South African Meat Merino Sheep Characteristics, Uses

The South African Meat Merino sheep is a breed of domestic sheep originating in South Africa. Today it is a common breed of sheep and found throughout the world.

Despite the name, the breed is a dual-purpose animal and raised for both meat and wool production. It is also known as SAMM or South African Mutton Merino sheep.

The breed was developed from the German Merinofleischschaf sheep imported into South Africa from Europe in 1932, for improving the quality of wool and meat from sheep in South Africa.

The common meat sheep in Austria, Germany and Poland is the Deutsche Fleisch. The German name was translated into Afrikaans in South Africa.

The name was translated into Afrikaans as Duitse Vleis Merino and then into English as German Mutton Merino.

The name was change to South African Mutton Merino in 1971, when it was recognized as separate breed.

South African Meat Merino rams have almost entirely replaced British sheep breeds as terminal sires in the harsh regions of South Africa.

In those harsh regions, these animals and their hybrids are more adaptable than the former sheep breeds. And in 1996 the breed was first imported into Australia.

Today the breed is raised for both meat and wool production. However, read some more information about this breed below.

Table of Contents

South African Meat Merino Sheep Characteristics

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The South African Meat Merino sheep are medium to large sized animals. They are almost entirely white in color. They are polled animals, that means they have no horns.

Average live body weight of the mature rams is around or up to 100 kg. While the mature ewes on average will grow up to about 95 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

Uses

These sheep are dual purpose animals. They are raised for both meat and wool production.

Special Notes

These sheep are hardy animals. They are dual-purpose animals, and good for both meat and wool production.

They can produce about 3.5 to 4.5 kg of medium/strong wool. And their wool is classified separately from the higher quality wool of Merinos.

These animals are well adapted to the most environmental conditions of South Africa. The ewes are known for their high milk production.

They have a very good maternal instinct with a lambing percentage of around 150 percent. The lams grow pretty faster and reach slaughtering weight of around 35 kg within their 100 days of age.

However, review full breed profile of the South African Meat Merino sheep in the following chart.

Breed Name	South African Meat Merino
Other Name	SAMM or South African Mutton Merino
Breed Purpose	Meat and wool
Special Notes	Very hardy and strong animals, dual-purpose animals, good for both meat and wool production, well adapted to the most environmental conditions of South Africa, the ewes are known for their high milk production, the ewes have a very good maternal instinct with a lambing percentage of around 150 percent, the lambs grow faster and reach slaughtering weight within 100 days
Breed Size	Medium to large
Weight	95-100 kg
Horns	No
Climate Tolerance	All climates
Color	White
Rarity	Common
Country/Place of Origin	South Africa