How does pre-ordering work? 

We open for pre-orders Sept. 1 and close Oct. 31 or when pre-orders sell out. We then fufill pre-orders in starting in November on a first come, first served basis. There is a short series of emails to keep you in the loop; you can always reach out for an update at any point. 

 

Will you have another pre-order opportunity after this one again?

Right now, we just do this once a year. We have one pre-order period each year in the September/October period. We will not have another pre-order opportunity for another year. 

 

Will you do custom orders?

Yes, we will try. We have made special lamb boxes for customers and we also try to accommodate different ways of processing the animal. If there are certain cuts you want that one of our boxes doesn’t provide, please reach out. If you have a particular way that you would like your whole lamb or half lamb processed that our website ordering won’t allow you to do, then please reach out. Our website ordering page is set up to give the most common choices based on the abattoir’s standard way of processing lamb, but we can usually accommodate other preferences.

 

Can I just buy a few individual cuts?

Yes, but not through this pre-order. The pre-order is specifically for those who want a whole lamb, half a lamb or one of our lamb boxes. Once all the lamb is processed and all pre-orders have been fulfilled, we then start retailing individual cuts at the Thunder Bay Country Market. We usually do hold back lambs to make sure we have the supply to be able to do this. The best way to find out when lamb is available this way is to join our email list.  

 

Is there sausage in the pre-order?

We try to make sausage after all the pre-orders and individual cuts are gone in the spring, which means that we do not offer sausage as part of the pre-orders. Stay tuned for another round of sausage in May 2025 – just in time for barbecue season.

 

Do you sell “live lamb”?

No. All of our lamb is slaughtered at a government-regulated abattoir. If you would like to butcher it yourself, we can arrange for the abattoir to just do the slaughter. This will mean an adjusted price, as all of our pricing includes abattoir fees, so please reach out. 

 

Last year, my cuts were noticeably bigger than the year before. Why the variation?

Your lamb will be 105 lbs. live weight or bigger when it goes to the abattoir. When they are processed, they can range from 105 – 120 lbs. (which can produce different sizes in the cuts you see). Unfortunately, the abattoir is so busy that they can’t accommodate us exactly when the animals are all basically the same weight. Instead, the animals go to the abattoir when our slot comes up (and when they have met the minimum weight). Our abattoir dates are booked almost a year in advance based on the average growth rates of the whole flock so natural variation creates the weight range.

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The other thing that is variable is the actual structure of the animal’s body. While many of the cuts will be very consistent across our weight range, we do notice that the rack size can noticeably vary from animal to animal even when they weigh roughly the same.

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We do all of our pricing based on 105 lbs. so you do not pay more when you get a bigger lamb. Enjoy it as a bonus!