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. Fact: Katahdin sheep, at least, will thrive from hot, humid Florida to the western provinces of Canada. Their hair falls off naturally during the year, making them an easy breed to care for. I'd go with Dorper ram on Katahdin ewes. Dorpers DO NOT shed their coats as well and consistently as katahdins. Hope this helps! The Barbados Blackbelly got its name because of the characteristic black belly on an otherwise red brown coat. The saving grace are our Dorpers. Dorper sheep originated in South Africa and were the result of crossing Dorset Horn with Blackheaded Persian sheep. Now you have a good idea of the pros and cons of both Dorper and Katahdin sheep, which one is right for your homestead? 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. Later on I found out that this was the faster route to accomplish shedding in the offspring. However, in older hairsheep the flavor is still impressive due to the genetic factor. As they say, the proof is in the pudding eating. Dorpers tend to be a little larger, and Katahdins are excellent mothers, so a Dorper /Kathadin cross is nearly perfect. Katahdin-sired lambs typically produce carcasses that are heavier in weight and more muscular than St. Croix or Barbados Blackbelly when harvested at a similar age. As one of the most populous sheep breeds in America, the Suffolk is a popular choice for meat producers. 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. They also tend to be highly mobile, which means they will climb on top of anything. I bottle fed him for three months and give him grain 2x a day, and free choice hay as well as pasture grass. Fact: Eight or ten years ago you could expect a 5-10 cents/pound discount for hair animals. Dorper sheep Revolutionizing the meat sheep industry Blackbellys have hair and not wool, making them a low-maintenance breed. Most hair sheep breeds will lamb out of season without resorting to hormone therapy. People converting to hair sheep breeds all notice certain things. The majority of ewe lambs are sold as registered breeding stock; the majority of ram lambs are sold for slaughter. HARDINESS They do produce wool, and will need regular shearing. 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. Im Carmella. Though size and time to mature are not the Blackbellys strongest points, there are many advantages to raising this hardy breed of sheep. The Dorper is a good example of this interbreeding. Royal White (Dorper x St.Croix) Feeding Practices in Sheep - Merck Veterinary Manual They are seasonal breeders, conceiving in the Fall and Winter. The breeds of hair sheep that are of importance in Florida include Katahdin, St. Croix, American Blackbelly, and Barbados Blackbelly. I'll be using my Barbados Blackbelly ram on my BB ewes and also a few Kathadin ewes. 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 Dorper Vs Katadhin Sheep: Which is better for your homestead? This spring we had an overall lambing average of 1.9 lambs/ewe born with 1.7 lambs weaned. You can find out more about lambing Dorper sheep through the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society. There is no such thing as an ideal breed. Katahdins are a popular meat breed for sheep farmers. ByBasil Bactawar, UF/IFAS Duval County Extension Service. 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. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. What You Need To Know, link to Goats vs Sheep: Profit, Care & Behavioral Differences, Best Sheep for Wool: Top 8 Sheep Breeds for Wool. Non selective grazers that perform well under both extensive and intensive production systems. Ulf, Crossing with the Dorper led tothis larger hair breed. As mentioned earlier, the Katahdin breed has served us well. Are you interested in raising sheep for meat? You have to pay to have it sheared once a year. As far as winter hardiness is concerned, I have my sheep out in zero degree weather. Rather than stay in a group, they will scatter in all directions like a covey of quail. Carefully breeding only the best stock will ensure that the extreme hardiness and good mothering ability remain. 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. Reaching maturity earlier than many breeds, the Suffolk lamb will reach an average of 116 pounds by 100 days of age. its ok to wean the lamb as soon as possible. Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. To learn more about how you can make money off of sheep, read my article What Do Sheep Produce? Have good flocking instinct. The ewes produce vigorous, healthy, robust lambs that have a high survivability. He is 8 months old. To showcase the commercial qualities of our animals, all breeding stock we sell comes directly from pasture, having received no special treatment. Hair sheep have some attributes that make them admirably suited to fill market niches or fit varying production systems in Florida. Two varieties of Dorper Sheep were created: the black headed Dorper and an all white variety, the White Dorper sheep. We normally worm our lambs 3-4 times a summer and the ewes not at all. How about Field Corn! The Cheviot sheep is best suited for northern, colder climates, and does not tolerate heat as well. They shed their winter coats during spring and early summer. Dorper - Wikipedia In conclusion, based on RT and RR, resilience to high HLI conditions ranked St. Croix > Katahdin > Dorper, with lowest . You are using an out of date browser. Have been buying in feed since the start of 2018. Katahdin sheep and Dorper are bred as meat sheep breeds. Ive spent my entire life around farm animals, and I created Savvy Farm Life to share the helpful information Ive learned over the years. Blackbellys often breed easily and well, usually birthing multiple lambs in one breeding. There were sequential 2-wk. Weight Gain/Daily: 1 pound under intensive production. Glenn Land Farm Dexter Cattle & Dorper Sheep Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential. Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, feed intake Making Natural Clothing Dye From Vegetables. A qualityregistered lamb will bring triple the fat lamb price. Feed conversion is good since these sheep fatten easily on less than ideal pasture and forage. Are Llamas Dangerous? This breed tolerates both heat and cold making them a good choice for most climates. I belong to a herding club in Hawaii. The hair sheep breeds lamb easily in the pasture and the lambs gain weight rapidly and develop to maturity quickly. Suffolk ewes reach between 180-250 pounds, while rams can top out at 350 pounds. It is more flighty than Dorper, Kathadin and St. Croix breeds. -. study was done that showed the parasite resistance. 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 awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. In years past, 18-30 pound lambs sold well in Chicago for Jewish Passover. Get Shipping Quotes Opens in a new tab. Sheep Breeds - North Florida Livestock Agents' Group - UF/IFAS The Dorper is a breed of sheep that originated in the south of Africa in the 1940's. It is the product of cross-breeding between the Dorset Horn and Blackhead Persian breeds. The phrases youll hear most often is either mutton or lamb. Unfortunately, as the percentage of Dorper increases, more wool is found in their coat and some animals lose some of their shedding ability. Culling the genetic faults and only keeping the best rams for breeding will ensure a good future for any new hair sheep breeds. The Dorper is a mutton breed of hair sheep developed in the 1930s. 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. Due to the high amount of red muscle fibers, the Icelandic sheep has a uniquely tender and fine texture. As a result, about 50 percent of the first generation of White Dorper cross bred sheep shed partially or mostly. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. There are a few characteristics you will want to look for when choosing a meat-producing sheep. I have noticed that some lambs are showing caramel patches. Between their size and their courage, llamas may seem intimidating at first. Some general information on hair sheep is found on the next page. The desire to climb mandates the use of a bale ring to prevent excessive waste. Dorper sheep originated in South Africa and were the result of crossing Dorset Horn with Blackheaded Persian sheep. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 100 130, Ram = 120 150. Katahdin meat tends to be leaner than many other breeds. Lamb chops from Barbados Blackbelly x St. Croix lambs were similar to those from Dorset-sired, Dorper-sired, or Katahdin. We prefer using forage to produce lambs rather than wool. These breeds are called hair sheep because the coat consists of hair more like that of cattle and many goats rather than wool. Thanks, I am considering starting a small Dorper and or Katahdin herd to raise meat for the Western New York market. 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. I dont want him to get unhealthily fat. You must log in or register to reply here. Coat & Color: Coat can be any color or color pattern. Hair sheep dont bring as much on the slaughter market. It improves from year one to year two of age but can again be reduced by external factors like disease or weight loss. Two weeks later, the ewes hadnt lost any body condition. Environmental Adaptability:They are adaptable to all climates. If you consider hairsheep like White Dorpers in the future dont forget to ask the breeder about the shedding ability of their flock! Vet. To be successful, you must sell quality, and I stress quality animals; send anything else to slaughter. The mild and yet rich flavor of these culled ewes is remarkable and does not at all remind anyone of mutton. In a second study, Dorper or Dorset sired lambs were compared to Barbados Blackbelly x St. Croix or Katahdin lambs. Some hair breed rams are long-bodied which can create a lengthy birthing scenario for the ewe. Their main advantage is that they adapt well to hot humid climate where woolen breeds do not thrive well. Farmersville. Consider the pros and cons featured above before making your decision. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 7.5 lbs for single, 6.5 7 for twins, and less for triplets. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare productive performance of F 1 Dp vs . 199 Effects of high heat load conditions on Dorper, Katahdin, and St Tunis sheep are known to have an excellent flavor of meat. November/December 2003 and regularly vetted for accuracy. The Dorper grows more wool but self-sheds annually. Suffolk grow wool continuously, and will need to be sheared annually. Animal Breeding Abstracts. The flocking instinct of hair animals generally isnt as good as wool breeds. Hi just wondering it may be a silly question anyways can you milk Dorper sheep. Environmental Adaptability: Withstand heat and cold well, and part of this adjustment to extremes is behavioral. 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. Its important to have an animal thats pure or unaltered for sacrifice in observance of many holidays. Most Muslims prefer intact ram lambs without tails being docked. Katahdins are awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. To properly flush a ewe, she should be on an upward nutritional plane and gaining weight. Suffolk meat is hailed as lean and somewhat sweet, with a good muscle to fat ratio. 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 information may be used to compare breeds of hair sheep. Dorset sheep have lean and muscular carcasses, making them excellent at producing meat. 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 . What is the point of getting hairsheep when you end up shearing them? As wild sheep were domesticated, breeding for increased wool came into practice. A type of hair breed, Katahdin sheep originate in the United States. 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. I've seen some really nice Dorper/Katahdin crosses. This article first appeared in the May/June 2010 Hobby Farms. Baby Sheep: What a Baby Sheep is Called & Other Fun Facts. 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 luck! History tells us our present-day sheep are derived from the wild Mouflon sheep, among others, that grew coarse hair with a downy undercoat. Because of their hair, they do not produce the lanolin that can lend gaminess to the meat, giving it a milder flavor. Dorper ram purchased from Juan Navarro of J.N. 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." Breed is mainly free of wool and do not normally require shearing. . Owning Goats vs. Sheep Katahdins are docile, medium-sized sheep; ewes weigh 125 to 185 pounds, rams 180 to 250 pounds. Twinning is common and triplets and quadruplets are not rare. They have less subcutaneous fat on average and are a bit leaner because there is less feathering in the muscles. However, they are suitable for markets requiring smaller carcass size. Katahdin would adapt best under humid, warm conditions, while Dorper would be best suited for dry arid and semiarid rangeland conditions. Dorper lambs tolerated the infection more so than Suffolk (wool) lambs when fecal egg counts were low. You can even crossbreed them to develop unique varieties for your farm or homestead. 2022 Cornell Small Farms. Though the breed produces wool (and lanolin), it is known to have a particularly mild taste. We currently manage between 45-60 ewes per year with about 70% of our flock being registered. we really enjoy that black baby lamb and she is 9 months old now. Anymore (at least in Missouri) its the carcass quality that sets the price. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. The Katahdin breed was developed in the United States by Michael Piel. Generally, hair breeds are more heat tolerant than wool breeds. Parasitol. Unfortunately, Mr. Piel did not live long enough to see his breed reach having a registry and breed standards. There are without a doubt breeds that surpass White Dorper sheep in one or the other trait. Ulf Kintzel owns and manages White Clover Sheep Farm (www.whitecloversheepfarm.com) in Rushville, NY where he breeds grass-fed White Dorper sheep. 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. Many ethnic groups want a much different lamb or goat than has been marketed in the past. We saw their ad and went to look at their Dorper rams. In many cases, farmers are adding hair sheep to pastures with cattle to maximize efficiency and for parasite control. Sold all our cattle. $300. Another goodproductfromhair sheep is leather. This, alongside their easy-going dietary needs, really cut down the cost of keeping them. Fourteen years ago my wife got into the sheep business when she purchased three registered Katahdin ewes, a ram, and later, three Romanov ewes. a From the review: Notter, g. 1978. The first rams I purchased were of outstanding shedding ability. Like most of the sheep listed here, Texel lambs reach market size quickly, by 5-6 months. As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. Lambing Interval:It ranges from 6 to 8 months. We have an 18-cell planned grazing system with 10,000 feet of electric fence and 5,000 feet of underground waterline on 35 acres. Katahdin Sheep - Kiko and Boer Goats Dorper's are by far the closest hair sheep to the wool breed. Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. Since these breeds are so adaptable, when found in colder climates, the hair sheep adapt by growing a thicker undercoat. This is down to the fantastic range of benefits they deliver. They are hardy and do well in range. Sheds coat as temperature and day length increase. Some European sheep genetics were incorporated into the African sheep to arrive at the existing hair breeds mentioned above. Environmental Adaptability: Withstand higher heat and humidity than British sheep breeds. The Katahdin is another great dual-purpose breed, producing on average 210 liters of milk per 210 day cycle. 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. Everything You Need to Know About Hair Sheep - Cross S Ranch Differences in the taste of sheep breeds - BC Boards Environmental Adaptability: Tolerant of both high and low temperatures. Our flock is managed through pasture rotation from April until late December. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. But what about the market lambs getting too fat? My question is, how much should he weigh. Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogoh:n (the Cayuga Nation). The Katahdin sheep is listed as a Recovering heritage breed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List. We are fortunate that buyers for the large ethnic market in St. Louis often attend sales. 3 year old Dorper Katahdin Ram - farm & garden - by owner - sale Market Weight/Live/Age: 80 110 lbs / 5.5 6 months. How to Use Goats and Sheep to Clear Brush - Modern Farmer "Shearing the wool was tough," he recalls, but the price paid for wool nearly covered feed costs. The Kasteel White Dorper Stud farm lies in an arid area of the Republic of South Africa, called the Great Karoo. "We liked their look," Ruby puts in. 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. I no longer sell at livestock auctions mainly because I dont have to. Early maturing Terminal cross lambs. . Hampshire sheep have a muscular and stocky build, and are comparative to the Suffolk in size. Hi Qazi, In general they have low maintenance requirements. (A friend with Polypay and Katahdin sheep has had the same experience. Average Birth Weight (Lbs): 7 lbs for small lambs, 4-5 lbs for twin lambs. Three ewes needed assistance lambing (one got it, the other two didnt and lost their lambs), one of which was 8 years old.
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