How many are currently raising hair breeds of sheep?

[equinecpa]

Breed: Painted Deserts

Why did you choose them? Ease of management(don't have to dock tails, most rams left intact), attractive, no wool, smaller size than some hair sheep

What are you using them for(lawn mowers, meat production, etc)? I use my for herding dog practice, raise/sell

How long have you been raising them? Just under a year

What are your results(as compared to maybe other types you've raised)? These are the only type I've raised but so far I really like them. They are very easy keepers and for the most part easy to handle.

One downfall I've found is it's hard to show these sheep in 4-H -they lack the stature of the suffolks and even the dorpers so have a hard time competing alongside the other sheep breeds, and our area doesn't have a hair sheep class.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know of any who DO have a hair sheep class other than exhibit only. I'm hoping writing a book about the breeds and getting more info out there will spur on smaller agricultural regions to consider them as worthy as other meat breeds and start opening up opportunities for youths to show them based on their own merits...in other words, without requiring the extreme, or any for that matter, docking of the tails, without the extreme clipped appearance, etc.

Allowing them to be born earlier to account for their slower growth period, their largely grass diet, etc. Sure, one could grain them up to get them to grow quicker, but then you'd be losing the true merit of the hair breeds... their ability to thrive well on grass diets, slower growth pattern and their resulting good health.

I'd also like to see these fairs open up classes for Highland, Galloway and Dexter cattle without expecting them to be judged the same as the usual beef breeds. Highland cattle are usually shown in full hairy glory and some will be disqualified if they have been kept indoors and do not have a developed coat. Can you imagine clipping a Highland like one would an Angus?

I'd love to see more versatility in these county and state fairs to reflect the need for just such a thing in agriculture today. I think promoting these confined, overfed, extremely clipped, docked and standard fast growing breeds only perpetuates the belief that this is the only answer to growing food animals.

 

[SheepGirl]

For all of the species...beef, sheep, and swine, our county fair has an "other meat breeds" class. Sheep also have a "other wool breeds" class. This year, a couple of Dorpers were shown. I didn't get a chance to see them shown or see how they placed because my sheep were in a shearing demonstration at the time and I was busy helping/watching.

However, each breed is fitted to and judged against it's own breed standard in the "other" classes. The best individual matching their breed standard is the winner.

By the way...overfed (or underfed) animals don't usually win shows

Also, what do you think of the Katahdin? I'm interested in getting some.

 

[BeccaJoVon]

We have only recently started raising sheep. Due to the drought conditions in our area, we were given Katahdin, two bred older ewes from one rancher and two young rams (born spring 2011) from another. We bought two St. Croix ewe lambs.

I wanted sheep, but I did not want wool, and I wanted meat sheep. I originally wanted Dorper but there just were not any nearby, so I went with what I could get. We have only had them for a few months, so I really have not had time to develop any solid opinions as of yet.

 

[boothcreek]

Breeds I'm currently keeping: American Black Bellies, Painted Desert and European Mouflon(dunno if these count as hairsheep or wildlife)

Why did you choose them?
My stepdad likes lamb, I can't stand the strong smell and taste of it. We don't want wool and I wanted a breed that is small enough that I can handle it by myself. A friend of mine was raising kats and dorpers at the time so checked those out but didn't really like their character and looks much. Always liked the look of the Mouflon but couldn't find any and then I stumbled across the American Black Bellie Sheep by accident. Love the looks of them, the bold markings and I am a sucker for Black and Tan. Also small enough that I can wrestle them by myself to do their feet etc. And then too I've been told by barbado and ABB breeders that even intact rams over a year old are still very mild tasting meat wise and lack that strong lamb flavour.
At the breeder of the ABBs he had a small pen with ewes that were born off-colour(white feet or white in the face or white tail), he said he gets them occasionally cause his flock has been closed for 15 odd years and he just culls the handful off-coloured lambs out of his 400+ flock each year. I bought one and she throws some nice Painted deserts.
2 weeks later I found a mouflon breeder(actually he found me) and I just had to get a pair of those for myself too. Only drawback with the Moufs is that the Rams do go into the Rut between Oct-Jan and have a bit of a smell to them. I compare it to a rutting bull elk, which I think smells awesome. Not comparable to a intact billygoat in anyway, not even 1/4 as strong smelling. You only smell him when your within 5 feet of him.

What are you using them for(lawn mowers, meat production, etc)?
Free-Range eye-candy/shrub mowers and Meat. Also keep and tan the hides.

How long have you been raising them?
Going on my 3rd year

What are your results(as compared to maybe other types you've raised)?
Very easy going and calmer then the KatXdorpers I have kept now and then. Not as meaty as them either but much less effort put into raising these up since they are very self sufficient when left to do their thing. Also, much finer boned then the bigger breeds so they do surprise you with how much meat you get off that dainty frame of theirs.

 

[Beekissed]

For all of the species...beef, sheep, and swine, our county fair has an "other meat breeds" class. Sheep also have a "other wool breeds" class. This year, a couple of Dorpers were shown. I didn't get a chance to see them shown or see how they placed because my sheep were in a shearing demonstration at the time and I was busy helping/watching.

However, each breed is fitted to and judged against it's own breed standard in the "other" classes. The best individual matching their breed standard is the winner.

By the way...overfed (or underfed) animals don't usually win shows

Also, what do you think of the Katahdin? I'm interested in getting some.

They are my favorite at this moment because they have a good meaty frame, seem taller than the Dorpers I've seen, milky and good mothers, seem to shed off better than the St. Croix and Dorpers and stay so fat on a grass diet. They are also more available in my area than are the other hair breeds, which makes them somewhat cheaper due to their availability. I really like how friendly they are compared to the St. Croix and SC crosses~these breeds seem a little more wary and jumpy around humans than the pure Katahdin.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[BeccaJoVon]

They are my favorite at this moment because they have a good meaty frame, seem taller than the Dorpers I've seen, milky and good mothers, seem to shed off better than the St. Croix and Dorpers and stay so fat on a grass diet. They are also more available in my area than are the other hair breeds, which makes them somewhat cheaper due to their availability. I really like how friendly they are compared to the St. Croix and SC crosses~these breeds seem a little more wary and jumpy around humans than the pure Katahdin.

Of course, YMMV.

When you say shed, do you mean as in their hair? I'm asking because my St. Croix aren't "wooly" at all. They are really slick-haired sheep.

 

[Beekissed]

Katahdins have a fine, soft wool on the biggest parts of their body and hair underneath and on the tail. My SC/Kat mix gals had wiry hair with just a dab of woolly fibers mixed in along their backs, necks and hips. The pure Kat ewe would shed this wool topcoat in large sheets that could be plucked or pulled off, leaving soft woolly hair underneath, whereas the SC cross ewes had mangy looking patches of short woolly fibers that tended to hang around awhile and look ratty. When they finally shed off their hair never really looked slick...just wiry and short.

The farmer I purchased from had pure SC that were more slick, as you describe.

 

[Heavenly Springs Farm]

My son who is 5 used his own money to buy three shetland ewes this fall, which were with a ram for two months this fall. So hopefully, he will get lambs from them this spring.

Why did you choose them? He has been wanting to get sheep for awhile. Since I am a spinner I wanted a breed I could spin their wool. We have a wonderful breeder that lives 10 mins away.

What are you using them for(lawn mowers, meat production, etc)? They will be used for showing, wool, and we might eat the ram lambs

How long have you been raising them? I can't say we raise them yet since we got them this fall.

 

[BeccaJoVon]

Katahdins have a fine, soft wool on the biggest parts of their body and hair underneath and on the tail. My SC/Kat mix gals had wiry hair with just a dab of woolly fibers mixed in along their backs, necks and hips. The pure Kat ewe would shed this wool topcoat in large sheets that could be plucked or pulled off, leaving soft woolly hair underneath, whereas the SC cross ewes had mangy looking patches of short woolly fibers that tended to hang around awhile and look ratty. When they finally shed off their hair never really looked slick...just wiry and short.

The farmer I purchased from had pure SC that were more slick, as you describe.

This is interesting. As you may remember, I am just now starting to raise hair sheep, and I really don't have much experience. However, I saw no wooly-looking sheep when I went to get my St. Croix, and they had around 50 head. My sister has a few Katahdin, and this summer, one of them had the patches of hair that never fell off.

I have a couple of St. Croix ewe lambs, a couple Katahdin ewes, and I'm going to be using a Katahdin ram. I wonder if I can look forward to some scraggly sheep with the SC/Kat mix? I hope not.