If you plan on going into the meat production business, its important to know the difference between types of sheep meat. You can find out more about lambing Dorper sheep through the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society. We find its seldom necessary to trim hooves. To learn more about baby sheep, check out my article Baby Sheep: What a Baby Sheep is Called & Other Fun Facts. The Katahdin breed was developed in the United States by Michael Piel. 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 . Cheviots produce alert, strong lambs who are efficient foragers. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. Although the breed was created in the 1930s, it is still fairly new to the US. and, as such, the data are estimates. Sheep will eat woody vegetation but prefer grass and weeds on the ground. About. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Many of the Dorper you see have been crossed with Katahdin sheep for several reasons. In terms of temperament, cost, and maintenance, they are both excellent options. The Katahdan tend to be a little more "active", in general not quite as docile, though many would disagree but they are still quiet. For example, cold wind and warm sun quickly result in herd finding shelter under conditions when woolen sheep remain in the open. 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. We currently manage between 45-60 ewes per year with about 70% of our flock being registered. I have a pet ram lamb, texel dorset cross I was told. 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. Between their size and their courage, llamas may seem intimidating at first. Manage Settings Can someone tell me a few of the pros and cons for both dorper sand katahdin. Lambing Interval:It ranges from 6 to 8 months. He can be reached at 585-554-3313 or by e-mail at ulf@whitecloversheepfarm.com. It is now farmed in other areas as well, and is the second most common sheep breed in South Africa. 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. $300. It may not display this or other websites correctly. For the Katahdin vs Dorper analysis (Table 1), 8 SNPs under selection were observed in SOCS2, NOS2, TGFB2 and IL2RA genes within OAR3, 11, 12 and 13, respectively. 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. Many ethnic groups want a much different lamb or goat than has been marketed in the past. Breed ideal for pasture lambing and grass/forage based management systems. Katahdins are medium size, hardy, low-maintenance, and have a high-quality carcass weight. Get Shipping Quotes Opens in a new tab. Wondering What to Feed Sheep? 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. . JavaScript is disabled. Lambing %: Given an average lambing percent of 150 and 3 lambing in 2 years, Dorper will produce 2.25 lambs on an annual basis. For registered breeding stock, permanent wooly fibers are a no-no. Have good flocking instinct. (Grabbing a Romanov thats been walking through cockleburs is like wrestling with a 130-pound cocklebur.). The Katahdin breed has hair instead of wool, and that means less work, according to the couple, who raise the sheep near Perham, Minnesota. 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. They are best raised on pasture and finishing these breeds on feedlots can lead to less desirable meat products as the ethnic market prefers a leaner lamb. The desire to climb mandates the use of a bale ring to prevent excessive waste. But the pasture littered with wool as I had feared just did not happen. Thank so much for this information. The wool and hair comes mainly off in such small pieces that it is like a cow or a goat shedding you dont worry about their hair littering the pasture either. Originally, the established buyers at auctions resisted hairsheep in general and they fetched lower prices in places like New Holland. My Dorper ram is not really large but he is bigger than her. 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. He experimented with breeding them to meat breeds, finally reaching a point, in the 1970s, where he named the breed, Katahdins after a nearby mountain in his home state of Maine. 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. Though large in size, Hampshire sheep tend to be a docile and easy-going breed. This breed averages in maturity at around 175 220 pounds. While you can make a great profit selling meat, if you are looking for multiple income streams from your flock then the Dorper may not be the right breed for you. Shear force values were greatest, tougher, for Dorset-sired than Dorper-sired or Katahdin lambs. Dorpersare known for their fast weight gains as lambs. 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. 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. Youll find these sheep to have an easy-going temperament, and they tend to produce leaner meat with even fat distribution. Katahdin Pedigrees Public Area Members List. Ulf, Hi Mary. 2. As a result, about 50 percent of the first generation of White Dorper cross bred sheep shed partially or mostly. You must log in or register to reply here. Staking livestock to a rope and expecting them to clear vegetation is ineffective and can result in . HARDINESS 100 Dorper - Bred Ewes. Do you want to earn multiple income streams from your flock. Photo courtesy of: Dr. Stephan A. Wildeus. 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. Thirty percent of the ewes were first-time lambers, having an average of 1.2 lambs/ewe. 2023, Countryside - All Rights Reserved, Raising Sheep For Profit: Milking Sheep Offer a Small Farm Alternative, Raising Sheep: Buying and Caring for Your First Flock, Raising Sheep For Profit: How to Sell Raw Fleece, Raising Sheep For Profit: A Cattle Man's View. I like the Dorper temperament, generally they are a pretty docile breed. ( From Buckler Farms near Granville TN) His mom is at least 50% dorper and Katahdin. J. Anim Sci 77:215-222. No difference was noted between the purebred breeds of hair sheep. Katahdins are alert, protective mothers. This is true for Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix in particular, because they have not been subjected to selection for size and growth rate of the woolen breeds. You can also use them for multiple income streams thanks to their excellent meat and milk production. They require less worming medications as a general rule. I'd go with Dorper ram on Katahdin ewes. Katahdin meat tends to be leaner than many other breeds. 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. 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. We currently have about 100 ewes. The leather from hair sheep grain is finer than the leather from wool breeds and brings in a larger amount of money. There are many great options for meat-producing sheep. While I cant speak for other hair breeds, Katahdin sheep are tough, hardy animals with eating habits more like that of a goat. Market Weight/Live/Age: 70 90 lbs / 7 8 months. The ewes are also heavy milkers with excellent maternal instincts. Twinning is common and triplets and quadruplets are not rare. They are the generally more fertile in hot humid regions and show greater tolerance to parasites than woolen breeds. (I know, Im not a good farmer) 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: Hello! Later on I found out that this was the faster route to accomplish shedding in the offspring. University of South Dakota research found it requires 250-300 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of wool. Katahdins have hair and not wool, which means they are a low-maintenance breed that will shed their hair naturally. How the breed carries fat is, I think, important when dealing with older sheep. Because of their hair and their low fat content, this breed is known to produce both flavorful and mild meat. Weight Gain/Daily: 0.57 lbs under intensive production. 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. Research has shown Dorper have good parasite tolerance or resilience rather than resistance. Like the Dorper, Dorset ewes are able to breed year-round and are not limited to a typical Fall/Winter breeding season. 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). Jacksonville, FL 32254. Dorpers grow a combination of hair and wool, and shed naturally meaning no shearing is required. More on that subject later. Our spring lambs on pasture alone (17-20 percent protein and 65-72percentdigestible organic matter-DOM) will average 55-60 pounds. Since todays hair sheep breeds are developed from hardy ancestors, they are considered easy keepers because they have a natural resistance to disease and parasites. If I took the chance and had her bred would she be able to carry her lamb/s? Will they settle into a seasonal pattern or will they breed continually? 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 composite "easy-care" breed was developed from crosses of African hair sheep and a variety of wool breeds with selection for a hair coat, prolificacy, and conformation. I dont want him to get unhealthily fat. Its also possible that some pieces of wool or hair remain along the back or on the hind quarters or arm pits. There was only the body fleece that needed shearing. As mentioned earlier, theres no price discount for Katahdin sheep or Dorper sheep in central Missouri. If you plan on raising lambs for meat, youll need to know everything that comes with taking care of baby sheep. ~Ann, Your email address will not be published. This is inconvenient since you must pasture ram lambs separately from ewes to prevent unplanned pregnancies. The mild and yet rich flavor of these culled ewes is remarkable and does not at all remind anyone of mutton. 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. We also sell breeding stock locally. Because of their hair, they do not produce the lanolin that can lend gaminess to the meat, giving it a milder flavor. They do produce wool, and will need to be shorn annually. Flock owners with less than 50 animals have a difficult time getting someone to shear unless they pool their animals with neighbors. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. Katahdins tend to birth twins, with triplets and quadruplets occurring often with good flock management. The breeds of hair sheep that are of importance in Florida include Katahdin, St. Croix, American Blackbelly, and Barbados Blackbelly. 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. The breed is famous in the United States for its high performance and low maintenance. Originally publishedin sheep! Also, much of the flavor ( good or bad) comes from the fat. His information is given at the conclusion of the article, pasted below. Special Notes The Dorper sheep are very hardy animals. Unsave Save. With an annual rainfall of approximately 175mm (7 inches), the grazing is mainly scrubland with a stocking rate of 1 LSU per 32 hectare. This may or may not be the case in other states. You have to pay to have it sheared once a year. The hair sheep breeds lamb easily in the pasture and the lambs gain weight rapidly and develop to maturity quickly. Lamb comes from a sheep under the age of 1 year old. Im very new here currently living in Virginia. Looking forward to reply. Dorper fullbloods, Katahdin fullbloods and St Croix fullbloods, We have a nice big fullblood dorper ram that we are putting over the St Croix and the Katahdin. The Dorper and the Katahdin were derived from very different types of hair sheep. Lamb chops from Barbados Blackbelly x St. Croix lambs were similar to those from Dorset-sired, Dorper-sired, or Katahdin. Some of the ancestors of these breeds originated in Africa and were brought to the Caribbean Islands, Central America and northern South America during the 18th and 19th century. Hair sheep have some attributes that make them admirably suited to fill market niches or fit varying production systems in Florida. Did you know that Dorper sheep dont need to be sheared? He is a native of Germany and lives in the US since 1995. Another goodproductfromhair sheep is leather. To properly flush a ewe, she should be on an upward nutritional plane and gaining weight. They also have a fat rump, short legs, and a compact body. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Environmental Adaptability: Withstand higher heat and humidity than British sheep breeds. The coat is a mixture of hair and wool and will shed from animal in late spring/early summer. Please indicate pricing as well. Dorper sheep do well in warm, arid climates, but can tolerate cold as well. The Dorper is a mutton breed of hair sheep developed in the 1930s. for info and videos along with books and much more! Dorset ewes weigh approximately 150-200 pounds, with the rams weighing on average 275 pounds. Sheep and cattle have different grazing needs and preferences, and the sheep will clean up the growth that doesnt appeal to the cows. The Gayogoh:n are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. Thank you. As one of the most populous sheep breeds in America, the Suffolk is a popular choice for meat producers. Although the breed was created in the 1930s, it is still fairly new to the US. How about Field Corn! We both work off thefarm; therefore time is a commodity in short supply. Disposition & Mothering Ability: This breed is a bit flighty. (Weve heard them all.). Three ewes needed assistance lambing (one got it, the other two didnt and lost their lambs), one of which was 8 years old. Nitrogen retention by lambs fed oscillating dietary protein concentrations. Mutton is meat that comes from mature sheep over the age of 1 year old. 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.