Chigger Ridge Ranch believes that the Katahdin Hair Sheep is the future of the meat sheep industry in the United States. The Katahdin very rarely requires lambing assistance, no shearing, no tail docking, and rare hoof trimming. As they are very parasite resistant, with proper management the producer can sell a product with minimal use of chemical dewormers. They can be raised to market weight on good forage alone. This appeals to the growing base of "grass fed" health conscious meat consumers. In short, very little input of either time or money yields a product that any rancher would be proud to raise.

MORE ABOUT KATAHDINS a self shearing sheep

The Katahdin Hair Sheep was derived from breeds that originated in the Caribbean and British Islands. The state of Maine was their original home in the U.S. In cold weather they grow a thick winter coat, which sheds during the spring. Since Katahdins have no fleece, no shearing is required. Their smooth hair coat and other adaptive characteristics allow them to tolerate heat and humidity well. The hair coat of the Katahdin varies in length and texture among individuals and can be any color or color combination. At Chigger Ridge we have a little of everything: solid whites, solid browns, reds, dark chocolate browns, whites with random brown spots, and browns with large white blotches. It is possible that some of the color combinations provide natural camouflage and are an aid in predator protection.

The live weight of a mature ewe in good condition usually ranges from 120 to 160 pounds. They generally have twins, occasionally producing and raising triplets. Average birth weight of twins is about 8 pounds. The Katahdin ewe has a strong, protective mothering instinct, lambing without assistance, and produces ample milk for her lambs. We provide a barn for our ewes but most prefer to lamb out on pasture. Lambing occurs outside with no problems even when it was as low as six degrees. The babies are up and following their dams within minutes of birth. We have lost only four ewes to lambing problems over eight years. The lambs are so hardy that we have an average loss of only two to three percent of newborn lambs per year (and had well over 100 lambs this year). This is without any sort of "jugging" or forced confinement of any type.

A mature Katahdin ram will weigh, on average, 200 to 250 pounds (but some may reach 300 or better). Ewes and rams both exhibit early puberty, most able to breed their first fall, and generally have a long productive life. We have some ewes still twinning at eight years old.

Due to their climatic adaptability, reproductive efficiency, and parasite resistance added to the lack of requirements for shearing, tail docking, crotching, dehorning, or hoof trimming the Katahdin Hair Sheep has proven to be a low maintenance/high producing animal ideal for either the large commercial rancher or the small lifestyle farm. Individuals with no previous sheep or livestock experience will have little trouble raising Katahdins. They also work well in multi-species production systems as they prefer forbs to grass and will browse in woods more than wool breeds of sheep, thus competing even less with cattle. The 2006 agricultural census reports U.S. sheep inventory up for the second year in a row by two percent. Our State of Tennessee saw a seventeen percent increase. We believe this is due to the South discovering the wonderful advantages of Hair Sheep.

BREED HISTORY

Michael Piel of Maine developed the Katahdin with the goal of selecting not for fleece production but for the following characteristics:

Rate of Gain - the inherited ability of the lamb to make rapid weight gains.

Hardiness - the ability to survive and thrive.

Prolificacy - ability to raise twin lambs and to lamb frequently.

Conformation - adequate for production and market requirements.

Milking Capacity - weaning weight of lambs as a reflection of the milking capacity of the ewe.

Piel chose to combine the native Virgin Island West African Hair Sheep (with their out of season lambing, parasite resistance, hair coat, and extreme hardiness and prolificacy) with various British breeds, particularly the Suffolk, to obtain better rate of gain and conformation than the native hair sheep breed.

Since only one of the above traits can be judged in a show ring, Katahdin breed shows are actively discouraged by most Katahdin breeders. We do not need to ruin another breed by concentration exclusively on non-production characteristics.

COMPARISON WITH OTHER U.S. HAIR SHEEP

The Dorper Hair Sheep breed was imported from South Africa where it evolved to survive under harsh, dry desert conditions. The Katahdin, by contrast, is a descendent of Carribean/West Africa sheep which thrive under the rigors of heat, humidity, and parasites. The Katahdin, in fact, has been found to thrive under very diverse environmental conditions. It's Caribbean heritage makes it suitable for regions with heavy parasite challenges, and its more northern roots (i.e. the British influence) make it able to adapt to cold climates, such as Maine (where it was originated) or Canada.

The Katahdin Hair Sheep was developed with heavy culling of animals which did not meet the desired characteristics (see breed history above). The Dorper, in contrast, was imported to the U.S. at great expense directly from South Africa (much as the South African Boer Goat). Like the Boer Goat, many of the Dorper breed, which probably should have been culled as unable to adapt to the conditions (particularly parasites) of their new home, were instead retained in the breeding pool (because they were simply too expensive to send to the meat market). For the same reason, some Dorpers who did not shed out as well as they should have were often retained as breeders whereas the Katahdin registry required "coat inspection" for the first several years of their establishment. Coat ratings are still required for registration of percentage Katahdins.

The Barbados Blackbelly and St. Croix hair sheep, though displaying great hardiness, parasite resistance, and prolificacy, simply do not have the size and conformation required by the commercial sheep market though they may have a place in specialty markets.

The Wiltshire Horn is an ancient British shedding breed which was used somewhat in the development of the Katahdin. It was found that the Wiltshire influence decreased prolificacy and increased flightiness, thus their influence was selected back out by making horns or scurs undesirable for Katahdin breeding standards.

The Katahdin Hair Sheep International (KHSI) breeder organization and registry was incorporated in 1985. The Katahdin breed is one of less than a dozen breeds in which across-flock Expected Progeny Differences (EPD's) are being developed by the National Sheep Improvement Program. The KHSI is also developing EPD's for parasite resistance (a first!).

katahdins and parasite resistance

Katahdins are significantly tolerant of internal and external parasites and if managed carefully require only minimal parasite treatment. Haemonchus contortus (Barber pole worm) is prevalent in all tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions and is one of the more devastating internal parasites. This worm is very prolific, sucks blood, and may cause reduced milk production, diarrhea, weight loss, moderate to severe anemia, and death. Reports of anthelmintic (dewormer) resistance in H.contortus and other parasite species are now common with some farms reporting parasites that are resistant to all classes of dewormers. Resistance to dewormers accelerates when farmers deworm a whole flock at set intervals whether needed or not. A percentage of worms which are not killed at each treatment breed with each other until after a period of time the farmer has developed "super worms" which he is unable to kill even when using several dewormers at once. Use of FAMACHA (a method by which the producer checks the mucous membranes in the eye to judge anemia) and selective deworming of only those animals in trouble, will slow the development of resistant parasites on the farm. However, breeding for parasite resistance in the sheep themselves makes more sense to us at Chigger Ridge.

In the Journal of Animal Science in 2004 a study was published entitled: "Performance of hair sheep composite breeds: Resistance of lambs to Haemonchus contortus ". In this study Dorsets, Dorper crosses, Katahdins, and Barbados Blackbelly/St. Croix (HH) crosses were compared. The Katahdins and HH were significantly more resistant to parasite infection than Dorset and Dorper crossbreeds. Whether grazed on an infected pasture, or in a drylot and deliberately infected with parasites, the Katahdins and HH retained less worms and shed less worm eggs in their feces. Dorpers were not resistant to the worms but seemed to cope better with an infection of worms than Dorsets, i.e. showed less anemia. This is often termed parasite tolerant rather than parasite resistant. The Dorpers were however more anemic than the Katahdin and HH crosses given the same level of infection. The Dorpers and Dorsets were often passing more than twice the number of worm eggs as the Katahdins.

At Chigger Ridge we find the Katahdin a remarkable animal for parasite resistance and have even used them to "vacuum" our fields following Boer Goats. We perform our own fecal egg counts to determine how many Haemonchus eggs per gram of feces is in each of our sheep and cull those Katahdins which are less resistant. We also perform FAMACHA checks to cull those that show anemia and are thus less tolerant to Haemonchus infection.

KATAHDIN MEAT

Katahdin lambs produce a high quality, well-muscled carcass that is naturally lean and consistently offers a mild flavor. Studies from the University of Georgia in 2001, and in California and Mississippi indicate that hair sheep produce a lean meat with no "muttony" taste. At the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science a study was presented which found that chops from Dorper crosses, Katahdins, and hair sheep crosses were similar in tenderness, and all were somewhat more tender than chops from Dorset crosses. Katahdin lambs are desirable for specialty markets at a variety of ages and weights. Possible markets exist for "grass fed" meat consumers as the Katahdin can do very well on pasture alone, and organic meat growers with pasture rotation can use Katahdins due to their parasite resistance. Lambs are appropriate for conventional North American markets at 90 to 120 pounds. Every time we have taken our animals to a sale barn we have had numerous offers to buy them right out of the trailer!