After proper upgrading and recordation, the resulting sheep can be registered Katahdins. (function(){var k='0521688706',d=document,l=d.location,c=d.cookie;function f(n){if(c){var i=c.indexOf(n+'=');if(i>-1){var j=c.indexOf(';',i);return escape(c.substring(i+n.length+1,j<0?c.length:j))}}}var x=f('__utmx'),xx=f('__utmxx'),h=l.hash; My wife and I feel there’s no “best” breed, but rather which “breed” best fits your operation. While I’m sure I’ll rile a lot of Dorper breeders, I’ve seen too many that had been sheared before a sale, which defeats the purpose of a hair animal. We both work off the farm; therefore time is a commodity in short supply. To achieve this end, Piel imported a small number of Virgin Island sheep to cross with some of his existing flock of traditional sheep. Our experienced ewes averaged 2.1 lambs/ewe born with 1.9 weaned. '&utmxhash='+escape(h.substr(1)):'')+'" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">')})(); For several years we’ve had Romanov/Katahdin crosses. Libyans prefer old worn out buck goats for their “stronger flavor”. The parasite resistance of composite breeds, such as the Katahdin, is intermediate between hair sheep and wooled sheep, since Katahdins are a cross between the resistant St. Croix and non-resistant British breeds. ), In fall 2000, we grazed our flock on cocklebur and waterhemp that followed an oat crop. A ewe’s wool will pay her winter feed bill. Required fields are marked *. The thickness of a Katahdin sheep’s winter coat will vary among individuals, but it needs to shed completely for an A or AA coat classification, which is the norm. As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. The Katahdin sheep are adaptable, hardy and low maintenance sheep that produce superior lamb crops and lean, meaty carcasses. Fourteen years ago my wife got into the sheep business when she purchased three registered Katahdin ewes, a ram, and later, three Romanov ewes. Avery's Katahdin Hair Sheep. The desire to climb mandates the use of a bale ring to prevent excessive waste. This may or may not be the case in other states. After almost 20 years of crossing the resulting hybrids "in every conceivable combination" and selecting the individuals with the desired combination of traits, Piel eventually collected a flock of ewes he called KATAHDINS, named after Mt. People in the Midwest or southern states see this and make a trip to Alberta to purchase a super ram. Breeders often use less-expensive Katahdin ewes to initiate an upgrading program with registered Dorper as the final goal. In our program we are crossing with White Dorper rams to produce marketable lambs. Bosnians want 60-pound animals while Muslims often prefer 60-80 pound animals. Katahdin sheep were created as a means to have affordable sheep breeds that are still highly productive. They were an excellent choice for this as they seldom bothered the pine trees. | The Dorper Sheep was developed in the 1930s in South Africa. While many of the characteristics hair animals possess appeal to the hobby flock owner, we expect an animal to make us money; if it doesn’t, it’s gone. Breeding stock is selected under rigorous criteria, including parasite resistance, hair coat, growth characteristics on grass alone and general thriftiness. utmx_section("Personal Footer"). After slaughter, all that’s left is hide, manure and stomach contents. I used to want a Dorper cross over Katahdin but finally got to see the results of this cross and was not very impressed with the results. I added pics of her and the ram she is bred to and her mother on my 2010 purchased lambs page. They are efficient, bred for utility and for production in a variety of management systems. Jun 21, 2019 - Explore Michelle D.'s board "Dorper Barbados sheep crosses" on Pinterest. He is 200lb+ at 1 year of age, is wide, and very muscular. Breeders often use less-expensive Katahdin ewes to initiate an upgrading program with registered Dorper as the final goal. His goal was to combine the hair coat, prolificacy, and hardiness of the Virgin Island sheep with the meat conformation and rate of growth of wool breeds. While I can’t speak for other hair breeds, Katahdin sheep are tough, hardy animals with eating habits more like that of a goat. His goal was to create a hardy meat sheep that did not need shearing and would graze so that mowing vegetation would be unnecessary. Since hair sheep don’t have a heavy wool coat, they can’t take the cold. Katahdin in Maine where he farmed. The Katahdin can be used in crossbreeding programs. This market presented difficulties such as lambing in the dead of winter, having lambs large enough (especially when Passover comes early) and pooling with your neighbors to find enough lambs for a truckload. Fact: Eight or ten years ago you could expect a 5-10 cents/pound discount for hair animals. It usually takes at least 3 generations, depending on the type of wool sheep parentage, to obtain offspring with a shedding hair coat and other purebred characteristics. Several Polypay owners in the area worm all animals 6-8 times during the summer and still lose animals to stomach worms. This has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with the latitude in which the animal lives: Things being equal, our weights will be lower than the weights of similar Katahdins raised in Canada, but higher than ones raised in Florida. Several myths still surround hair sheep. During the mid 1970's the Wiltshire Horn, a shedding breed from England, was incorporated into the flock to add size and improve carcass quality. When comparing weights, keep in mind we live in north central Missouri. Sure enough, he’s been trimming hooves. 303 likes. We are just so excited to welcome this new girl into our herd...Thank you Dean Johnston for allowing us to purchase her! Our young Katahdins can be difficult to move. The breed is named for Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine. (from http://www.katahdins.org/), http://www.wiltshirehorn.org.uk/home/  for info on the Wiltshire Horn shedding sheep, http://www.stcroixsheep.org/  for info on the St. Croix hair sheep. Katahdins can have A, B or C coats (graded on how well they shed). © COPYRIGHT Katahdin.SheepThings.com, 2020 While we’ve missed out on export sales the last several years because of retaining ewes to increase flock numbers, Mexican buyers will be coming by this spring. Ewes were born in 2 years and evaluated in several different breeding seasons. Thirty percent of the ewes were first-time lambers, having an average of 1.2 lambs/ewe. We find it’s seldom necessary to trim hooves. It is raised mainly for meat production. Katahdin sheep will strip the bark from cedars, pines and any deciduous tree that has smooth, immature bark. A common lamb on good pasture will perform better than “Super Lamb” on poor pasture. This spring we had an overall lambing average of 1.9 lambs/ewe born with 1.7 lambs weaned. We have members from Mexico to Northern Canada and have exported to Ecuador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Chile, and Central America. We are fortunate that buyers for the large ethnic market in St. Louis often attend sales. Unfortunately, as the percentage of Dorper increases, more wool is found in their coat and some animals lose some of their shedding ability. The last asset of the Dorper sheep that will test the current show ring preferences is the hide. In this area, hair sheep often sell higher than wool sheep. Katahdins have generated a great deal of interest from all parts of North America. The flocking instinct of hair animals generally isn’t as good as wool breeds. They can provide you with information pertaining to regulations, health requirements and local export brokers. Flock owners with less than 50 animals have a difficult time getting someone to shear unless they pool their animals with neighbors. Your email address will not be published. In the 1950's, Michael Piel of Maine saw a need for a hardy meat sheep, which would not require shearing. To showcase the commercial qualities of our animals, all breeding stock we sell comes directly from pasture, having received no special treatment. A large-framed, late-maturing breed will not have the necessary carcass quality at these weights, whereas Katahdin sheep or Dorpers will. It’s also common to see animals of up to a year old climbing to the top of a big bale of hay. The Katahdin sheep breed was developed in the United States of America in the early 1950s. If this same time is spent building homestead fencing, water systems, improving lambing or handling facilities, it’s improving an operation. American Blackbelly rams generally have large, curved horns, though. I’ve seen Shropshire being used to keep weeds and grass down in Christmas tree plantations. If you have space to corral a few sheep, you can fill the freezer with a healthy alternative to beef and chicken. Hair sheep don’t bring as much on the slaughter market. The Dorper and Katahdin hair breeds, both developed in modern times, are now among the most common sheep in America. July 25, 2019 at 8:28 pm. This breeds' registry (Katahdin Hair Sheep International) allows for upgrading (cross-breeding) with other breeds of sheep. 80 pounds at 90 days can be expected. After proper upgrading and recordation, the resulting sheep can be registered Katahdins. Barbado sheep may not necessarily have black bellies or facial barbs. Plans for the future include a larger lambing/working shed-currently under construction, later lambing to reduce cold weather losses (10 percent death loss for everything combined, stillborn, drowning in water tank, mashed, runts, etc. In 2001, my friend with Polypay paid $2 to shear $.50 worth of wool per animal. It’s important to have an animal that’s “pure” or unaltered for sacrifice in observance of many holidays. Three ewes needed assistance lambing (one got it, the other two didn’t and lost their lambs), one of which was 8 years old. A barbado sheep isn't a breed of sheep but rather a descriptive word that folks, primarily in Texas, use to describe the cross-breeds that look similar to Barbados Blackbelly. Our grass-fed ewes normally go into the fall with a body score of 4-5, which makes flushing difficult: Adult Katahdin sheep can maintain themselves on poor quality forage that had our Romanovs literally skin and bones. We’ve found that while genetics play an important role in weight gains, flock management, parasite control, forage quality and forage availability seem to be more important when it comes to the bottom line. ... excel in maternal and fitness traits, including parasite resistance. Most hair sheep breeds will lamb out of season without resorting to hormone therapy. The Barbados Blackbelly sheep breed was a breed that was developed on the Island of Barbados in the Caribbean. Our newest girl is dubbed Hakuna Katahdin :) The Katahdin ram she is bred to for spring was owned by the same man I purchased her from but is unrelated to her. In the US, these include the Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix. He began to experiment with crosses between the hair sheep and various British breeds, especially Suffolk. University of South Dakota research found it requires 250-300 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of wool. A year and many dollars later, they can’t understand why the ram’s offspring doesn’t grow any faster than the rest of their animals. Apparently, Momma Kathadin doesn’t wait around to see what happens when Mr. Coyote shows up for dinner. According to the Katahdin Hair Sheep International, the Katahdin is a medium-sized breed. ©2005, Sheep & Goat Research Journal Sheep & Goat Research Journal, Volume 20, 2005 37 Summary Two experiments evaluated growth of mixed-sex Barbados Blackbelly, Katahdin, and St. Croix hair sheep lambs raised on pasture or hay-based diets with moderate levels of energy sup-plementation. If there were a hair Hampshire or Suffolk that would do a better job, we’d be raising them. Work with your state’s department of agriculture if you’re interested in export sales. After lambing season, most of our “sheep time” is spent managing our pastures so that we can provide our animals with the best quality forage possible. To be successful, you must sell quality, and I stress quality animals; send anything else to slaughter. Katahdin ewes cross well with other breeds to produce superior market lambs. Twice a year my friend with Polypays shows up at work doubled over as he shuffles around in pain. Prices range from 70 to 120 for singles, and 180 for pairs.I accept both cash and Paypal.8one7-32zero-18zero1 Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. We are now down to just 4 rams (2 poly/ABB calico cross and 2 American BlackBelly at this writing). Depending on the breeder, Katahdins can be a composition of almost any breed and thus, have a great deal of variety. A Katahdin ewe will average between 140-180 pounds, while Dorper ewes will average 160-200 pounds. As mentioned earlier, there’s no price discount for Katahdin sheep or Dorper sheep in central Missouri. This behavior causes problems with maintaining desirable trees unless protection is provided. Hair breeds have many positive traits that make them an ideal animal for small farms, homesteads, and of course, larger commercial farms. When the pastures are poor, hair animals hold their body condition much better. Since Missouri has more Katahdin sheep than any other state, the majority of export animals come from here. '.webs.com' : 'none'; --> We have an 18-cell planned grazing system with 10,000 feet of electric fence and 5,000 feet of underground waterline on 35 acres. In Canada, Katahdin sheep commonly gain well over a pound per day. The purpose of the breed is to efficiently produce meat. To appeal to ethnic buyers, it often requires a change in flock management. Katahdin sheep are used for meat. They are the most numerous registered breed of sheep in the US. They can be horned or polled. They’re too small to be of commercial value. I have around 35 lambs and sheep left for sale, both rams and ewes. Photo by Bradley Bishop [CC BY-SA 4.0], ... A cross between Barbados Blackbelly and Rambouillet and Mouflon sheep, this horned breed is easy to confuse with the Barbados Blackbelly. (Grabbing a Romanov that’s been walking through cockleburs is like wrestling with a 130-pound cocklebur.). I have been educating myself on this breed for a few years now and have been wanting to add this bloodline in but had to wait until I had cut back on the number of rams here. If you have heard a lot about Katahdin sheep and want to know the facts about this breed, visit www.katahdins.org and click on breed standards. The first generation grows quite well due to the heterosis effect, but nearly always has a wool coat. Designs are property of Katahdin.Sheepthings.com. The experiment described below was designed to compare Barbados Blackbelly x Dorset crossbred ewes to ewes of several other maternal types including the Dorset, Finnsheep, and Dorset x Finnsheep cross. Mr. Piel had a flock of several thousand and spent over twenty years cross breeding sheep to develop the Katahdin breed. As mentioned earlier, hair sheep breeds are considerably more heat-tolerant than wool breeds. The Katahdin breed has hair instead of wool, and that means less work, according to the couple, who raise the sheep near Perham, Minnesota. Sheep . Barbados: I feel like these sheep should be labeled “the crazy one’s.” They are like St. Croix’s in almost every respect except for temperament. Katahdin Sheep Breed. High latitudes (up north) have a short growing season with long daylight periods and fast grass growth that is high in protein and low in fiber. These slaughter lambs sell comparable to pure Katahdin sheep per pound unless they’re full of cockleburs and briars. (We’ve heard them all.). When crossed with wool sheep, the first generation offspring will in most cases have wool fleeces with hair intersperse. She is a 2010 lamb herself. a Barbados Blackbelly sheep. Originally published in sheep! Our spring lambs require 4-5 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of gain. _udn = "none"; Many Greeks eat lamb for Easter, which is not always the same date as the traditional Easter. According to the breed registry,  breeders are to strive for  a low maintenance, hair(shedding) sheep that produces market (meat) lambs. Mexicans prefer a larger lamb, and let nothing go to waste. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. When the weather’s hot and the pastures are dry, their wool animals will be under a tree while the hair animals are out grazing. Hair sheep breeds (Katahdin, St. Croix, Barbados) generally have much greater parasite resistance than wooled breeds, especially after one year of age. I also have many pairs available. We also sell breeding stock locally. They like large groups of lambs on each farm, prefer solid colors, registered and must be enrolled in the scrapie program. Depending on the varieties of sheep that are predominate in any given Katahdin, you will have those breeds influence the appearance, size, carcass traits, temperament, parasite tolerance, prolificacy, etc. We feel that our time must be used where it will improve our operation, rather than maintaining status quo. "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the … Docking tails is unnecessary, although you still see some “old timers” that dock just because they always have. Comparisons of three hair sheep breeds, Katahdin, Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix, showed that carcass weights and loin muscle areas were greater for Katahdin than Barbados Blackbelly or St. Croix (Table 2). Terms of Use - Privacy Policy. Katahdin sheep are an American Heritage breed that was developed by Michael Piel of Abbot, Maine. The hair sheep breeds include Barbados Blackbelly, Dorper, Katahdin, Painted Desert, Royal White, St. In Experiment 1, 36 ewe and wether lambs were Many of the Dorper you see have been crossed with Katahdin sheep for several reasons. The Barbados Blackbelly originated on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Many ethnic groups want a much different lamb or goat than has been marketed in the past. Depending on the breeder, Katahdins can be a composition of almost any breed and thus, have a great deal of variety. We prefer using forage to produce lambs rather than wool. Animals don’t grow as fast but don’t need to with milder winters and longer growing season. While Dorper sheep are considered a hair breed, I’ve found a large number have quite a bit of wool or curly fibers in their coat. In years past, 18-30 pound lambs sold well in Chicago for Jewish Passover. We are currently running 130 registered ewes with 10 commercial ewes that will be dispersed this year. Our girl is pictured above just 2 days after she arrived here. katahdin dorper sheep permaculture gardening survival garden survival sheep As we disperse all our crossbreeds, we’ve found the crossbred cull ewes with a wool coat have sold for 50-75 percent of what comparable weight hair ewes bring. Our spring lambs on pasture alone (17-20 percent protein and 65-72 percent digestible organic matter-“DOM”) will average 55-60 pounds. As mentioned earlier, the Katahdin breed has served us well. We welcomed our newest outside bred ewe lamb to our farm on December 7th, 2010. function utmx_section(){}function utmx(){} November/December 2003 and regularly vetted for accuracy. Of all the crosses, I liked the St. Croix/Katahdin mix the best and then bred back to Katahdin rams. My friend also mentioned his Katahdin-Dorper lambs are much fatter when born than Polypays. In our operation, that sheep breed is the Katahdin sheep. To properly flush a ewe, she should be on an upward nutritional plane and gaining weight. Both the above breeds (as well as others) were used in the "creation" of the original Katahdin breed (Mr. Piel's flock). We raise katahdin and katahdin cross hair sheep. Many of the Dorper you see have been crossed with Katahdin sheep for several reasons. See more ideas about sheep, goat farming, farm animals. Two weeks later, the ewes hadn’t lost any body condition. He was out of a triplet lambing and is extremely parasite resistant. We are in the process of installing another 10,000 feet of electric fence on 25 acres that will result in another nine paddocks. Most Muslims prefer intact ram lambs without tails being docked. Katahdin sheep and Dorper are bred as meat sheep breeds. The covering of the Katahdin does not require shearing and is preferably completely free of permanent wooly fibers. ... We do not like the traditional sheep meet flavor and our neighbors raise a dorper Katahdin cross and tell us the flavor is nothing like mutton. For a number of years, there has been a good export market for ewe lambs going to Mexico. Katahdin and Dorper cross Ram - $195 (Clark's Branch Rd) I have a 1 year old 1/2 Katahdin 1/2 Dorper Ram for sale .He has already 2 baby girls on the ground .Tame , likes to get his head scratcht .He is locking for a good home only . The average birth weight of twins is 8 pounds. Katahdin Sheep work very well in a variety of production situations as a low-maintenance, easy care sheep. Katahdin in Maine. I am so excited to be adding the Katahdin bloodline into our herd (she is only 3/4 Katahdin but is bred to a pure Katahdin ram). People converting to hair sheep breeds all notice certain things. © 2021, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Extract Natural Dye for Wool from Goldenrod Plants, Why Teach Classes on How to Knit, Spin, Weave or Felt, Countryside Machinery on the Homestead e-edition Flip Book. Other than a few lambs for Hispanic weddings, we sell our slaughter animals through the local auction barn. Katahdin sheep are one of several hair breeds, the most common of which includes Barbados Black Belly, St. Croix and Dorper sheep.While Dorper sheep are considered a hair breed, I’ve found a large number have quite a bit of wool or curly fibers in their coat. The development of the breed began in the late 1950's with the importation of a small number of haired sheep from the Caribbean by Michael Piel of Maine. If you’re grazing crop-field aftermath, their coat will pick up trash where a Katahdin won’t. Rams usually range in weight from 180 to 250 lbs. The Piel Farm had several thousand sheep at the time and Piel felt that "progress in selection for traits important to the production of meat would be greatly enhanced by the elimination of wool as a major factor for selection." Of course, what is desirable varies by breeder, so the breed registry establishes guidelines. The breed was created by Michael Piel who named the breed after Mt. It descends from sheep brought to the islands from West Africa during the slave era. thiswesternlife.