A qualityregistered lamb will bring triple the fat lamb price. Disposition & Mothering Ability: Extremely reactive to dogs and cats usually as though they wish to flee. Sheep for sale: young grass-fed butcher ram lambs (Dorper & Katahdin) Rams generally have horns. JavaScript is disabled. This may be due to the fact that wool can hide a lot of rib bones and other defects, while with a hair sheep what you see is what you get. The flocking instinct of hair animals generally isnt as good as wool breeds. Savvyfarmlife.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. a From the review: Notter, g. 1978. Dorper sheep have a distinctive appearance: black heads and white bodies. Market Weight/Live/Age: 70 90 lbs / 7 8 months. Hair sheep have some attributes that make them admirably suited to fill market niches or fit varying production systems in Florida. Market Weight/Live/Age: 60 80 lbs / 9 month. Its important to have an animal thats pure or unaltered for sacrifice in observance of many holidays. 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. I no longer sell at livestock auctions mainly because I dont have to. Another goodproductfromhair sheep is leather. Hi Mary. Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. 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. Katahdin ewes weigh around 125-185 pounds, and rams average around 200 pounds. We have a dispute between the members about feeding sheep after working them. keep checking it out! The first generation grows quite well due to the heterosis effect, but nearly always has a wool coat. A maternal breed, Katahdin ewes breed well with the Dorper rams to produce a meaty but feminine lamb. (Allardt) "Spike" is a 3 year old ram. Technical Abstract: Katahdin sheep are one of several hair breeds, the most common of which includes Barbados Black Belly, St. Croix and Dorper sheep. In conclusion, based on RT and RR, resilience to high HLI conditions ranked St. Croix > Katahdin > Dorper, with lowest . 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. When the pastures are poor, hair animals hold their body condition much better. Consider the pros and cons featured above before making your decision. Publication : USDA ARS my ewe with CL has had her first batch of lambs last month and she is a really good mother! That applies to purebred WD market lambs as well. You can find out more about lambing Dorper sheep through the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society. Today I have 1/2, 3/4, 7/8th, and 15/16th White Dorper sheep. Dorset ewes weigh approximately 150-200 pounds, with the rams weighing on average 275 pounds. Why they are Crossed - YouTube 0:00 / 4:43 Dorper Sheep vs. Katahdin Sheep. For us, the Katahdin sheep breed fits our operation and our philosophy quite well. To appeal to ethnic buyers, it often requires a change in flock management. Hairbreeds have many positive traits that make them an ideal animal for small farms, homesteads, and of course, larger commercial farms. Two varieties of Dorper Sheep were created: the black headed Dorper and an all white variety, the White Dorper sheep. The Dorper and the Katahdin were derived from very different types of hair sheep. 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. 2023, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Extract Natural Dye for Wool from Goldenrod Plants, Why Teach Classes on How to Knit, Spin, Weave or Felt, Use This Sweater Mitten Pattern to Bring New Life to Old Clothes. 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. 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. Many of the Dorper you see have been crossed with Katahdin sheep for several reasons. There are many great options for meat-producing sheep. 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. They can harbor significant worm populations, yet not suffer the same effects a wool animal would. Dorpers grow a combination of hair and wool, and shed naturally meaning no shearing is required. In many cases, farmers are adding hair sheep to pastures with cattle to maximize efficiency and for parasite control. Dorper Sheep: Truths and Myths - Cornell Small Farms At 90 days, weve had November-December lambs on pasture, hay and whole grain (corn or milo) average 75 pounds. Dorper and Katahdin are medium size breeds. 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. There are black headed Dorpers (most common) and white Dorpers (harder to find). Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, feed intake Our experienced ewes averaged 2.1 lambs/ewe born with 1.9 weaned. How do you collect wool from self-shearing sheep? The percentage of 15/16 is considered purebred. Yes, you can milk Dorper sheep! It is raised mainly for meat production. I have a pet ram lamb, texel dorset cross I was told. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. The customers, including the many ethnic customers, caught up and appreciate the milder flavor of hairsheep. Blackbellys are often left unvaccinated due to their disease and parasite resistance (though of course, we recommend you do your research on the breed and talk to a vet about what they recommend for vaccinating). They were an excellent choice for this as they seldom bothered the pine trees. In winter puts on coat that is shed as temperatures increase. Feeding small quantities throughout numerous feedings helps reduce the incidence of bloat and/or diarrhea. A type of hair breed, Katahdin sheep originate in the United States. No difference was noted between the purebred breeds of hair sheep. Dorper sheep originated in South Africa and were the result of crossing Dorset Horn with Blackheaded Persian sheep. I forgot to ask for notification via e-mail, so I am reposting my questions. Dorper lambs tolerated the infection more so than Suffolk (wool) lambs when fecal egg counts were low. link to Are Llamas Dangerous? $300. 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. They were significantly more reasonably priced and for practical matters were the same. Hello! 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. Our first lamb - Katahdin Dorper Cross - Farm Homestead I'd go with Dorper ram on Katahdin ewes. Farmersville. Katahdin x Texel. He can be reached at 585-554-3313 or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com. 3 year old Dorper Katahdin Ram - farm & garden - by owner - sale As a result, the Katahdin is the most common hair sheep in America. The ability of this breed to put grass into weight gain is remarkable. It is a very hardy breed and is disease resistant. Dorper lambs have amazing growth rates when young. The first rams I purchased were of outstanding shedding ability. Several Polypay owners in the area worm all animals 6-8 times during the summer and still lose animals to stomach worms. How do you decide which breed is right for your needs? Katahdins are a popular meat breed for sheep farmers. Dorper - Wikipedia Subsequent generations with higher percentage shed better and better although shedding is not a black and white thing. If youre grazing crop-field aftermath, their coat will pick up trash where a Katahdin wont. Lamb meat is known to be more tender and tasty. Im Carmella. As well as a hand full of peanuts every day. Since hair sheep dont have a heavy wool coat, they cant take the cold. Best guess is he is 175-200 lbs. This behavior causes problems with maintaining desirable trees unless protection is provided. While it is estimated that hair sheep comprise only 10 percent of the world's sheep population, their numbers are growing, especially in temperate climates like the United States. Mexicans prefer a larger lamb, and let nothing go to waste. In Canada, Katahdin sheep commonly gain well over a pound per day. Ewes will weigh an average of 190 pounds, with rams reaching up to 300 pounds. Wondering whether to add Dorper or Katahdin sheep to your homestead? The ewes produce vigorous, healthy, robust lambs that have a high survivability. We have members from Mexico to Northern Canada and have exported to Ecuador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Chile, and Central America. Katahdins tend to birth twins, with triplets and quadruplets occurring often with good flock management. Do you want to earn multiple income streams from your flock. I think this is where the good reputation of hair sheep comes in. I have a very small Dorper ewe, she is 7 months old but very small. Of the ewe lambs exposed, 95 percent gave birth at the age of 11-13 months. Jacksonville, FL 32254. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare productive performance of F 1 Dp vs . 4 1. Looking forward to reply. Origin: This breed was developed or evolved on the Eastern Caribbean Island of Barbados. We have just over 1200 breeding ewes & aim for around 2000 when things get better. Though the breed produces wool (and lanolin), it is known to have a particularly mild taste. Relative resistance of Dorper crossbred ewes to gastrointestinal nematode infection compared with St. Croix and Katahdin ewes in the southeastern United States. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'savvyfarmlife_com-leader-1','ezslot_7',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-leader-1-0');Katahdins are a popular meat breed for sheep farmers. They can mature to be up to 6 tall, can reach over 400 pounds, and they dont back down Goats vs Sheep: Profit, Care & Behavioral Differences. However, they are suitable for markets requiring smaller carcass size. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential.