Tuesday, January 14, 2014

When One Needs Katahdin Sheep Kentucky Should Be The Place To Go Searching

By Marissa Velazquez


When in need for Katahdin sheep Kentucky is a perfect place to consider first. Katahdin is a certain strain of domestic sheep engineered in the late 20th century in USA. The breeding was performed by someone known as Michael Piel around 1956. He imported St. Croix sheep species and crossbred them with several other breeds. After crossbreeding, he chose the animals according to their flocking instinct, meat-type conformation, fertility, and hair coat.

These species is preferred by many farmers because it has many attractive features. They are hardy and highly adaptable animals that require little maintenance to survive. Their meat is lean while the lamb crops are superior. They do not need shearing because they never produce fleece. They are highly adaptable because they were derived from British Islands, the Caribbean, and the state of Maine as their home of origin.

During cold seasons or in chilly weather, they develop think winter coat. This coat persists during the whole cold season and only sheds off after the weather starts to warm up. The soft hair allows them to survive and tolerate humidity and warmth better. Their ability to withstand external and interior parasites is very great and with good maintenance, they only require minimal parasite treatment.

The hair coat differs among individuals of this strain. The coat might have a single color shade covering the entire body or may have a combination of various colors mixed in diverse ways and patterns. The coat is formed of two layers, an external layer formed of rough hair fiber and an undercoat made of soft wooly fibers. The under-coat sheds gradually as the warm season sets in.

Both rams and ewes undergo early puberty and they have long productive lives. Full-grown ewes normally give birth to twins, triplets, or quadruplets at times. Carefully chosen flocks produce two hundred percent lamb crops. Males are known for being aggressive breeders and stay fertile for a whole year long. During first exposure they fertilize flocks in weeks. Well chosen ewes lamb for the entire year with no stops.

A Katahdin ewe reveals strong protective mothering instincts and it does not need assistance during the lambing process. Newly born lambs are vigorous and alert even after a few minutes of birth. Both male and female can be used for crossbreeding purposes even though the first generation normally have wool fleece in most cases. Stable purebred characteristics such as shedding hair and ample milk normally start showing in the third generation.

This strain of sheep weighs high when in perfect health condition. Males weigh between 180 and 250 pounds whereas females weigh from 120 to 160. Lambs also weigh high at birth with twins standing averagely at eight. The weight may however reduce as the number of lambs the mother carries rises.

When looking for Katahdin sheep Kentucky is a recommendable place to give priority when searching. This is a good species for any farmer because they can survive almost everywhere. There docility makes them easy to handle and the ability to produce multiple lambs is profitable.




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