Why Sheep Were Worth More

[Frank-the-Wool]

I was asked why it was no longer possible to buy sheep's brains here, in many countries they are considered a delicacy.
The reason is of course BSE and the theoretical risk that sheep may have it.

This made me think more about what we used to eat and when talking to my local butcher he said that went he started his apprenticeship the first job in the mornings was to sort out the Plucks from the sheep, including the heads which all came back to the shop.
There was a surprisingly large amount of value in the head, including the tongues and whole heads would also be sold.
He then went on to mention the value of skins and hides, which now there can be an actual disposal cost.
Sheep's feet would go into making glue.

Sheep skins of course were much used before man made products (plastics) and should really see a revival if people are serious about saving the planet.
Wool prices are in the doldrums and again should be buoyant if people want to keep warm without polluting the planet and using more fossil fuels.

I am sure there are countries in the world that would love to be able to have our sheep and cattle heads to turn them into a valuable food source or other products and would probably pay for them.
Anyone who has been to a food market in China will know that they seem to have a demand for everything.

The historic effect of BSE continues to reduce our income and considerably increases our costs.
The latest relaxation in the rules on sheep cutting teeth and moving to a fixed date for the splitting of carcasses has in my view been counter productive as there is no proven risk in sheep.
We should not be splitting sheep carcasses at all and the SRM should no longer be called that as it is valuable protein.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

The Turkish barber I frequent tells me he regularly goes to a local restaurant and buys a sheeps head on a platter, brain included ...£6

 

[TripleSix]

If people were poor and hungry and there was little available they would be a lot more inclined to make use of what was available.

I bet there was very little waste during WWII rationing.

 

[Al R]

If people were poor and hungry and there was little available they would be a lot more inclined to make use of what was available.

I bet there was very little waste during WWII rationing.

An auntie of mine won’t bother with the meat when she has a roast chicken dinner with others, she lets them have the meat and she goes for the bones. What she was brought up with throughout the war

 

[Dry Rot]

Feeding a lot of dogs creates an inventive mind. When I first came to Scotland, beef tripes were free, in fact the abattoir had to pay to have them taken away, but not any more! Before BSE, sheep heads could also be got free and are excellent feeding. I had some American visitors who asked how often I fed the dogs, probably expecting me to say two or three times a day. In fact, they only needed feeding every two or three days as sheep heads are very rich.

One day when loading my trailer I was approached by someone wanting a sheep's head. He was from Iceland where I gather a sheep's head is a delicacy. When I was out in the islands, I used to try to get offal to feed to the dogs. The abattoir manager said not to bother if it was a crofter's beast for home kill as they'd be taking everything, so the traditions do still persist in parts. Might be different now of course because that was a few decades ago.

As the OP says, the Chinese eat evertything, and not just what we consider to be 'livestock'. I've a friend in Taiwan who is a Chinese vet who regularly confirms that! I even suspect some of their cures might work, but I'll wait until I am really ill before trying them!

 

[Hilly]

DNA tesing around chinese ,indian fast food has found cats n dogs, sheeps heeds dont seem so bad.

 

[Dry Rot]

I bet there was very little waste during WWII rationing.

There wasn't. And if there was, it went into the pig swill for feeding to pigs. Some of us remember. I still can't stand the sound of cutlery scratching on a plate. Reminds me too much of food being divided up and the bickering, "Your piece is bigger than mine! Why's she got more than me?"

 

[Hilly]

There wasn't. And if there was, it went into the pig swill for feeding to pigs. Some of us remember. I still can't stand the sound of cutlery scratching on a plate. Reminds me too much of food being divided up and the bickering, "Your piece is bigger than mine! Why's she got more than me?"

sounds like my house, my lads have always been good eaters.

 

[neilo]

A 'friend' used to sell a handful of lambs to a Greek Cypriot fella, who may have butchered them himself when they had one of their numerous large family gatherings. They always wanted small lambs, as he joked that they had 'crunchy bones'. There wasn't much wasted, with even the intestines taken to be filled with a rice mix.

They stopped taking the heads when the BSE story first broke, but that only lasted 12 months, and they were back on them again.

 

[Dry Rot]

My local game dealer tells me that 'the government' is buying all their bones which are apparently crushed to extract fat and oil for bio mass. It's possible I've got that wrong because I wasn't actually listening all that carefully!

 

[joe soapy]

My local game dealer tells me that 'the government' is buying all their bones which are apparently crushed to extract fat and oil for bio mass. It's possible I've got that wrong because I wasn't actually listening all that carefully!

i'll bet you think the local crem actually burns carcasses

 

[Green farmer]

If people were poor and hungry and there was little available they would be a lot more inclined to make use of what was available.

.

Sort of sums up something being wrong with the system. We get paid for the carcass, which averages about 40- 45% of what walks in to the abattoir. The other 55-60% falls into a dark hole.

 

[Dry Rot]

i'll bet you think the local crem actually burns carcasses

Doesn't worry me. I'm not going!

 

[ed_wod]

I did an adhb live to dead tour around an abattoir and they were processing whole heads, brains and flame grilling feet. All off to birmingham markets.

 

[Tim W]

I did an adhb live to dead tour around an abattoir and they were processing whole heads, brains and flame grilling feet. All off to birmingham markets.

Similar thing was happening at ABP Yetminster last time i did a ''live 2 dead'' there
Not much is wasted ---just a different customer, instead of the local butcher it goes overseas or to our local ethnic communities

 

[Dr. Alkathene]

DNA tesing around chinese ,indian fast food has found cats n dogs, sheeps heeds dont seem so bad.

Chinese take away near my dads old house used to buy foxes from lamp and rifle lads

 

[ed_wod]

Similar thing was happening at ABP Yetminster last time i did a ''live 2 dead'' there
Not much is wasted ---just a different customer, instead of the local butcher it goes overseas or to our local ethnic communities

Good to know it's all used. Called it the 5th quarter.... which took me a few minutes to figure out!

 

[Nithsdale]

Similar thing was happening at ABP Yetminster last time i did a ''live 2 dead'' there
Not much is wasted ---just a different customer, instead of the local butcher it goes overseas or to our local ethnic communities

Sorry this is Off Topic

Do you use ABP much? They only have a cattle slaughterhouse in Scotland...

Anyway, a good friend is a shearer and goes around the markets doing fat lambs. He said yesterday lambs going to ABP were to have dirty tails cleaned - but bellies, crutches and clean tails were to be left alone... do you know much about this? He presumed they clip lambs on the line once dead?

 

[Mcnulty24]

Yep, belly clipped out after bleeding. Not tails or crutches though.

 

[Nithsdale]

Yep, belly clipped out after bleeding. Not tails or crutches though.

Why isn't the whole industry onto this??