Katahdins have hair and not wool, which means they are a low-maintenance breed that will shed their hair naturally. We are in the process of installing another 10,000 feet of electric fence on 25 acres that will result in another nine paddocks. We have a dispute between the members about feeding sheep after working them. 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. The number of feedings can be reduced over time to twice a day by 3-4 weeks of age. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. They also benefit from a long productive life, giving you maximum bang for your buck. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 170 200 (can be less than 170lb), Ram = 220 250. Difference in color is a matter of preference. They are easy care sheep that divert most of their energy into producing meat instead of wool. my ewe with CL has had her first batch of lambs last month and she is a really good mother! In this area, hair sheep often sell higher than wool sheep. Our spring lambs require 4-5 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of gain. Have good flocking instinct. Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. As we train border collies for sheep and cattle trials and we need a few different types of sheep. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'savvyfarmlife_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_3',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');Being native to Iceland, this breed is exceptionally cold-hardy, and is an excellent and efficient forager making it able to thrive and find food in harsh environments. About. Rams generally have horns. As you can see in picture Spike has some tiny horn buds; they have never grown . In addition to being a smaller breed, the lambs tend to mature slowly, not reaching ideal market weight until around 2 years of age. We saw their ad and went to look at their Dorper rams. While Dorper sheep are considered a hair breed, Ive found a large number have quite a bit of wool or curly fibers in their coat. Originally bred for their meat, the Katahdin tends to have a wider variation of milk production - some ewes producing significantly more (or significantly less) than the average. (Weve heard them all.). This breed is medium-sized and is hardy with a high-quality carcass. They reach sexual maturity early, and will remain fertile for a longer period of time than many other breeds. That is normal. Myth #2: Hair sheep don't bring as much on the slaughter market. We began our Katahdin Sheep herd with non-registered sheep but have added registered Katahdin ewes to our farm. I dont want him to get unhealthily fat. "We liked their look," Ruby puts in. This information is important to producers and extension agents with an interest in hair sheep. Parasite resistance and reproductive efficiency is very high, making the Katahdin a valued breed in the hair sheep industry. Thanks, I am considering starting a small Dorper and or Katahdin herd to raise meat for the Western New York market. The SNPs in NOS2, TGFB2, and IL2RA genes were also observed with high genetic differentiation in the Katahdin and St. Croix vs Dorper analysis. ( From Buckler Farms near Granville TN) His mom is at least 50% dorper and Katahdin. As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. Required fields are marked *. Ron remembers raising wool sheep as a teenager. . Dorpers are well-known to mature early as well, with most lambs considered market-ready in as little as 4 months old. History tells us our present-day sheep are derived from the wild Mouflon sheep, among others, that grew coarse hair with a downy undercoat. There are many great options for meat-producing sheep. Non selective grazers that perform well under both extensive and intensive production systems. In winter puts on coat that is shed as temperatures increase. A type of hair breed, Katahdin sheep originate in the United States. If my product would be poorly finished or wouldnt taste good, I surely would lose customers. Apparently, Momma Kathadin doesnt wait around to see what happens when Mr. Coyote shows up for dinner. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact | About Us | Sitemap, As one of the most populous sheep breeds in America, the. A qualityregistered lamb will bring triple the fat lamb price. Any sheep can technically produce meat, but if youre looking to raise sheep for commercial meat production, youll want to make sure you get a good return on investment. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare productive performance of F 1 Dp vs . The Katahdin is another great dual-purpose breed, producing on average 210 liters of milk per 210 day cycle. But the pasture littered with wool as I had feared just did not happen. Dorper and Katahdin are medium size breeds. However, since Dorpers can also be found further North in colder climates, I am sure that a lack of winter hardiness is not a trait applying to Dorper sheep. Fencing. The majority of ewe lambs are sold as registered breeding stock; the majority of ram lambs are sold for slaughter. The lighter weights are the result of hot weather reducing forage intake (occurs with all grazing animals) and lowered nutritional quality of cool-season forages. Choosing breeding stock with this in mind can avoid this problem. With a high rate of multiple births and a gentle temperament, this is a good choice for people looking to start a hair sheep business, particularly in warm climates. Culling the genetic faults and only keeping the best rams for breeding will ensure a good future for any new hair sheep breeds. Best guess is he is 175-200 lbs. The best genetics wont keep an animal from starving to death. Hair sheep primer . Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential. The Katahdin breed is an easy to care for, meat type sheep, naturally tolerant of climatic extremes and capable of high performance in a wide variety of environments. If you consider hairsheep like White Dorpers in the future dont forget to ask the breeder about the shedding ability of their flock! Some general information on hair sheep is found on the next page. I have noticed that some lambs are showing caramel patches. while letting some lambs reach weights up to 100+ lbs. Though not year-round breeders, Tunis often breed out of season, with the occasional lamb (or two) born in late Summer / Fall. A maternal breed, Katahdin ewes breed well with the Dorper rams to produce a meaty but feminine lamb. Generally, hair breeds are more heat tolerant than wool breeds. While they always have access to a wind break when the wind howls, they are not being housed with the exception of those that lamb during the winter. They have less subcutaneous fat on average and are a bit leaner because there is less feathering in the muscles. Thirty percent of the ewes were first-time lambers, having an average of 1.2 lambs/ewe. He seems pretty big to me, but since he is my first sheep, I dont know what he should weigh. They were an excellent choice for this as they seldom bothered the pine trees. It is also exceptionally low-maintenance. 80 pounds at 90 days can be expected. I direct sell a great number of lambs. Dorper sheep have a distinctive appearance: black heads and white bodies. I would also be interested in bred young ewes. The main questions to ask yourself to determine the answer are: Katahdin sheep come in multiple color varieties, whereas Dorper sheep are white and black. Good milkers, and is suggested not to wean lambs before three months. Members List; Customize Search Results Format: Quick Search: Flock ID: Member Name: Farm Name: State: Records 1 - 100 of 1770 records found matching your criteria: All Records : Page 1 of 18 Go To Page . Youll find these sheep to have an easy-going temperament, and they tend to produce leaner meat with even fat distribution. No wool to deal with makes perfect economic sense. Posted 11/18/2019 21:09 (#7854689) Subject: Dorper Sheep vs. Katahdin Sheep. Katahdin sheep are one of several hair breeds, the most common of which includes Barbados Black Belly, St. Croix and Dorper sheep. I had heard all the negatives about them such as The lambs get too fat, The lambs sell for less money at auctions, The pasture will be littered with wool as these sheep shed, and They get too cold in the winter. Well, at least Katahdins, St Croix and barbs. These lambs that I have seen are usually by percentage Dorper rams or rams of lesser quality and out of smaller ewes or lesser quality ewes. The Dorpers get so quiet and even a little lazy that the dogs really have to work hard to make them move much. Lambs are efficient producers of meat. This breed is adaptable and can live in many different climates. The thickness of a Katahdin sheeps winter coat will vary among individuals, but it needs to shed completely for an A or AA coat classification, which is the norm. Dorper and Katahdin are medium size breeds. Making Natural Clothing Dye From Vegetables. Because of their hair, they do not produce the lanolin that can lend gaminess to the meat, giving it a milder flavor. Katahdins have generated a great deal of interest from all parts of North America. . Some of the ancestors of these breeds originated in Africa and were brought to the Caribbean Islands, Central America and northern South America during the 18th and 19th century. These include: Dorper sheep dont produce much milk or wool, which means raising them for meat is your only option. Crossing with the Dorper led tothis larger hair breed. The Katahdin and the St Croix give the dogs a little more run for their money, but they are not silly and bounce off fences like some other breeds can even with a lot of handling. They do produce wool, and need to be shorn on a regular basis. He can be reached by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com or by phoneduring calling hour specified on his answering machineat 585-554-3313. Secondly at what age are you removing lambs from mothers . Market Weight/Live/Age: 110 lbs / 7 8 months, Professional Horticulture and Pest Services, Breed Directory- American Sheep Industry Association, Hair Sheep Production and Marketing Including Some Breeds, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 1010 N. McDuff Avenue In conclusion, based on RT and RR, resilience to high HLI conditions ranked St. Croix > Katahdin > Dorper, with lowest . Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. We have eight foot Scotch Pines that look like a girdled palm tree and have seen them strip an old dried Christmas tree of its needles. I think this is where the good reputation of hair sheep comes in. However, they all shed around the belly, legs, head, and all the other places that would otherwise prolong shearing. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Extremely reactive to dogs and cats usually as though they wish to flee. A Katahdin ewe will average between 140-180 pounds, while Dorper ewes will average 160-200 pounds. American Blackbelly Since these breeds are so adaptable, when found in colder climates, the hair sheep adapt by growing a thicker undercoat. Of the ewe lambs exposed, 95 percent gave birth at the age of 11-13 months. Hairbreeds have many positive traits that make them an ideal animal for small farms, homesteads, and of course, larger commercial farms. Here is a list of the top 10 sheep breeds for meat:if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'savvyfarmlife_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Sheep are one of the most versatile livestock animals you can find when it comes to the number of different products they are able to produce. You must log in or register to reply here. Dorper Sheep vs. Katahdin Sheep. I am trying to locate a couple of nice ewe lambs now. 1999. Ive spent my entire life around farm animals, and I created Savvy Farm Life to share the helpful information Ive learned over the years. They do produce wool, and will need to be shorn annually. Ten percent of sheep breeds are hair breeds but ninety percent of these are found in tropical areas. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 130 140 (Average is 136), Ram = 170 - 200. Unfortunately, as the percentage of Dorper increases, more wool is found in their coat and some animals lose some of their shedding ability. Hairsheep breeds such as the Barbados Blackbelly and St.Croix are largely found in these tropical areas of the world. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. Hampshire sheep can live in almost any climate, making them a hardy breed. These are some of the best reasons to raise Katahdin sheep - though the list is by no means exhaustive! Its also possible that some pieces of wool or hair remain along the back or on the hind quarters or arm pits. I raise all my sheep and lambs strictly on pasture and feed no grain whatsoever. Often, when a new breed or type is rising in popularity, careful breeding can fall to the wayside in the haste to have stock to sell. When it comes down to it, the choice of whether to add Dorper sheep or Katahdin sheep to your homestead is more about personal preference. I love lambs Does lambs has less cholesterol than goat? I no longer sell at livestock auctions mainly because I dont have to. I belong to a herding club in Hawaii. Why they are Crossed Waco Childbirth Education 74 subscribers Subscribe 127 Share. Dorset lambs, like the Suffolk and Dorper, mature quickly and are market-ready earlier than many other breeds. Keep reading to learn more about the best sheep breeds for meat. Please indicate pricing as well. I would never go back to merinos & do not intend having cattle again, My dorper sheep have been lambing only male lambs..i do not know why there are no females being born9males so far..no females. Im sorry I cannot help you. Mating season for Suffolk sheep usually happens in the Autumn or Winter of each year, as it is for most sheep breeds. This increases the risk of falls and injury, which can be expensive to fix. Dorsets commonly produce twins and even triplets. FLAVOR One needs to do a detail review of the information related to the hair breed one wishes to raise. Market Weight/Live/Age: 60 80 lbs / 9 month. Dorpers tend to be a little larger, and Katahdins are excellent mothers, so a Dorper /Kathadin cross is nearly perfect. 109:265-275. There are a few characteristics you will want to look for when choosing a meat-producing sheep. Royal White (Dorper x St.Croix) 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. This breed produces rapid-growing lambs, with most lambs being considered ready for market at 12 weeks of age. The carcass of the Cheviot tends to be plump and meaty, with just enough fat to produce a succulent meat. Mutton is meat that comes from mature sheep over the age of 1 year old. Its also common to see animals of up to a year old climbing to the top of a big bale of hay. I really like all three breeds. It is common to have ewes lambing twice per year. This is a very good article to read and understand the secrets of Raising Katahdin Sheep. The breed was created by crossing Dorset and Blackheaded Persian sheep. This information may be used to compare breeds of hair sheep. Thank you. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. Ulf owns and operates White Clover Sheep Farm and breeds and raises grass-fed White Dorper sheep and Kiko goats without any grain feeding and offers breeding stock suitable for grazing. For the Katahdin vs Dorper analysis (Table 1), 8 SNPs under selection were observed in SOCS2, NOS2, TGFB2 and IL2RA genes within OAR3, 11, 12 and 13, respectively. 100 Dorper - Bred Ewes. Most hair sheep breeds will lamb out of season without resorting to hormone therapy. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 7.5 lbs for single, 6.5 7 for twins, and less for triplets. If breeding your own sheep for sustainable meat production, you will also want to know the breeding habits of each breed, and whether the sheep produces wool or grows hair this is helpful to know when it comes to maintenance. The Gayogoh:n are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. I usually harvest my lambs between 80 and 90 lbs. The Dorper originated in South Africa from crosses between the Dorset and the Blackhead Persian. How do you decide which breed is right for your needs? This is true for Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix in particular, because they have not been subjected to selection for size and growth rate of the woolen breeds. "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the price paid for wool nearly covered feed costs. Quite a few meat producers are finding better success with the hair breeds of meat sheep than with meat goats. However, they have been cross-bred with other breeds over the years to develop the modern breed we see today. A ewes wool will pay her winter feed bill. As mentioned earlier, theres no price discount for Katahdin sheep or Dorper sheep in central Missouri. Grading up to Dorper. Katatdin x Dorper . I would say try the dorpers.. we only raise a few for there is only us out here. While I cant speak for other hair sheep breeds, Katahdin sheep are often more flighty than many other breeds: Several producers of both hair and wool animals have found coyote losses are considerably lower with Katahdins. This spring we had an overall lambing average of 1.9 lambs/ewe born with 1.7 lambs weaned. Katahdins are docile, medium-sized sheep; ewes weigh 125 to 185 pounds, rams 180 to 250 pounds. Parasitol. I had on occasion lambs butchered that exceeded 110 pounds. The Katahdin hair sheep is the fastest growing breed in the United States. I've seen some really nice Dorper/Katahdin crosses. or you can contact me at- People in the Midwest or southern states see this and make a trip to Alberta to purchase a super ram. Like most of the sheep listed here, Texel lambs reach market size quickly, by 5-6 months.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'savvyfarmlife_com-leader-2','ezslot_10',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-leader-2-0'); With an extended breeding season of nearly 5 months, Texel sheep are prolific breeders. Photo courtesy of:Dr. Stephan A. Wildeus. In our operation, that sheep breed is the Katahdin sheep. Demand for Dorper breed, and specifically the black head Dorper, is experiencing an unprecedented surge here in the USA. $300. Sheep are one of the most versatile producers when it comes to livestock animals. Market Weight/Live/Age: 70 90 lbs / 7 8 months. 46:131-143.. Making a Good Ewe Flock. the last time the ewe had triplets she would not take care of the tiny black one but at first she did.. but my husband ended up bottle feeding the last one born. The Royal White produces more mea t than Katahdin sheep and Dorper sheep. The shedding ability of this breed varies greatly. Our flock is managed through pasture rotation from April until late December. The Dorper is a mutton breed of hair sheep developed in the 1930s. Bred sheep/ewes (Dorper and Katahdin), bred to a show ram. Unlike meat goats, hair sheep are resistant to many of the parasites shed by cattle. This site is owned and operated by Wild Wire Media, LLC. Updated: Monday, February 06, 2023 02:46 PM. The cross breeding results in the best of both breeds but also in the benefits of heterosis, commonly known as hybrid vigor. Docking tails is unnecessary, although you still see some old timers that dock just because they always have. Katahdin Sheep work very well in a variety of production situations as a low-maintenance, easy care sheep. Are Llamas Dangerous? He is 8 months old. Between their size and their courage, llamas may seem intimidating at first. In another study conducted by Gamble and Zajac for the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA and Virginia Tech, the scientists found that St. Croix "demonstrated high levels of acquired resistance to Haemonchus contortus under conditions of experimental or natural infection." The Katahdins in the study had a consistently less barber pole worm infestation rate compared to the Dorper and Dorset crosses. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. Have been buying in feed since the start of 2018. Thank so much for this information. We currently manage between 45-60 ewes per year with about 70% of our flock being registered. We are fortunate that buyers for the large ethnic market in St. Louis often attend sales.
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