 | | |
2009 RAMS ARE HERE! | ||||
 | ||||
| | | | |
Rams for sale: For 2009 we over wintered 105 ewes and planned to breed the top 20% to a Katahdin ram. (The other 80% of our ewes were to be bred to a "woolly" ram for our growing retail meat market.) Unfortunately, we did not separate our rams as early in July as we usually do, as we were in the middle of a severe heat wave and figured they would not breed. Of course, some of our best ewes did... As a consequence, this year we only have three 2009 ram lambs, and one 2008 yearling ram from last year available for sale as breeding stock. Our Sires: The ram we used this year for most of our 2009 crop, was "Packy" an RR from Mark Dennis - an excellent Katahdin breeder in Louisiana who has selected for years for faster growth and larger size animals. Photo of this ram at 9 months and as an adult are at the bottom of this page. He has a large frame, excellent muscling, is very hardy, parasite resistant, and as you can see in his statistics, displayed very good young rapid growth. This is the third breeding season for this ram and we have been very pleased with his offspring so far. We have two 2009 ram lambs out of this ram, and also a yearling ram from 2008 out of this ram which we had planned to save for our own replacement breeder (but have since decided we just don't really need another ram no matter how good he looks.) We also have one 2009 ram lamb from our other main breeding ram "Mic" who is a son of "Packy" and out of our all-time best producing ewe. Our Dams: Our ewe selection for breeding stock production is based primarily on the ewe's recorded prolificacy over her lifetime (and that of her daughters), her maternal ability, and a history of raising parasite resistant lambs. For a more in-depth description of our selection criteria please click here. Price and Selection Methods: We do not use rearing methods that can be deceptive to buyers. i.e. we do not "feedlot" our best rams so that they will look fat at sale, and then are a disappointment to the buyer when they are put out to pasture and expected to perform. We only deworm our lambs once, in their first year. If they need more than that, they are not sold as breeders and their mothers are moved to meat production only or culled out of the flock. Our adult Katahdins are only dewormed once a year, if needed. Last year only six of our adult Katahdins out of over 100 needed deworming at all. As you can see, we are selecting heavily for the parasite resistance that makes the Katahdin breed so valuable to those of us in the South. Our three available registered ram lambs are $400 and the yearling ram is $450. Yes, you can get cheaper rams from people who raise sheep primarily to train their border collies, or people with a small flock without much of a gene pool for selection. We are dedicated to raising quality Katahdin hair sheep for sale to other breeders who are looking for animals that will produce. We cull our flock constantly to improve genetics. Remember that a ram is HALF YOUR FLOCK'S GENETICS! We never buy from a sale barn where it is far too easy to bring in disease. We never take our sheep to dog trials, shows, or fairs. Our flock has been closed for five years except for the addition of two new rams for bloodline improvement from a well known and reputable breeder. We have NEVER had foot rot, abortion storms, or any other diagnosed communicable diseases. Our ram lambs were born in January of 2009. They will be ready for sale in April and May. As indicated above, we will only have 3 registered ram lambs and 1 yearling ram available this year, so you may want to contact us early if you are interested in obtaining a ram. | ||
| | |
 | ||||
ID#: COR 06-30 "Packy" Main 2009 Breeding Ram DOB: 02/05/06 Photo at 9 months | ||||
| | | | |
 | ||||
Photo of COR 06-30 "Packy" Taken 3/10/09 at three years old. | ||||
| | | | |
 | ||
| | |
e-mail: info@chiggerridge.net | ||
| | |
| ||
| | |
 | ||
| | |