Katahdin can be used for both meat and milk, whereas Dorper sheep are only good for meat production. He can be reached at 585-554-3313 or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com. Hair sheep primer . or you can contact me at- Hampshire sheep can live in almost any climate, making them a hardy breed. The breed was developed in the mid-1950s by crossing imported St. Croix Sheep and several other breeds, including the Suffolk Sheep. Not only do they suffer fewer complications during birthing compared to some other breeds, but they also give birth to multiple lambs. The Dorper has a high rate of lambing and is tolerant of the arid conditions it was developed for in South Africa. Dorper lambs tolerated the infection more so than Suffolk (wool) lambs when fecal egg counts were low. Ultimate Guide. Our paddocks are grazed for 5-7 days followed by 25-34 days of . Dorpers grow a combination of hair and wool, and shed naturally meaning no shearing is required. I would love to get in touch with the author personally. Average weight for the Cheviot is 130 175 pounds. 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. 7 year old Katahdin ewe . So, what about littering the pasture with wool? I would say try the dorpers.. we only raise a few for there is only us out here. Our spring lambs on pasture alone (17-20 percent protein and 65-72percentdigestible organic matter-DOM) will average 55-60 pounds. 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. . Just weaned 530 lambs .If we can get some weight on them worth $200+ in current market. 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. Although the breed was created in the 1930s, it is still fairly new to the US. Several Polypay owners in the area worm all animals 6-8 times during the summer and still lose animals to stomach worms. Fact: In central Missouri, raising sheep for wool has been a losing proposition for a number of years. A ewes wool will pay her winter feed bill. Bred Ewes Commercial - Market Sheep. At Kettle Haven Ranch we specialize in Katahdin x Dorper crosses for exceptional market lambs and for replacement breeding stock. Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. There are very few disadvantages of keeping Katahdin sheep. His website address is www.whitecloversheepfarm.com. However, if I consider the traits described in this article and add the easy lambing, good mothering and fertility as well as the calm disposition and eye appealing looks of these sheep to the mix, I have come very close to the ideal breed at least for my farming system and my market. Tunis sheep are able to thrive in a variety of climates, and tolerate both heat and cold well. These breeds are called hair sheep because the coat consists of hair more like that of cattle and many goats rather than wool. In general they have low maintenance requirements. The lambing rate is not as high as other hair breeds. We find its seldom necessary to trim hooves. 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 Though not year-round breeders, Tunis often breed out of season, with the occasional lamb (or two) born in late Summer / Fall. Future importations to university breeding flocks led to the development of the American Blackbelly sheep breed. Our first lamb - Katahdin Dorper Cross - Farm Homestead They shed their winter coats during spring and early summer. Benefits of This Breed The Dorper are preferred for their excellent feed utilisation and conversion: they don't need shearing, crutching and mulesing, and they are disease resistant. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for the belly shaking laugh! 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.. We currently have about 100 ewes. Royal Whites are more recent in the hair sheep scene and development is still ongoing. It is raised mainly for meat production. 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. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. I direct sell a great number of lambs. Sheep Breeds - UF/IFAS Extension He is a native of Germany and lives in the US since 1995. This may or may not be the case in other 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. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Sheep are like lawnmowers, while goats are more like Bush Hogs (for the uninitiated, that's the brand name for a machine designed to clear heavy brush). Signatures of selection for resistance to - BMC Genomics For specific questions, please contact the author. Featured Listing. Myth #2: Hair sheep don't bring as much on the slaughter market. The cross breeding results in the best of both breeds but also in the benefits of heterosis, commonly known as hybrid vigor. The Barbados Blackbelly got its name because of the characteristic black belly on an otherwise red brown coat. A list of the breeds of sheep that are thought of as being good ewe breeds would start with (1) Rambouillet sheep such as there are in Texas (2) several kinds of Whitefaced Western sheep, (3) the Dorset breed, which is a white-faced meat breed . Docking tails is unnecessary, although you still see some old timers that dock just because they always have. People in the Midwest or southern states see this and make a trip to Alberta to purchase a super ram. Twinning is common and triplets and quadruplets are not rare. As far as winter hardiness is concerned, I have my sheep out in zero degree weather. Mostly Katahdin hair ewes exposed to Dorper and Katahdin bucks. 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. This is inconvenient since you must pasture ram lambs separately from ewes to prevent unplanned pregnancies. Parasitol. These slaughter lambs sell comparable to pure Katahdin sheep per pound unless theyre full of cockleburs and briars. Hair sheep have some attributes that make them admirably suited to fill market niches or fit varying production systems in Florida. When the pastures are poor, hair animals hold their body condition much better. I am new to the sheep business so I am concerned that she will never be large enough to breed. Ewe's Dorper/Katahdin Cross | Mysite They will stand on their hind feet like goats to strip any low hanging limbs of their leaves. I have a very small Dorper ewe, she is 7 months old but very small. For several years weve had Romanov/Katahdin crosses. Nitrogen retention by lambs fed oscillating dietary protein concentrations. (Grabbing a Romanov thats been walking through cockleburs is like wrestling with a 130-pound cocklebur.). We are fortunate that buyers for the large ethnic market in St. Louis often attend sales. We normally worm our lambs 3-4 times a summer and the ewes not at all. Some general information on hair sheep is found on the next page. Sure enough, hes been trimming hooves. Vet. Purebred Dorper rams can reach a live-weight of 90-120 kg and ewes 50-80kg. Q. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 70 -120, Ram = 110 140. Some of the main pros of keeping Katahdin sheep include: Katahdin sheep are one of the easiest breeds of sheep to care for. That's interesting! Breed is mainly free of wool and do not normally require shearing. I have a question. They have incredible growth of lambs at butcher weight within 6-8 months with carcass weights in the 45-60 lb range. Continue with Recommended Cookies. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'savvyfarmlife_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_11',105,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-large-leaderboard-2-0');Considered to be the 2nd most popular breed of sheep in the US, the Dorset sheep is another solid meat-producer. Feeding these breeds too much grain can result in an overabundance of internal fat. The ewes produce vigorous, healthy, robust lambs that have a high survivability. Farmersville. Cheviots are easy to breed, meeting a 90% lambing average without assistance. If you plan on raising lambs for meat, youll need to know everything that comes with taking care of baby sheep. Bred to produce less back fat, their meat is lean and flavorful. Work with your states department of agriculture if youre interested in export sales. daging domba sangat enak dan sangat kaya akan protein. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. 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. Two varieties of Dorper Sheep were created: the black headed Dorper and an all white variety, the White Dorper sheep. This makes them one of the more profitable breeds to specialize in. You can also use them for multiple income streams thanks to their excellent meat and milk production. As hair sheep breeds become more popular, it will be important for breeders to ensure the future integrity of the breeds. Dorper ram purchased from Juan Navarro of J.N. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact | About Us | Sitemap, As one of the most populous sheep breeds in America, the. Best guess is he is 175-200 lbs. 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. While many of the characteristics hair animals possess appeal to the hobby flock owner, we expect an animal to make us money; if it doesnt, its gone. This matters up here as our point of having hair sheep is to eliminate useless shearing. Breed ideal for pasture lambing and grass/forage based management systems. Katahdin is probably the more economical choice, however, namely because they can produce both meat and milk. 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. The Kasteel White Dorper Stud farm lies in an arid area of the Republic of South Africa, called the Great Karoo. We are currently using rams with high shedding scores, while culling heavily on production traits. They also are not limited to a breeding season, conceiving year round. Since hair sheep dont have a heavy wool coat, they cant take the cold. Why Katahdin x Dorper Crosses. Moreover, RT was slightly less for Katahdin vs. Dorper in period 4 at 13:00 and 17:00 however, RR was less for Katahdin than for Dorper in periods 3 and 4. We saw their ad and went to look at their Dorper rams. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. 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. If my product would be poorly finished or wouldnt taste good, I surely would lose customers. One of the first breeds to be recognized for its commercial production, the rams can reach more than 250 lbs. Sheep For Sale - 118 Listings | LivestockMarket.com Katahdin Hair Sheep | Successful Farming Our spring lambs require 4-5 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of gain. Several myths still surround hair sheep. Because of their hair, like the Dorper they do not produce lanolin which will give their meat a milder taste. In years past, 18-30 pound lambs sold well in Chicago for Jewish Passover. Due to their superior conformation and shedding characteristics, they have become one of the most popular breeds of sheep in the U.S. I can only put this down to past genetics. No wool to deal with makes perfect economic sense. You can overcome this by making sure your walls are high enough, and that there is nothing in their enclosure that they can climb onto. 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. Question is this common? Plainview, Tx. Please indicate pricing as well. About. A unique characteristic about the Dorper is that they do not breed seasonally, instead they are able to breed year-around. Your email address will not be published. As a result, the Katahdin is the most common hair sheep in America. We also sell breeding stock locally. link to Are Llamas Dangerous? What You Need To Know. 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. They are excellent foragers. Unsave Save. Why Choose St. Croix Hair Sheep? Dorper Sheep - Sheep Breed Series - YouTube It is common to have ewes lambing twice per year. Sold all our cattle. They do produce wool, and will need to be shorn annually. Interested in raising sheep for wool? Katahdin ewes weigh around 125-185 pounds, and rams average around 200 pounds. There were sequential 2-wk. Hi just wondering it may be a silly question anyways can you milk Dorper sheep. While I had no worries about my 1/2 market lambs since the Texel influence was still strong, my anticipation when the first 3/4 market lambs were harvested was great. The bodybuilder of the sheep world, the Texel sheep is known for its heavily-muscled and sturdy frame. The second reason I chose Dorper over St. Croix is desirability. Rather than stay in a group, they will scatter in all directions like a covey of quail. 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. The low maintenance qualities of Katahdins allow us the time to do so. I like the Dorper temperament, generally they are a pretty docile breed. For example, we consider time spent worming, shearing, docking and trimming hooves as merely maintaining an operation. When selecting breeding stock, choose animals with good feet. How to Use Goats and Sheep to Clear Brush - Modern Farmer In addition to being a smaller breed, the lambs tend to mature slowly, not reaching ideal market weight until around 2 years of age. Icelandic Sheep are another popular choice for meat, with ewes weighing an average of 150 pounds at maturity, and rams averaging 200 pounds. One of the oldest breeds of sheep, the Tunis is still a favorite breed for meat production. ByBasil Bactawar, UF/IFAS Duval County Extension Service. The SNPs in NOS2, TGFB2, and IL2RA genes were also observed with high genetic differentiation in the Katahdin and St. Croix vs Dorper analysis. His father Barley ( in picture behind him) is a full blooded Dorper. 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. Hi..I have a merino female sheep and I would like to know if its possible to cross it with male dorper sheep to get pregnant .. Do Dorpers only breed seasonally ? The bodybuilder of the sheep world, the Texel sheep is known for its heavily-muscled and sturdy frame. 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. Katahdins are awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. 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. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. Early maturing Terminal cross lambs. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. This is a very good article to read and understand the secrets of Raising Katahdin Sheep. Everything You Need to Know About Hair Sheep - Cross S Ranch