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. Lamb comes from a sheep under the age of 1 year old. Are Llamas Dangerous? Disposition & Mothering Ability: Ewes are docile with good mothering ability. Breed utilization for meat production in sheep. While both breeds are exceptionally popular in the US, there are some differences between the two. More on that subject later. Vet. 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. However, they all shed around the belly, legs, head, and all the other places that would otherwise prolong shearing. PDF Productive Performance of F Dorper vs. Katahdin Ewes Under Semi Katahdin Sheep: Low-Maintenance Meat and Milk Producer - MorningChores 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. And does anyone have experience with katahdin ewes on dorper bucks . best beef in the word is lamb,i like lamb beef spesialis sate.. Amazing sheep, been breeding the Dorper for sometime now and i must say their adaptability is really outstanding. I recently purchased 4 ram lambs for meat. Katahdin ewes weigh around 125-185 pounds, and rams average around 200 pounds. A common lamb on good pasture will perform better than Super Lamb on poor pasture. While Hampshire sheep are seasonal breeders, they tend to have a longer breeding season than others. FLAVOR Ewes with young lambs show protective behavior and may raise front feet to strike dogs and cats when confronted. They reach sexual maturity very early, with ewes able to breed between 7 to 9 months of age. These are some of the best reasons to raise Katahdin sheep - though the list is by no means exhaustive! They grow quickly and reach market weight early. What is worse, however, is the fact that there are breeders who do not select for shedding ability and for the show ring instead. Materials and methods The Barbados Blackbelly got its name because of the characteristic black belly on an otherwise red brown coat. I sell a lot of culled ewes as roasts, ground meat, stew meat and various sausages. Forty-six Dorper, 46 Katahdin, and 43 St. Croix female sheep (initial BW of 58, 59, and 46 kg, respectively, SEM = 1.75; 3.3 0.18 yr of age, 2.6 - 3.7) from 45 commercial farms in four regions of the USA (Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, and central Texas) were used to evaluate responses to high heat load index (HLI) conditions in a central . 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. Cole, N.A. Thanks for the belly shaking laugh! They also benefit from a long productive life, giving you maximum bang for your buck. Best guess is he is 175-200 lbs. Bred sheep/ewes (Dorper and Katahdin), bred to a show ram. Our experienced ewes averaged 2.1 lambs/ewe born with 1.9 weaned. BREEDING DORPER SHEEP This means that, theoretically, a Dorper ewe can produce a lamb (or 2 or 3) every 8 months. The first rams I purchased were of outstanding shedding ability. After 13 years of medical education and military service they landed in Maine to put down roots. These include: Dorper sheep dont produce much milk or wool, which means raising them for meat is your only option. If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, please contact Cornell University via email at, Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogoh:n. We are currently using rams with high shedding scores, while culling heavily on production traits. Katahdins are a popular meat breed for sheep farmers. And some shed one year but not totally the next for no apparent reason at all. Dorper Sheep - Sheep Breed Series - YouTube its ok to wean the lamb as soon as possible. As we said in the introduction, if youre looking to earn multiple income streams from your sheep, youll probably find Katahdins to be the better option. His father Barley ( in picture behind him) is a full blooded Dorper. Tunis sheep are known to have an excellent flavor of meat. When the pastures are poor, hair animals hold their body condition much better. The shedding ability of this breed varies greatly. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. Suffolk ewes reach between 180-250 pounds, while rams can top out at 350 pounds. Hair sheep primer . They reach sexual maturity early, and will remain fertile for a longer period of time than many other breeds. May-June lambs on pasture alone (10-13percentprotein and 60-65percent DOM) will average 45 pounds. This breed was developed after 20 years of breeding and selection. Fencing. "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the price paid for wool nearly covered feed costs. Kasteel Whitedorper Stud - Homepage He can be reached by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com or by phoneduring calling hour specified on his answering machineat 585-554-3313. Hair Sheep: No Wooling Around - Hobby Farms This makes them one of the more profitable breeds to specialize in. The saving grace are our Dorpers. I direct sell a great number of lambs. The ancestry is believed to be of both African hair sheep and European breeds. Black color covers belly, inside legs and thighs and extends up to the neck. Origin: This breed originated from Maine, U.S. from crosses of woolen breeds mainly Suffolk and later Wiltshire Horn with hair sheep from the Virgin Islands. Dorpers tend to be a little larger, and Katahdins are excellent mothers, so a Dorper /Kathadin cross is nearly perfect. A qualityregistered lamb will bring triple the fat lamb price. As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. Dorper sheep are exceptionally popular amongst both hobbyists and commercial homesteads. Q. They like large groups of lambs on each farm, prefer solid colors, registered and must be enrolled in the scrapie program. Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, feed intake 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. That's interesting! You will find the occasional larger patch of wool in your pasture and you will definitely find wool and hair on the trees where the sheep rub. my ewe with CL has had her first batch of lambs last month and she is a really good mother! Bred to produce less back fat, their meat is lean and flavorful. In a second study, Dorper or Dorset sired lambs were compared to Barbados Blackbelly x St. Croix or Katahdin lambs. The Blackbelly is a smaller breed of sheep, with ewes maturing at around 100 pounds, and rams weighing on average 120 pounds. Secrets of Raising Katahdin Sheep - Countryside 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. The outside temp is above 85* sheep are heaving and panting rapidly. Youll find these sheep to have an easy-going temperament, and they tend to produce leaner meat with even fat distribution. When selecting breeding stock, choose animals with good feet. Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. Weve 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. Origin: This breed is sometimes referred to as Barbados Blackbelly, but it is different from the polled Barbados as a result of crosses with European breeds. This breed is adaptable and can live in many different climates. They do produce wool, and need to be shorn on a regular basis. Twice a year my friend with Polypays shows up at work doubled over as he shuffles around in pain. The Dorper has a high rate of lambing and is tolerant of the arid conditions it was developed for in South Africa. These breeds are called hair sheep because the coat consists of hair more like that of cattle and many goats rather than wool. Katahdin Hair Sheep | Successful Farming People converting to hair sheep breeds all notice certain things. They still dont take a huge amount of time to reach it, but it is something to be aware of if you are looking for fast production. Future importations to university breeding flocks led to the development of the American Blackbelly sheep breed. The ability of this breed to put grass into weight gain is remarkable. I no longer sell at livestock auctions mainly because I dont have to. Though the breed produces wool (and lanolin), it is known to have a particularly mild taste. We figured the combination would be a meatier sheep." They bought the ram in 1996 and some ewes the following spring. Most hair sheep breeds will lamb out of season without resorting to hormone therapy. Please indicate pricing as well. They were an excellent choice for this as they seldom bothered the pine trees. Are Llamas Dangerous? After slaughter, all thats left is hide, manure and stomach contents. If this same time is spent building homestead fencing, watersystems, improving lambing or handling facilities, its improving an operation. Although the breed was created in the 1930s, it is still fairly new to the US. They also have a fat rump, short legs, and a compact body. Lambing %: Lambing rates vary from 150% to 250% with 3 lambing every 2 years not uncommon. St. Croix Sheep have been used to develop other breeds such as the Royal White. Lambing Interval:It ranges from 6 to 8 months. The Dorpers get so quiet and even a little lazy that the dogs really have to work hard to make them move much. Fact: Katahdin sheep, at least, will thrive from hot, humid Florida to the western provinces of Canada. The breed has a thick, well muscled carcass and extended period of fertility. Hair Sheep Breeds - The Right Choice for You? - Countryside Katahdins are awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. For example, cold wind and warm sun quickly result in herd finding shelter under conditions when woolen sheep remain in the open. Suffolk ewes have an excellent lambing rate of 180%, making them a solid choice for breeding. These include: The fact Dorper sheep are easy to breed is a huge advantage. He experimented with breeding them to meat breeds, finally reaching a point, in the 1970s, where he named the breed, Katahdins after a nearby mountain in his home state of Maine. Some general information on hair sheep is found on the next page. They require less worming medications as a general rule. The Dorper is a good example of this interbreeding. However, as the challenge escalated, parasite resistance was greatest in St. Croix lambs, followed by Katahdin and Dorper lambs. We have members from Mexico to Northern Canada and have exported to Ecuador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Chile, and Central America. We are in the process of installing another 10,000 feet of electric fence on 25 acres that will result in another nine paddocks. Katahdins are medium size, hardy, low-maintenance, and have a high-quality carcass weight. What You Need To Know. This breed tolerates both heat and cold making them a good choice for most climates. Unfortunately, as the percentage of Dorper increases, more wool is found in their coat and some animals lose some of their shedding ability. Variance in RT in periods 3 and 4 ranked St. Croix < Dorper < Katahdin. The Dorper sheep has gained popularity in the last decade for meat production, with ewes reaching a weight of 170-250 pounds, and rams up to 250 pounds. Fact: In central Missouri, raising sheep for wool has been a losing proposition for a number of years. In California prices for hair sheep have surpassed prices for wool sheep and in New Holland they are catching up. 199 Effects of high heat load conditions on Dorper, Katahdin, and St They are best raised on pasture and finishing these breeds on feedlots can lead to less desirable meat products as the ethnic market prefers a leaner lamb. While weve 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. It is now farmed in other areas as well, and is the second most common sheep breed in South Africa. ByBasil Bactawar, UF/IFAS Duval County Extension Service. Our flock is content to sleep outside in the coldest weather and will have unmelted snow on their backs like a wool animal. There were sequential 2-wk. A caution when breeding is to choose the right size ram for the ewe. In terms of lambing, youll find Katahdins mostly give birth to multiple lambs. ), more intense selection for increased body length and a ewe flock of around 160-175 ewes. Ewes will weigh an average of 190 pounds, with rams reaching up to 300 pounds. Coat & Color: Coat can be any color or color pattern. Since todays hair sheep breeds are developed from hardy ancestors, they are considered easy keepers because they have a natural resistance to disease and parasites. 7 year old Katahdin ewe . The Katahdin hair sheep is the fastest growing breed in the United States. The Dorper carcass has a good conformation and fat distribution. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Farmersville. Rather than stay in a group, they will scatter in all directions like a covey of quail. Very interesting and informational! Non selective grazers that perform well under both extensive and intensive production systems. He is a native of Germany and lives in the US since 1995. This spring we had an overall lambing average of 1.9 lambs/ewe born with 1.7 lambs weaned. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 130 140 (Average is 136), Ram = 170 - 200. Characteristics - St Croix Hair Sheep Breeders Why they are Crossed Waco Childbirth Education 74 subscribers Subscribe 127 Share. My Dorper ram is not really large but he is bigger than her. ), In fall 2000, we grazed our flock on cocklebur and waterhemp that followed an oat crop. The purpose of the breed is to efficiently produce meat.
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