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Sheep Milk History

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Sheep Milk History

Sheep have been raised for milk for thousands of years and were milked before cows. The world’s commercial dairy sheep industry is concentrated in Europe and the countries on or near the Mediterranean Sea. The dairy sheep industry is in its infancy. Orchid Meadow Farm, our main supplier, is the largest producer of organic sheep milk in the UK.

Highly nutritious
Sheep milk is highly nutritious, richer in vitamins A, B, and E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium than cow’s milk. It contains a higher proportion of short- and medium-chain fatty acids, which have recognized health benefits. For example, short-chain fatty acids have little effect on cholesterol levels in people. They make milk easier to digest.

According to a German researcher, sheep milk has more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than the milk from pigs, horses, goats, cattle, and humans. CLA is a cancer-fighting, fat-reducing fat. The fat globules in sheep milk are smaller than the fat globules in cow’s milk, making sheep milk more easily digested.

Sheep milk

Sheep milk can be frozen and stored until a sufficient quantity of milk is available to sell or make yoghurt or cheese. Freezing does not affect the qualities of the milk.

Sheep milk has a higher solids content than goat or cow milk. As a result, more yoghurt or cheese can be produced from a gallon (or litre) of sheep milk than a gallon (or litre) of goat or cow milk. Sheep milk yields 18 to 25 percent, whereas goat and cow milk only yield 9 to 10 percent.

While sheep usually produce less milk than goats and much less than cows, sheep milk sells for a significantly higher price per pound, almost six times the price of cow milk.

Cheese

Most of the sheep milk produced in the world is made into cheese. Some of the most famous cheeses are made from sheep milk: Feta (Greece, Italy, and France), Ricotta and Pecorino Romano (Italy) and Roquefort (France). The U.S. is a large importer of sheep milk cheeses. Sheep milk is also made into yoghurt and ice cream.

Dairy sheep breeds

While lactating ewes of any breed can be milked, as with other species of livestock, there are specialized dairy sheep breeds. Worldwide there are more than a dozen dairy sheep breeds, but only a few are available in the United States: East Friesian and Lacaune. Specialized dairy breeds produce 400 to 1,100 pounds of milk per lactation, whereas the milk production from conventional sheep breeds is only 100 to 200 pounds of milk per lactation.

The East Friesian is the most common and productive breed of dairy sheep in the world. Their average production is 990 to 1,100 pounds per 220 to 240-day lactation.

Worldwide, most sheep are milked seasonally by hand. This is because many dairy sheep are raised in remote areas where no cow could survive. Modern sheep dairies use sophisticated machinery for milking: milking parlours, pipelines, bulk tanks, etc. Ewes are milked once or twice per day.

Management of dairy sheep

Maximum milk yield is obtained when the lambs are removed from their dams within 24 hours of birth and raised on artificial milk replacer, as is common in Europe and in cow and goat dairies.