Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France).
Lacaune dairy sheep in rotary parlour, Aveyron, France
In the U.S., the most common dairy breeds are the East Friesian and the Lacaune.[1] Meat or wool breeds do not produce as much milk as dairy breeds, but may produce enough for small amounts of cheese and other products.
Milk production period
Female sheep (ewes) do not produce milk constantly. Rather, they produce milk during the 80–100 days after lambing.[2] Sheep naturally breed in the fall, which means that a majority of lambs are born in the winter or early spring. Milk production decreases and eventually stops when lambs are weaned or when the days become shorter.[1] This means that milk cannot be produced year round.[3] Through the use of controlled internal drug release (CIDR), ewes can be bred out of season. CIDR drugs contain progesterone, which is slowly released into the bloodstream, bringing the animal into estrus.[4] In this way, ewes can be bred at different times throughout the year, providing farms with a year-round supply of milk.
Meat and wool breeds of sheep lactate for 90–150 days, while dairy breeds can lactate for 120–240 days. Dairy sheep are able to produce higher yields of milk per ewe per year. Dairy sheep can produce 400–1,100 lb (180–500 kg) of milk per year while other sheep produce 100–200 lb (45–91 kg) of milk per year. Crossbred ewes produce 300–650 lb (140–290 kg) of milk per year.[1]
Sheep milk is extremely high in fat and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and has a high level of solids,[6] as compared to other milks. This makes it very suitable for cheese-making. In particular, sheep's milk produces much more cheese than the same amount of cow's milk.[7]
^. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
^"What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)?". modernfit. 2014-11-27. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
^Sinanoglou, Vassilia (2015). "Assessment of lactation stage and breed effect on sheep milk fatty acid profile and lipid quality indices". Journal of Dairy Science and Technology. 95 (4): 509–531. doi:10.1007/s13594-015-0234-5. S2CID 86067647.
External links
Sheep dairying at sheep101.com
Sheep dairying documentary by Cooking Up A Story
May 04, 2023
sheep, milk, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2014,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sheep milk news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sheep s milk or ewes milk is the milk of domestic sheep It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta Greece ricotta Italy and Roquefort France Lacaune dairy sheep in rotary parlour Aveyron France Contents 1 Sheep breeds 2 Milk production period 3 Products made from sheep milk 4 Nutrition by comparison 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksSheep breeds EditSpecialized dairy breeds of sheep yield more milk than other breeds Common dairy breeds include East Friesian Germany Sarda Italy Lacaune France British Milk Sheep UK Chios Greece Awassi Syria Assaf Israel Zwartbles Friesland Netherlands In the U S the most common dairy breeds are the East Friesian and the Lacaune 1 Meat or wool breeds do not produce as much milk as dairy breeds but may produce enough for small amounts of cheese and other products Milk production period EditFemale sheep ewes do not produce milk constantly Rather they produce milk during the 80 100 days after lambing 2 Sheep naturally breed in the fall which means that a majority of lambs are born in the winter or early spring Milk production decreases and eventually stops when lambs are weaned or when the days become shorter 1 This means that milk cannot be produced year round 3 Through the use of controlled internal drug release CIDR ewes can be bred out of season CIDR drugs contain progesterone which is slowly released into the bloodstream bringing the animal into estrus 4 In this way ewes can be bred at different times throughout the year providing farms with a year round supply of milk Meat and wool breeds of sheep lactate for 90 150 days while dairy breeds can lactate for 120 240 days Dairy sheep are able to produce higher yields of milk per ewe per year Dairy sheep can produce 400 1 100 lb 180 500 kg of milk per year while other sheep produce 100 200 lb 45 91 kg of milk per year Crossbred ewes produce 300 650 lb 140 290 kg of milk per year 1 Products made from sheep milk EditSheep milk cheeses include the feta of Greece Roquefort of France Manchego of Spain Serra da Estrela from Portugal pecorino Romano the Italian word for sheep is pecora pecorino Sardo and ricotta of Italy Pag cheese of Croatia Ġbejna of Malta and Gomolya of Hungary and Bryndza Slovenska bryndza from Slovakia branza de burduf from Romania and Bryndza Podhalanska from Poland In Greece yogurt is often made from sheep s milk Nutrition by comparison EditMilk composition analysis per 100 grams 5 Mechanical sheep milker South Island New Zealand Constituents unit Cow Goat Water buffalo SheepWater g 87 8 88 9 81 1 83 0Protein g 3 2 3 1 4 5 5 4Fat g 3 9 3 5 8 0 7 0Carbohydrate g 4 8 4 4 4 9 5 1Energy kcal 66 60 110 95kJ 275 253 463 396Sugars Lactose g 4 8 4 4 5 1 4 9Saturated g 2 4 2 3 4 2 3 8Mono unsaturated g 1 1 0 8 1 7 1 5Polyunsaturated g 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 3Cholesterol mg 14 10 8 11Calcium IU 120 100 195 170Fatty Acids Sheep milk is extremely high in fat and conjugated linoleic acid CLA and has a high level of solids 6 as compared to other milks This makes it very suitable for cheese making In particular sheep s milk produces much more cheese than the same amount of cow s milk 7 See also EditDonkey milk Goat milk Mare milk Moose milk List of dairy products List of sheep milk cheeses Sheep farmingReferences Edit a b c Berger Yves 2010 Guide to Raising Dairy Sheep PDF Milk production period Using Sheep CIDRs Premier1Supplies Sheep Guide Premier1Supplies Sheep Guide 2012 10 15 Retrieved 2016 11 25 CIDR McCane Widdowson Scherz Kloos Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2008 10 27 What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid CLA modernfit 2014 11 27 Retrieved 2016 07 09 Sinanoglou Vassilia 2015 Assessment of lactation stage and breed effect on sheep milk fatty acid profile and lipid quality indices Journal of Dairy Science and Technology 95 4 509 531 doi 10 1007 s13594 015 0234 5 S2CID 86067647 External links EditSheep dairying at sheep101 com Sheep dairying documentary by Cooking Up A Story Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sheep milk amp oldid 1136377319, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
