Katahdin is a new species of American sheep. Its development was done in the 50s by Michael Piel, an amateur geneticist. Michael named the animal after Mt. Katahdin in Maine where the development took place. The breed resulted from a cross between hair sheep and some British breeds. When in need of buying Katahdin sheep Kentucky offers the best place to visit.
Registrations, transfer numbers, and surveys reveal that this breed makes up the highest proportion of all sheep meat consumed in USA. The animals should not be mistaken with goats because of the resemblance because they have 54 chromosomes unlike goats which have 60. Infact, cross-breeding with goats cannot produce fertile pregnancies. Mouflon, the ancestor of current day sheep resembled goats a lot and may be the cause of the goat-like appearance.
The coat of the animal may have one color or a combination of colors formed into different patterns. However, red, white, black, and brown are the major colors observed with white occurring more frequently than the others. Reproduction or other qualities do not differ depending on the color. Also, the breed association does not make any discriminations basing on color.
Naturally, horns do not grow in this breed because it is a polled species. However, because of residual influence from Wiltshire Horn breed from which it was developed, some animals develop scur and grow horns. Breeders and breed association like polled animals more than those that grow horns. The breed standards allow horning and scurring. Some lambs also develop milk goiter. This occurs in randomly even in perfectly healthy lambs. For that reason, one should avoid diagnosing the goiter for an abscess, iodine goiter, or bottle jaw.
These animals were developed under very cold, mountainous conditions. This gives them a high ability to survive under cold conditions. They also show high adaptability to a wide spectrum of weather conditions. For instance, they survive under cold conditions by developing a thick coat which insulates the body against heat loss. In warm regions, they develop a slightly lighter coat. To maintain suitable body temperatures, the right nutrition must be fed to the animals.
There are many outstanding qualities in this breed that cannot be found in other breeds. One of the attractive qualities is that there is no need for tail docking, shearing, or crutching. The farmer also gains from the ability of the animal to resist gastro-intestinal parasites. The species also has excellent reproduction traits and body fitness. It has high fertility, milk production, prolificacy, and mothering ability. The quality of the meat is also impeccable.
Although dependent on many factors, these animals have high lambing ability. Factors that affect lambing include nutrition, age, and season of breeding. On average, mature ewes lamb two or more lambs per lambing. Ability to lamb and number of lambs lambed is affected a lot by body condition. Plenty of food with more nutrient content should be fed to ewes raising more than one lamd as compensation for milk consumed by young ones.
Breeding should be started at 12 months of age. Weight should be based on more when deciding time of breeding than the age. Rams achieve breeding age at 7 to 8 months after birth.
Registrations, transfer numbers, and surveys reveal that this breed makes up the highest proportion of all sheep meat consumed in USA. The animals should not be mistaken with goats because of the resemblance because they have 54 chromosomes unlike goats which have 60. Infact, cross-breeding with goats cannot produce fertile pregnancies. Mouflon, the ancestor of current day sheep resembled goats a lot and may be the cause of the goat-like appearance.
The coat of the animal may have one color or a combination of colors formed into different patterns. However, red, white, black, and brown are the major colors observed with white occurring more frequently than the others. Reproduction or other qualities do not differ depending on the color. Also, the breed association does not make any discriminations basing on color.
Naturally, horns do not grow in this breed because it is a polled species. However, because of residual influence from Wiltshire Horn breed from which it was developed, some animals develop scur and grow horns. Breeders and breed association like polled animals more than those that grow horns. The breed standards allow horning and scurring. Some lambs also develop milk goiter. This occurs in randomly even in perfectly healthy lambs. For that reason, one should avoid diagnosing the goiter for an abscess, iodine goiter, or bottle jaw.
These animals were developed under very cold, mountainous conditions. This gives them a high ability to survive under cold conditions. They also show high adaptability to a wide spectrum of weather conditions. For instance, they survive under cold conditions by developing a thick coat which insulates the body against heat loss. In warm regions, they develop a slightly lighter coat. To maintain suitable body temperatures, the right nutrition must be fed to the animals.
There are many outstanding qualities in this breed that cannot be found in other breeds. One of the attractive qualities is that there is no need for tail docking, shearing, or crutching. The farmer also gains from the ability of the animal to resist gastro-intestinal parasites. The species also has excellent reproduction traits and body fitness. It has high fertility, milk production, prolificacy, and mothering ability. The quality of the meat is also impeccable.
Although dependent on many factors, these animals have high lambing ability. Factors that affect lambing include nutrition, age, and season of breeding. On average, mature ewes lamb two or more lambs per lambing. Ability to lamb and number of lambs lambed is affected a lot by body condition. Plenty of food with more nutrient content should be fed to ewes raising more than one lamd as compensation for milk consumed by young ones.
Breeding should be started at 12 months of age. Weight should be based on more when deciding time of breeding than the age. Rams achieve breeding age at 7 to 8 months after birth.
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