A)  Origin and Overview

A group of South African farmers experienced the tremendous advantages of fat-tailed hair breeds regarding fertility, resistance to various diseases, resistance to external and internal parasites, and durability and survival skills in times of extreme drought, herding instinct to protect the herd from predators and good strong teeth ensuring a long lifespan. They also realised that not only in South Africa but world wide these breeds lacked two vital components preventing them becoming highly sought after economic meat producers. That was fat localisation with poor distribution and lack of muscling leading to flat sidedness and late maturity.

In the early nineteen nineties (1990), determined to utilise the advantages of the indigenous fat tailed hair breeds and realising the huge gap between the fat tailed breeds and the well muscled British and European breeds and the need world wide for a truly good pure hair breed with good meat qualities, it was decided to develop a composite breed. Various fat-tailed breeds were thus crossed with well muscled breeds and the dream of the Meatmaster emerged.

The Meatmaster is a composite sheep breed in South Africa. It is bred as a non-fat tailed hair-type sheep for meat production. It offers farmers an alternative with unique characteristics to meet the needs of a huge market in South Africa and around the world.

At the moment Meatmaster breeders are found mainly in the central and Western extensive sheep breeding areas of South Africa. Meatmasters are however represented in all 9 Provinces of South Africa and are becoming increasingly popular in agricultural areas with a need for a sheep breed with extreme easy care and high production.

B)  Breed Standards and Characteristics

When selecting the genes necessary for the development of the Meatmaster all emphasis where placed on two aspects for consideration.

• What a sheep breed needs to keep costs as low as possible.

• What a breed needs for high fertility and production to maximize income.

The Breed Standards are thus very unlike any other sheep breeds. They where set up specifically to achieve what is set out above.

1)  Coat Colour and Skin Pigment

Any colour or combination of colours is acceptable. Good skin pigmentation around the eyes and over the ears is however essential.

Reason: To prevent cancer, eye infection and for stronger hoofs.

2)  Head and Horns

• Ewes must be feminine tending to be polled.
• Rams must be masculine also tending to be polled.
• Lite horns in both sexes is however acceptable.

Reason: Easier to manage in sheep yards, less vulnerable to fly strike with horn injuries

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3)  Coat Covering

Mainly short shiny hair with an underlying blanket of fluffy fine wool.
The breed must never be shorn thus natural shedding ability of coat is essential.

Reasons:

• Lambs to service - 0 °C winter temperatures as well as extreme heat tolerance.
• Protection from ticks and flies (no fly strike) 
• No shearing costs and danger times with weather after shearing.

4)  Conformation and Legs 

The sheep must be of average size with a functional efficient body conformation and well placed legs with excellent walking ability.

Reason: Easy lambing, enough meat with good movement.

5)  Tail

The tail must have a good attachment, preferably not be longer than the hock and have a neat wedge shape with only a moderate amount of fat. It must never be necessary to have the tail taken off.

Reason: Prevent ticks and fly strike and also no stress or possible infection with tail cutting, less work.

6)  Herd Instinct

The breed must have a strong herd instinct.

Reason: Vital for better management in rugged bush or mountainous regions. Prevents wandering and going through fences. Protect themselves and their lambs from predators.

7)  Enforced Selection to Achieve the Following:

• Highly fertile sheep.
• Good mothers that rear their lambs adequately.
• Virile rams with excellent serving ability.
• Sheep with a good walking ability.
• Lambs that will reach a slaughter mass of 12kg to 25kg  A2 and A3 at 5 months of their mothers.
• Breeders are encouraged to breed sheep suited to their environment and feeding conditions. Different types are thus allowed.
• 12kg to 15kg carcasses putting on more fat and less muscle to be sold at 3 months for the harsher dry and arid areas.
• 15kg to 20kg carcasses with moderate fat and more muscling for the largest part of our sheep farming areas.
• 20kg to 25kg carcasses with good muscling for the grain and pasture areas of the country.

IN ALL ASPECTS IT MUST BE AN EASY CARE SHEEP.

Breeders are expected to do tick counts and wean their Meatmasters from dosing for internal parisites.  Meatmasters should also be bred and managed under natural conditions for the area with no or very limited licks or  concentrates.

A quick glance at the above Breed Standards confirms the fact that there is no breed at present that has remotely the same breed standards. It is short and to the point, concentrating only on economic aspects. Take note of the fact that in total contrast to other breeds, it is nowhere stated what the neck and the shoulder attachment must be or for that matter the shape of the fore quarter, hind quarter, or any other body part.

The breed standards simply states a good functional efficient body conformation. The Breeders are determined once and for all to breed a profitable sheep, and then learn to love and like what they have bred and not just to try and breed another sheep pleasing to the eye.  Economic aspects are all that count.

C)  Performance Testing 

Performance testing is compulsorty for all Type # B Breeders of Meatmasters.  100 Day + 270 Day weights are recorded and processed to evaluate growth of lamb and mothers rearing ability, age of first lamb, inter lambing period and rearing status further determines the ewes breeding values.  Performance testing is utilized solely to improve a breeders Meatmasters genetic ability to become more profitable.

D) Membership

Allowance is made for two types of members with the same voting powers:

Type #A

• No record keeping
• No performance testing
• They sell comercial Ewes and Rams
• Their ewes qualify for Appendix A Meatmasters
• They can also sell on Society Sales
• They can take part in shows

E) Courses

The Meatmaster Society offers two courses to members, breeders or any interested parties.

Beginners course ( No Examination)

Covers the following:

• What and how to fill in forms and all admin concerning membership.
• Meatmaster Breed Standards
• Selection and breeding of Meatmasters
• What to look for when buying Rams and Ewes
• Basic Record keeping
• Basic Performance testing

This course will qualify you to do your own inspections.

Advanced Course

Deals with the following in much greater detail:

Meatmaster breedstandards

Record keeping and the "SHEPHERD PROGRAM"

Performance Testing

• How to record
• What to record
• When to record
• When to send
• How to use when selecting more profitable Meatmasters

This course will qualify you to act as a judge, instructor and ambassador at Meatmaster shows and courses.

MAKE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE MEATMASTER PRESENTATION ONTO YOUR COMPUTER FOR MORE INFORMATION

MAAK SEKER DAT U DIE MEATMASTER AANBIEDING OP U REKENAAR AFLAAI VIR MEER INLIGTING