He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. Originally publishedin sheep! Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 120 - 160, Ram = 180 250. Hair sheep breeds are growing in popularity as consumers look for economical ways to raise homestead meat animals. He is 8 months old. 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 . 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. In fact, when we have pot roast from a culled ewe I can still fool my wife into thinking we had lamb for dinner. Are Llamas Dangerous? The Dorper X Katahdin are very popular and providing you use a good quality ram, I would suggest fullblood or purebred, they do tend to really stamp the babies with their type. The Katahdin sheep breed was developed in Maine to help clear brush in powerline corridors. Katahdins often breeding out of season. I'll be using my Barbados Blackbelly ram on my BB ewes and also a few Kathadin ewes. Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. J. Anim Sci 77:215-222. I love lambs Does lambs has less cholesterol than goat? I recently purchased 4 ram lambs for meat. Crossing with the Dorper led tothis larger hair breed. Ulf, I have noticed that some lambs are showing caramel patches. Katahdins tend to birth twins, with triplets and quadruplets occurring often with good flock management. Fact: Eight or ten years ago you could expect a 5-10 cents/pound discount for hair animals. marina@mgdorpers.com. 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. My Texel and Dorset lambs that I used to have in the past didnt differ that much in flavor, although the WD lambs are indeed milder tasting. I have a black face ewe and she is very fat and is 7 months old, should I be worried about her having a lamb and is she old enough to get in lamb. 1999. Originally, the established buyers at auctions resisted hairsheep in general and they fetched lower prices in places like New Holland. To avoid the coloring and spots that come along with first and second generation cross breeding with Dorper sheep, I decided to go with White Dorper sheep (WD). The flavor of the market lambs is in my opinion mostly influenced by the fact that these lambs are grass-fed. We began our Katahdin Sheep herd with non-registered sheep but have added registered Katahdin ewes to our farm. I direct sell a great number of lambs. Dries Wiese, the owner and Studbreeder, was 9 years old when his father bought him his first . Subsequent generations with higher percentage shed better and better although shedding is not a black and white thing. Some general information on hair sheep is found on the next page. Feeding these breeds too much grain can result in an overabundance of internal fat. Texel sheep do best in colder climates, as they are exceptionally cold-hardy and have been known to be sensitive to the heat. Question is this common? Dorper sheep originated in South Africa and were the result of crossing Dorset Horn with Blackheaded Persian sheep. These White Dorper female replacement lambs already look very much like purebred White Dorpers Photographer: Ulf Kintzel. They can provide you with information pertaining to regulations, health requirements and local export brokers. This breed was developed after 20 years of breeding and selection. Whether youre looking to be more self-sufficient or to make some income selling meat to local restaurants, raising sheep for meat can enable you to do both. You can check my blog at Merino sheep for sale. So, what about littering the pasture with wool? We currently manage between 45-60 ewes per year with about 70% of our flock being registered. The Blackbelly is a smaller breed of sheep, with ewes maturing at around 100 pounds, and rams weighing on average 120 pounds. 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. They are easy care sheep that divert most of their energy into producing meat instead of wool. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Typically, the 75 percent Dorper crosses will exhibit the Dorper coloration and conformation. Farmersville. Katahdin sheep and Dorper are bred as meat sheep breeds. If there were a hair Hampshire or Suffolk that would do a better job, wed be raising them. Very interesting and informational! What is the point of getting hairsheep when you end up shearing them? The breed was created by crossing Dorset and Blackheaded Persian sheep. Twinning is common and triplets and quadruplets are not rare. The breed has a thick, well muscled carcass and extended period of fertility. for info and videos along with books and much more! A type of hair breed, Katahdin sheep originate in the United States. It is a very hardy breed and is disease resistant. They are hardy and do well in range. As we disperse all our crossbreeds, weve found the crossbred cull ewes with a wool coat have sold for 50-75percentof what comparable weight hair ewes bring. This breed tolerates both heat and cold making them a good choice for most climates. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Breed is docile and calm with good flocking instinct. Dorper's are by far the closest hair sheep to the wool breed. Just remember that Dorpers do have multiple births.. we raise some dorpers and they start off with the first time lambing with twins then after that triplets. A Katahdin ewe will average between 140-180 pounds, while Dorper ewes will average 160-200 pounds. While mutton and lamb may seem like more of a rarity in America, it is more popular as a main dish in other parts of the world. We have members from Mexico to Northern Canada and have exported to Ecuador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Chile, and Central America. 2022 Cornell Small Farms. Produce large amount of milk. Hi Qazi, Some Ewes shed coats after second lambing. Just a little more "stingy" than the Dorper (and I am talking more for working them with dogs). This information may be used to compare breeds of hair sheep. Katahdin can be used for both meat and milk, whereas Dorper sheep are only good for meat production. The number of feedings can be reduced over time to twice a day by 3-4 weeks of age. 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. We just started raising Katahdins this year. Vet. Of the ewe lambs exposed, 95 percent gave birth at the age of 11-13 months. The Katahdin breed was developed in the United States by Michael Piel. Because of their hair, they do not produce the lanolin that can lend gaminess to the meat, giving it a milder flavor. Most Muslims prefer intact ram lambs without tails being docked. Future importations to university breeding flocks led to the development of the American Blackbelly sheep breed. The desire to climb mandates the use of a bale ring to prevent excessive waste. For more on the differences, plus potential pros and cons between the breeds, read on. The Barbados Blackbelly got its name because of the characteristic black belly on an otherwise red brown coat. In winter puts on coat that is shed as temperatures increase. Unfortunately, as the percentage of Dorper increases, more wool is found in their coat and some animals lose some of their shedding ability. Tunis sheep are known to have an excellent flavor of meat. This matters up here as our point of having hair sheep is to eliminate useless shearing. Why Katahdin x Dorper Crosses At Stoneheart Farms we specialize in Katahdin x Dorper crosses for exceptional market lambs and for replacement breeding stock. There were sequential 2-wk. While hair breeds comprise a small percentage of the number of sheep in North America, this is changing as sustainability becomes a bigger issue for landowners. 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. But the dorpers always have say ten % that need shearing still. One needs to do a detail review of the information related to the hair breed one wishes to raise. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. The outside temp is above 85* sheep are heaving and panting rapidly. i want buy texel sheep unit so please tell how can buy it this breed. Compared to other breeds, these sheep are relatively new, dating back to the 1950s. This breed is medium-sized and is hardy with a high-quality carcass. There are lots of Dorper breeders in NC also, as well as "commercial" crossbreeds: You can search this site by States to find Scrapie-free certified breeders of sheep and goats: They require less worming medications as a general rule. Katahdin would adapt best under humid, warm conditions, while Dorper would be best suited for dry arid and semiarid rangeland conditions. Mutton is meat that comes from mature sheep over the age of 1 year old. Weight Gain/Daily: 0.4 lbs daily with good nutrition. At lower latitudes (down south), summer daylight periods are shorter, the temperature higher, grass growth is slower and is lower in protein and higher fiber. Now you have a good idea of the pros and cons of both Dorper and Katahdin sheep, which one is right for your homestead? After slaughter, all thats left is hide, manure and stomach contents. Looking forward to reply. He can be reached at 585-554-3313 or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com. For a number of years, there has been a good export market for ewe lambs going to Mexico. FLAVOR Lambing %: Given an average lambing percent of 150 and 3 lambing in 2 years, Dorper will produce 2.25 lambs on an annual basis. In California prices for hair sheep have surpassed prices for wool sheep and in New Holland they are catching up. Do you want to earn multiple income streams from your flock. Katahdin x Lacaune. For specific questions, please contact the author. Also, much of the flavor ( good or bad) comes from the fat. For instance, they have extended breeding season, and can be used to produce lambs to be marketed when lamb prices are usually high thereby reducing marketing risks. Ewes typically reach sexual maturity by 7 months. The Dorper have a black head extending in the neck, with a white body. Grazing animals put on weight quickly in preparation for the long winters. In 1975 Utah State University imported a small flock of Virgin Island White which is the basis for the present St. Croix breed in North America. http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b365/Accursed/Smileys/waiting-bored-waiting-boy-smiley-em.gif, Birthing, Weaning, and Raising Young Sheep. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 7 lbs for small lambs, 4-5 lbs for twin lambs. The only problem with colesterol is that the big pharma found a new drug to sell. The American Sheep Industry recognizes 47 different sheep breeds in the US, with hundreds more recognized internationally. Jacksonville, FL 32254. HARDINESS (Allardt) "Spike" is a 3 year old ram. Sheds coat as temperature and day length increase. Fourteen years ago my wife got into the sheep business when she purchased three registered Katahdin ewes, a ram, and later, three Romanov ewes. The coat is a mixture of hair and wool and will shed from animal in late spring/early summer. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact | About Us | Sitemap, As one of the most populous sheep breeds in America, the. The hair sheep breeds lamb easily in the pasture and the lambs gain weight rapidly and develop to maturity quickly. If you plan on going into the meat production business, its important to know the difference between types of sheep meat. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Ewes have good mothering ability and lamb easily unassisted. its ok to wean the lamb as soon as possible. When youre raising sheep for meat, the wool is a by-product. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. My friend also mentioned his Katahdin-Dorper lambs are much fatter when born than Polypays. 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. I forgot to ask for notification via e-mail, so I am reposting my questions. Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential. Ron remembers raising wool sheep as a teenager. At 90 days, weve had November-December lambs on pasture, hay and whole grain (corn or milo) average 75 pounds. Katahdin is probably the more economical choice, however, namely because they can produce both meat and milk. Market Weight/Live/Age: 70 90 lbs / 7 8 months. 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. They will stand on their hind feet like goats to strip any low hanging limbs of their leaves. Your email address will not be published. As you can see in picture Spike has some tiny horn buds; they have never grown . This is inconvenient since you must pasture ram lambs separately from ewes to prevent unplanned pregnancies. 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. Any of the sheep breeds thats considered to be one of the true hair sheep breeds has an advantage in that cockleburs, briars, stick-tights and so forth dont become entangled. Fact: In central Missouri, raising sheep for wool has been a losing proposition for a number of years. Parasitol. While there are far fewer cons than there are pros for keeping Dorper sheep, you do need to consider the potential downsides. For example, cold wind and warm sun quickly result in herd finding shelter under conditions when woolen sheep remain in the open. When the price of raw wool fleece is below the cost of shearing the animal, this is not cost effective. This is a very old article and I do not have the contact info for John. Three ewes needed assistance lambing (one got it, the other two didnt and lost their lambs), one of which was 8 years old. Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential. If this same time is spent building homestead fencing, watersystems, improving lambing or handling facilities, its improving an operation. Feed conversion is good since these sheep fatten easily on less than ideal pasture and forage. Lambing %: Approximately 125%, exceeding 200% with subsequent lambing. I usually harvest my lambs between 80 and 90 lbs. Wondering whether to add Dorper or Katahdin sheep to your homestead? As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. Some are calling these shedding sheep. Myth #2: Hair sheep don't bring as much on the slaughter market. Carefully breeding only the best stock will ensure that the extreme hardiness and good mothering ability remain. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. The Cornell Small Farms Program is housed at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) in Ithaca, NY, and works in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension across New York State. if any one would be interested in buying some good quality Dorpers check out my website MGDorpers.com it is comming out soon! 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. Sales of sheep meat and sheep breeding stock are on the rise in the United States and Canada. Dorpers tend to be a little larger, and Katahdins are excellent mothers, so a Dorper /Kathadin cross is nearly perfect. Bred sheep/ewes (Dorper and Katahdin), bred to a show ram. Get Shipping Quotes Opens in a new tab. They do produce wool, and will need regular shearing. Weight Gain/Daily: 1 pound under intensive production. To appeal to ethnic buyers, it often requires a change in flock management. This breed was imported in the US in 1904 and was crossed with Mouflon (wild sheep), Rambouillet and other European breeds to produce what is known as American Blackbelly. This means that, theoretically, a Dorper ewe can produce a lamb (or 2 or 3) every 8 months. How the breed carries fat is, I think, important when dealing with older sheep. Due to the high amount of red muscle fibers, the Icelandic sheep has a uniquely tender and fine texture. Today I have 1/2, 3/4, 7/8th, and 15/16th White Dorper sheep. They shed their winter coats during spring and early summer. There is no such thing as an ideal breed. Hampshire sheep can live in almost any climate, making them a hardy breed. One of the first breeds to be recognized for its commercial production, the rams can reach more than 250 lbs. Due to their superior conformation and shedding characteristics, they have become one of the most popular breeds of sheep in the U.S. Just like the Katahdin, you do not have to shear them as they shed their winter coat in the spring. The customers, including the many ethnic customers, caught up and appreciate the milder flavor of hairsheep. However, they all shed around the belly, legs, head, and all the other places that would otherwise prolong shearing. Dorpersare known for their fast weight gains as lambs. They were called Africans at the time. We are currently running 130 registered ewes with 10 commercial ewes that will be dispersed this year. The Cheviot sheep is best suited for northern, colder climates, and does not tolerate heat as well. More on that subject later. Coat & Color: Most of the individuals are white, but tan and spotted ones exist. Despite its origins in a cold northern climate, the Katahdin is remarkably well-suited to warm weather living. 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. This increases the risk of falls and injury, which can be expensive to fix. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 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 web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. This breed averages in maturity at around 175 220 pounds. Relative resistance of Dorper crossbred ewes to gastrointestinal nematode infection compared with St. Croix and Katahdin ewes in the southeastern United States. The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep.The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of the country. 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. His information is given at the conclusion of the article, pasted below. Tunis are solid breeders and excellent mothers. Quite a few meat producers are finding better success with the hair breeds of meat sheep than with meat goats. Interested in raising sheep for wool? I had on occasion lambs butchered that exceeded 110 pounds. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Extremely reactive to dogs and cats usually as though they wish to flee. No wool to deal with makes perfect economic sense. They also do well eating the vegetation that other species reject. Feeding small quantities throughout numerous feedings helps reduce the incidence of bloat and/or diarrhea. Suffolk meat is hailed as lean and somewhat sweet, with a good muscle to fat ratio. . The entire belly is black including areas between the legs, nose and forehead. my ewe with CL has had her first batch of lambs last month and she is a really good mother! They also are not limited to a breeding season, conceiving year round. Forty-six Dorper, 46 Katahdin, and 43 St. Croix female sheep from four regions of the USA were used to evaluate responses to high heat load index (HLI) conditions. Environmental Adaptability:They are adaptable to all climates. Dorset lambs, like the Suffolk and Dorper, mature quickly and are market-ready earlier than many other breeds. Coat & Color: Coat can be any color or color pattern. Suffolk ewes reach between 180-250 pounds, while rams can top out at 350 pounds. This breed produces rapid-growing lambs, with most lambs being considered ready for market at 12 weeks of age. Dorsets commonly produce twins and even triplets. You must log in or register to reply here. A unique characteristic about the Dorper is that they do not breed seasonally, instead they are able to breed year-around. 7 year old Katahdin ewe . They will definitely get too fat. The breeder from whom I purchased the lambs said she is breeding in dorper with the katahdins to "beef" them up a little. Coat & Color: Has a variety of color ranging from black and tan through yellow with variegated mottled pattern. Katahdin sheep are one of several hair breeds, the most common of which includes Barbados Black Belly, St. Croix and Dorper sheep. Lambing %: Average lambing rate is between 150 and 250%. 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. They like large groups of lambs on each farm, prefer solid colors, registered and must be enrolled in the scrapie program. In addition to being a smaller breed, the lambs tend to mature slowly, not reaching ideal market weight until around 2 years of age. The Katahdin sheep is listed as a Recovering heritage breed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List. (A friend with Polypay and Katahdin sheep has had the same experience. while letting some lambs reach weights up to 100+ lbs. The ewes produce vigorous, healthy, robust lambs that have a high survivability. Hi Mary. Owning Goats vs. Sheep ByBasil Bactawar, UF/IFAS Duval County Extension Service. Continue with Recommended Cookies. However, as the challenge escalated, parasite resistance was greatest in St. Croix lambs, followed by Katahdin and Dorper lambs. Fencing. The Dorper is highly adaptable and does well in harsh conditions. LMAO!!!! Some hair breed rams are long-bodied which can create a lengthy birthing scenario for the ewe. Required fields are marked *. This makes them one of the more profitable breeds to specialize in. I bottle fed him for three months and give him grain 2x a day, and free choice hay as well as pasture grass. Feel free to contact the author, Ulf Kintzel, at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com for further information. It is raised mainly for meat production. We live in central NSW ( Australia ) our usual rainfall is 30 inchs, temp range from -7 deg to 45 deg C ( yes 115 F ) but over the past 3 years we have been experiencing a huge drought. You have to pay to have it sheared once a year. This ancient breed has thrived in warm climates, continued to produce twins and good carcass weights. Katahdins are alert, protective mothers. Animal Breeding Abstracts. Origin: This breed was developed or evolved on the Eastern Caribbean Island of Barbados. Plans for the future include a larger lambing/working shed-currently under construction, later lambing to reduce cold weather losses (10percentdeath loss for everything combined, stillborn, drowning in water tank, mashed, runts, etc. It was a fairly bold move at the time since it meant giving up on the customers who bought breeding stock from me, and since I also didnt know how well my market lambs would sell. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. The Dorper has a high rate of lambing and is tolerant of the arid conditions it was developed for in South Africa. Breeders often use less-expensive Katahdin ewes to initiate an upgrading program with registered Dorper as the final goal. Dorset sheep thrive in a wide variety of climates, and being wool-producers, they will need to be sheared annually. History tells us our present-day sheep are derived from the wild Mouflon sheep, among others, that grew coarse hair with a downy undercoat. The other half needed shearing. I would say try the dorpers.. we only raise a few for there is only us out here. Lamb chops from Barbados Blackbelly x St. Croix lambs were similar to those from Dorset-sired, Dorper-sired, or Katahdin. Thank you for stopping by, and best of luck with your farm! including sheepamong them an extra-special Dorper-Katahdin lamb named Mopple. After 13 years of medical education and military service they landed in Maine to put down roots. take it from me, you dont have to worry about anyone getting too fat. The saving grace are our Dorpers. This information may be used to compare breeds of hair sheep. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 7.5 lbs for single, 6.5 7 for twins, and less for triplets. 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. I have seen many Dorper X Katahdins which are small and the only sign they have Dorper in them is the fact that they have black heads, if they had been crossed with a white Dorper, one would assume that there was no Dorper in there at all. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. As mentioned earlier, the Katahdin breed has served us well. Their main advantage is that they adapt well to hot humid climate where woolen breeds do not thrive well. Origin: This mutton breed was developed in South Africa in the 1930s from Dorset Horn and Blackheaded Persia for the extensive regions of South Africa. But the pasture littered with wool as I had feared just did not happen. Rams generally have horns. My Dorper ram is not really large but he is bigger than her. This site is owned and operated by Wild Wire Media, LLC. Our flock is managed through pasture rotation from April until late December. "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the price paid for wool nearly covered feed costs. In this area, hair sheep often sell higher than wool sheep. Dorper sheep do well in warm, arid climates, but can tolerate cold as well. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Ewes are docile with good mothering ability. Our young Katahdins can be difficult to move. Breeding Season: They breed throughout the year. Q. Will they settle into a seasonal pattern or will they breed continually? The leather from hair sheep grain is finer than the leather from wool breeds and brings in a larger amount of money. That is normal. 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. Hair sheep dont bring as much on the slaughter market. The Royal White produces more mea t than Katahdin sheep and Dorper sheep. Most lambs are considered market-ready by 9-12 weeks. Libyans prefer old worn out buck goats for their stronger flavor. You can find out more about lambing Dorper sheep through the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society. They have less subcutaneous fat on average and are a bit leaner because there is less feathering in the muscles. Half of the group thinks it is okay to feed hot sheep, the other half disagrees. Please indicate pricing as well.
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