs & Horns Homestead raise their sheep hormone and steroid free. Raising them in an outdoor pasture setting, in turn, allows our sheep to live a stress-free life with plenty of exercise, fresh air and sunshine. We ensure to shear all of our sheep every year, so they remain comfortable in the summer months. They always have access to a shelter to escape the elements and remain comfortable throughout the seasons.
What’s their main diet?
Free-ranging on Alberta’s natural weeds, grasses and foliage. We avoid any GMO and soy-based products with all our lambs and sheep.
How Are They Finished?
We raise and finish all of our sheep on Hogs & Horns Homestead. We dispatch sheep on the farm. Sheep are sold on the hoof with the service of processing. Once the sheep are dispatched they are sent to the butcher for cut and wrap. In doing so, we can offer you quality custom cuts. To learn more about the differences between inspected and uninspected meat, click HERE.
