Sunday, March 22, 2015

To Find Good Katahdin Sheep Kentucky Should Be The Place To Visit

By Lelia Hall


Part of second half of the20th century in US featured the development of unique domestic animals. This resulted into katahdin sheep. The sheep was first developed in Maine near Katahdin mountain, hence the name. The breeding and research work was handled by amateur geneticist known as Micheal Piel. His sole aim was to develop a variety of sheep with good flocking instinct, better hair coat, meat type conformation, and high fertility.

His research was focused on producing animals with hair and not wool. A breed that does not produce wool was needed because of low prices of wool and high shearing costs. The resultant breed had good mothering abilities in comparison to the parents. To get docile yet hardy Katahdin sheep Kentucky is the place to go. They show higher resistance to both external and internal parasites. They are easy to handle because they are docile.

Full grown and healthy ewes show a weight variation of between 120 pounds to 160 pounds. Mature rams weigh between 180 pounds to 250 pounds. 8 pounds is the mean weight of twins born to these sheep. Females usually give birth to twins, though they can have quadruplets or triplets in some occasions. Mothers exhibit strong protective instinct.

A year is the earliest period an ewe can be mate on condition that it has attained the necessary weight and size. Focus should be placed on weight and not size. When lambs are two-thirds the size of a mature ewe they may be bred. A first-time mother must be fed and held separately from continuing mothers until its lambs is weaned. This is an important on teaching them to be better mothers.

Early maturity and long productive lives is observed in both males and females. Males are reliable breeders with the capacity of searing the entire year. A single ram has the ability of serving many females when mixed. Both sexes can be used in interbreeding. First time generation young ones between this breed and other types of wool sheep have fleeces.

It takes about three generations or more depending on the breed of interbred wool animal to develop offspring with purebred characteristics such as shedding hair coats. The texture and length of hair coats differs on every sheep. Katahdins appear in several pure or a combination of different colors. Red, brown, white and black are some of the common colors. Some have unique patterns or spots.

Young males and females are a source of quality and healthy lean meat. The quantity of fatty acid in the meat depends on the diet. Their meat contains important omega three and six fatty acids. Grass is the major source of fatty acids, even though a diet with specific oils or fats can achieve the same results. Details on the types of fats or oils to be included in the diet has to be prescribed by trained veterinaries. This is done for health reasons.

Katahdins are hardy animals with feeding behaviors similar to that of goats. They feed on anything ranging from soft tree barks of deciduous plants to weeds. They support themselves on hind legs to access leaves and remove tree barks. They may be destructive when not controlled. Young ones of katahdin sheep are in the habit of climbing on plants and hay. To avoid this, bale rings must be placed round plants and trees to be protected.




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