Thursday, June 23, 2011

Our Great Hair Sheep!



     We raise Hair Sheep.  Yes sheep without wool, called Katahdin Hair Sheep.  I love these sheep.  They are the easiest sheep I have ever raised.  And I have raised a lot.  In fact I am a handspinner and hand weaver and also a knitter that loves wool.  But raising sheep without brains (the sheep not me!) is not the easiest thing to do. 
    Katahdin Sheep are different; they think, they listen and they obey!   We have had so much fun raising them and are so happy with the hardiness of these sheep.  Being hair sheep means they don't need shearing.  They don't produce lanolin which is what makes their meat, mild tasting.  They are docile and well behaved animals too.
   

  
 Katahdin are healthy animals.  They are parasite resistant, and quite vigorious.  This is a big advantage for our farm because we are an Organic Farm. 
    
  The lambs are up and nursing within minutes after birth.  The care of them being done by their very diligent mothers.
     The Katahdin breed originated at the Piel Farm in north central Maine where Michael Piel was an innovator and amateur geneticist who enjoyed raising livestock.  His first intentions related to establishing a sheep enterprise were to use sheep to graze power lines instead of spraying or mowing the vegetation.  He then developed other ideas on how to employ sheep for land management.  Read more: http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/katahdin/

     Katahdins are a very popular sheep for small farms and homesteads where mowing isn't an option.  The breed is also good for browsing in woodland and forests.  Adding Katahdin Hair Sheep has been a wonderful blessing to us also for the yield of meat that we can raise organically. Each year we have also sold stock for others to begin raising the breed, and for lamb meat as well.  They thrive in all climates and are found in most or all States. 
Please contact the Katahdin Hair Sheep Assoc. http://www.katahdins.org/

3 comments:

SAPsMaMa said...

Awn! I've always wanted a hobby farm, these sheep seem perfect for it!

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Grateful Grammy said...

Love your blog! I am learning so much that this city girl has never heard before. The pictures of your animals are wonderful! Please keep up the good work!

Mama Chocolate said...

We love our Katahdins, too! Amazing sheep! :-)