The customers, including the many ethnic customers, caught up and appreciate the milder flavor of hairsheep. If this same time is spent building homestead fencing, watersystems, improving lambing or handling facilities, its improving an operation. Just like to make a comment. Ewe's Dorper/Katahdin Cross | Mysite Well, at least Katahdins, St Croix and barbs. In this useful guide, youll discover the pros and cons of both Dorper and Katahdin sheep, alongside advice on choosing the best type for your farm or homestead. Though size and time to mature are not the Blackbellys strongest points, there are many advantages to raising this hardy breed of sheep. study was done that showed the parasite resistance. Required fields are marked *. Sales at the 2022 mid America Dorper Show nearly broke $1 MILLION with the top Dorper ewe bringing $20,000 and ram $12,800. However, if you are not intending to feed grain and if you dont intend to grow your lambs beyond 100 lbs. They are easy care sheep that divert most of their energy into producing meat instead of wool. My friend also mentioned his Katahdin-Dorper lambs are much fatter when born than Polypays. At Kettle Haven Ranch we specialize in Katahdin x Dorper crosses for exceptional market lambs and for replacement breeding stock. What happens if you leave the ram out all year round? Katahdin Sheep - Kiko and Boer Goats They do produce wool, and will need to be shorn annually. Cheviots produce alert, strong lambs who are efficient foragers. Id recommend getting in touch with the author of this article- he might have some good insight for you. Hair coat becomes thick and long as cold weather sets in and the length decreases. The Dorper has been very effective in increasing the growth rate, carcass size and quality of all the typical hair-type breeds such a the Barbados, Katahdin, St. Croix, the Mexican Pelibuey and other breeds that are considered exotic types. Mutton is meat that comes from mature sheep over the age of 1 year old. The Kasteel White Dorper Stud farm lies in an arid area of the Republic of South Africa, called the Great Karoo. A Katahdin ewe will average between 140-180 pounds, while Dorper ewes will average 160-200 pounds. If you are interested in bringing a herd of small livestock to your homestead, you will want to look into both sheep and goats. When youre raising sheep for meat, the wool is a by-product. The Katahdin sheep breed was developed in Maine to help clear brush in powerline corridors. In fact, when we have pot roast from a culled ewe I can still fool my wife into thinking we had lamb for dinner. They shed their winter coats during spring and early summer. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Hi Mary. 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. 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. We just started raising Katahdins this year. He can be reached at 585-554-3313 or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com. Sold all our cattle. 7 year old Katahdin ewe . Now meat sheep producers are lucky if wool prices cover . My question is, how much should he weigh. The leather from hair sheep grain is finer than the leather from wool breeds and brings in a larger amount of money. PDF Factors Affecting the Palatability of Lamb Meat 1. 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. Considered to be the 2nd most popular breed of sheep in the US, the Dorset sheep is another solid meat-producer. These breeds are called hair sheep because the coat consists of hair more like that of cattle and many goats rather than wool. Cheviots are easy to breed, meeting a 90% lambing average without assistance. Flock owners with less than 50 animals have a difficult time getting someone to shear unless they pool their animals with neighbors. As mentioned earlier, hair sheep breeds are considerably more heat-tolerant than wool breeds. The Dorper is not a true hair sheep, but is included in this fact sheet because it is used in cross breeding programs involving hair sheep. Have good flocking instinct. University of South Dakota research found it requires 250-300 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of wool. There are black headed Dorpers (most common) and white Dorpers (harder to find). 13 Hair Sheep Breeds You Should Know About - The Homesteading Hippy To showcase the commercial qualities of our animals, all breeding stock we sell comes directly from pasture, having received no special treatment. Best Sheep Breeds For the Extreme Heat and Cold - J&R Pierce Family so so far we are separating her and letting the pus drain Coat & Color: Has a variety of color ranging from black and tan through yellow with variegated mottled pattern. 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 do produce wool, and need to be shorn on a regular basis. There is the wool type and the hairtype with the hairtype being slightly less meaty but far better shedding. 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. Typically, the 75 percent Dorper crosses will exhibit the Dorper coloration and conformation. Thirty percent of the ewes were first-time lambers, having an average of 1.2 lambs/ewe. In South Africa, the Dorper is likewise most commonly found in arid and semi . They are the generally more fertile in hot humid regions and show greater tolerance to parasites than woolen breeds. Ron remembers raising wool sheep as a teenager. 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. Their main advantage is that they adapt well to hot humid climate where woolen breeds do not thrive well. What You Need To Know, link to Goats vs Sheep: Profit, Care & Behavioral Differences, Best Sheep for Wool: Top 8 Sheep Breeds for Wool. Hair sheep breeds simply shed their hair covering and fleecy undercoat when the weather warms. The Cheviot sheep is best suited for northern, colder climates, and does not tolerate heat as well. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 120 - 160, Ram = 180 250. Yes, you can milk Dorper sheep! For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. Carcass Composition of Hair Sheep Breeds and Crosses - Virginia Tech Hair sheep primer . If there were a hair Hampshire or Suffolk that would do a better job, wed be raising them. Katahdins are awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. Sheep and cattle have different grazing needs and preferences, and the sheep will clean up the growth that doesnt appeal to the cows. You are using an out of date browser. Some of the main pros of keeping Katahdin sheep include: Katahdin sheep are one of the easiest breeds of sheep to care for. As a result, the Katahdin is the most common hair sheep in America. I usually harvest my lambs between 80 and 90 lbs. November/December 2003 and regularly vetted for accuracy. Dorper Sheep Breed - Everything You Need to Know - Domestic Animal Breeds We are currently using rams with high shedding scores, while culling heavily on production traits. If youre grazing crop-field aftermath, their coat will pick up trash where a Katahdin wont. My Dorper ram is not really large but he is bigger than her. Originally publishedin sheep! Twice a year my friend with Polypays shows up at work doubled over as he shuffles around in pain. Some Ideas About Crossbreeding Sheep | Oklahoma State University Suffolk grow wool continuously, and will need to be sheared annually. "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the price paid for wool nearly covered feed costs. "Dorper sheep are barrel-shaped with a well-muscled back end. The bodybuilder of the sheep world, the Texel sheep is known for its heavily-muscled and sturdy frame. Katahdin sheep will strip the bark from cedars, pines and any deciduous tree that has smooth, immature bark. Dorper sheep are exceptionally popular amongst both hobbyists and commercial homesteads. Glenn Land Farm Dexter Cattle & Dorper Sheep (Grabbing a Romanov thats been walking through cockleburs is like wrestling with a 130-pound cocklebur.). BREEDING DORPER SHEEP Lambs can also take a little longer to reach their market weight than some other breeds of sheep. They are excellent mothers. Anymore (at least in Missouri) its the carcass quality that sets the price. Culling the genetic faults and only keeping the best rams for breeding will ensure a good future for any new hair sheep breeds. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. Im sorry I cannot help you. I have noticed that some lambs are showing caramel patches. Our flock is managed through pasture rotation from April until late December. 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. A caution when breeding is to choose the right size ram for the ewe. 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. 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 breeds of hair sheep that are of importance in Florida include Katahdin, St. Croix, American Blackbelly, and Barbados Blackbelly. For registered breeding stock, permanent wooly fibers are a no-no. In general they have low maintenance requirements. 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. 2. It is raised mainly for meat production. Making Natural Clothing Dye From Vegetables. When the price of raw wool fleece is below the cost of shearing the animal, this is not cost effective. Dorper Sheep - Sheep Breed Series 22,946 views Mar 15, 2020 417 Dislike Share The Grass-fed Homestead 75.8K subscribers Shepherdess Tess talks about her Dorper sheep breeding program and how. . 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. How the breed carries fat is, I think, important when dealing with older sheep. Fact: Katahdin sheep, at least, will thrive from hot, humid Florida to the western provinces of Canada. We may be partial to the breed, but were not raising a hobby flock. No difference was noted between the purebred breeds of hair sheep. Parasite resistance and reproductive efficiency is very high, making the Katahdin a valued breed in the hair sheep industry. The Dorper has a high rate of lambing and is tolerant of the arid conditions it was developed for in South Africa. Ewes will breed back before the lambs are weaned. 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. Many ethnic groups want a much different lamb or goat than has been marketed in the past. In addition to being a smaller breed, the lambs tend to mature slowly, not reaching ideal market weight until around 2 years of age. Fact: Eight or ten years ago you could expect a 5-10 cents/pound discount for hair animals. They reach sexual maturity early, and will remain fertile for a longer period of time than many other breeds. Apparently, Momma Kathadin doesnt wait around to see what happens when Mr. Coyote shows up for dinner. By John Kirchhoff For many people, mentioning hair sheep evokes either I wouldnt have anything else or a No way would I have them response.
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