Though size and time to mature are not the Blackbellys strongest points, there are many advantages to raising this hardy breed of sheep. Future importations to university breeding flocks led to the development of the American Blackbelly sheep breed. Our spring lambs require 4-5 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of gain. The reproductive rate of true hair sheep is excellent. Sheep will eat woody vegetation but prefer grass and weeds on the ground. Katahdin meat tends to be leaner than many other breeds. What is the point of getting hairsheep when you end up shearing them? The breed has a thick, well muscled carcass and extended period of fertility. Our flock is managed through pasture rotation from April until late December. we find dorpers a great sheep to raise and to eat.. had ribs tonight and use the grease on the dry dog food.. dogs love it.. They are also well suited to survive in the arid extensive regions of South Africa. Dorsets commonly produce twins and even triplets. Our spring lambs on pasture alone (17-20 percent protein and 65-72percentdigestible organic matter-DOM) will average 55-60 pounds. Weight Gain/Daily: 0.4 lbs daily with good nutrition. Looking forward to reply. Dorpers Our goal is to develop a flock of productive, easy-care sheep that are scrapie resistant, require no shearing and that reach market specs on grass. Twice a year my friend with Polypays shows up at work doubled over as he shuffles around in pain. The bodybuilder of the sheep world, the Texel sheep is known for its heavily-muscled and sturdy frame. There is no such thing as an ideal breed. The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep.The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of the country. mantap ! They also benefit from a long productive life, giving you maximum bang for your buck. The second reason I chose Dorper over St. Croix is desirability. You can check my blog at Merino sheep for sale. LMAO!!!! The Katahdin is another great dual-purpose breed, producing on average 210 liters of milk per 210 day cycle. Thirty percent of the ewes were first-time lambers, having an average of 1.2 lambs/ewe. Good luck! The saving grace are our Dorpers. They will stand on their hind feet like goats to strip any low hanging limbs of their leaves. Dorper sheep have a distinctive appearance: black heads and white bodies. Lambing Interval:It ranges from 6 to 8 months. In 2001, my friend with Polypay paid $2 to shear $.50 worth of wool per animal. You can also use them for multiple income streams thanks to their excellent meat and milk production. I had on occasion lambs butchered that exceeded 110 pounds. They are seasonal breeders, conceiving in the Fall and Winter. The Kasteel White Dorper Stud farm lies in an arid area of the Republic of South Africa, called the Great Karoo. Id recommend getting in touch with the author of this article- he might have some good insight for you. No wool to deal with makes perfect economic sense. Updated: Monday, February 06, 2023 02:46 PM. Wondering What to Feed Sheep? Typically, the 75 percent Dorper crosses will exhibit the Dorper coloration and conformation. When the weathers hot and the pastures are dry, their wool animals will be under a tree while the hair animals are out grazing. (A friend with Polypay and Katahdin sheep has had the same experience. marina@mgdorpers.com. In our city the sheep are raised very much because the grass is still fertile, Kita wajib menjaga kesuburan tanaman agar domba bisa makan dengan cukup dan bisa berkembang biak dengan baik oleh peternak, In addition to the delicious meat, lamb can also be made of skin for a high-value jacket material, Dorper Sheep: Truths and Myths Tempat jasa sablon kaos murah Kaos sablon Bandung Pusat tempat Pembuatan Kaos sablon Baju Distro di Bandung Konveksi Buat Kaos Kelas Reuni Polo Bandung kawasan Jakarta pusat Berkualitas cetak Screen Printing sablon Digital Custom manual Rubber Plastisol komunitas Reuni Jaket satuan grosiran Kemeja ~ Alamat Tempat Sablon Kaos. Docking tails is unnecessary, although you still see some old timers that dock just because they always have. The ability of this breed to put grass into weight gain is remarkable. As mentioned earlier, hair sheep breeds are considerably more heat-tolerant than wool breeds. I'd go with Dorper ram on Katahdin ewes. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 120 - 160, Ram = 180 250. Consider the pros and cons featured above before making your decision. Despite its origins in a cold northern climate, the Katahdin is remarkably well-suited to warm weather living. The breed was created by crossing Dorset and Blackheaded Persian sheep. There are many great options for meat-producing sheep. Hairbreeds have many positive traits that make them an ideal animal for small farms, homesteads, and of course, larger commercial farms. Request PDF | Signatures of selection in sheep and goats infected with Haemonchus contortus | Host genetic variation for resistance to Haemonchus contortus allows selective breeding of animals for . Breed utilization for meat production in sheep. Although they are one of the newest sheep breeds introduced in America, Katahdin sheep have quickly become a popular choice. They do produce wool, and will need regular shearing. Weve found that while genetics play an important role in weight gains, flock management, parasite control, forage quality and forage availability seem to be more important when it comes to the bottom line. Despite being a hairsheep, White Dorpers do not lack winter hardiness Photographer: Ulf Kintzel. So, what about littering the pasture with wool? Fact: Eight or ten years ago you could expect a 5-10 cents/pound discount for hair animals. This breed tolerates both heat and cold making them a good choice for most climates. Selling Price: $325.00 / Head. For example, we consider time spent worming, shearing, docking and trimming hooves as merely maintaining an operation. What You Need To Know, link to Goats vs Sheep: Profit, Care & Behavioral Differences, Best Sheep for Wool: Top 8 Sheep Breeds for Wool. This, alongside their easy-going dietary needs, really cut down the cost of keeping them. Good set of ewes. (Allardt) "Spike" is a 3 year old ram. Like the Dorper, Dorset ewes are able to breed year-round and are not limited to a typical Fall/Winter breeding season. This means that, theoretically, a Dorper ewe can produce a lamb (or 2 or 3) every 8 months. While Dorper sheep are considered a hair breed, Ive found a large number have quite a bit of wool or curly fibers in their coat. About. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for the belly shaking laugh! Ewes with young lambs show protective behavior and may raise front feet to strike dogs and cats when confronted. Fencing. In general they have low maintenance requirements. I would love to get in touch with the author personally. They can provide you with information pertaining to regulations, health requirements and local export brokers. They grow quickly and reach market weight early. JavaScript is disabled. Coat & Color: Coat can be any color or color pattern. As we disperse all our crossbreeds, weve found the crossbred cull ewes with a wool coat have sold for 50-75percentof what comparable weight hair ewes bring. My question is, how much should he weigh. He is 8 months old. This may be due to the fact that wool can hide a lot of rib bones and other defects, while with a hair sheep what you see is what you get. Hi..I have a merino female sheep and I would like to know if its possible to cross it with male dorper sheep to get pregnant .. Do Dorpers only breed seasonally ? Suffolk ewes reach between 180-250 pounds, while rams can top out at 350 pounds. If there were a hair Hampshire or Suffolk that would do a better job, wed be raising them. Q. Ewes will weigh an average of 190 pounds, with rams reaching up to 300 pounds. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. This information may be used to compare breeds of hair sheep. This breed averages in maturity at around 175 220 pounds. It is also exceptionally low-maintenance. Dorper Sheep. In addition, shearing is not a requirement thereby reducing operational cost. I have seen many Dorper X Katahdins which are small and the only sign they have Dorper in them is the fact that they have black heads, if they had been crossed with a white Dorper, one would assume that there was no Dorper in there at all. Suffolk ewes have an excellent lambing rate of 180%, making them a solid choice for breeding. To learn more about how you can make money off of sheep, read my article What Do Sheep Produce? We are interested purchasing Katahdin sheep and found this article very helpful. Variance in RT in periods 3 and 4 ranked St. Croix < Dorper < Katahdin. My wife and I feel theres no best breed, but rather which breed best fits your operation. When it comes down to it, the choice of whether to add Dorper sheep or Katahdin sheep to your homestead is more about personal preference. At that weight the fat cover did indeed get too much. In South Africa, the Dorper is likewise most commonly found in arid and semi . Hope this helps! Interested in raising sheep for wool? These slaughter lambs sell comparable to pure Katahdin sheep per pound unless theyre full of cockleburs and briars. Grading up to Dorper. Dorper Sheep - Sheep Breed Series 22,946 views Mar 15, 2020 417 Dislike Share The Grass-fed Homestead 75.8K subscribers Shepherdess Tess talks about her Dorper sheep breeding program and how. Though not year-round breeders, Tunis often breed out of season, with the occasional lamb (or two) born in late Summer / Fall. An interesting study was done that showed the parasite resistance was higher in the purebred hair sheep over the crossbred shedding sheep. and, as such, the data are estimates. University of South Dakota research found it requires 250-300 pounds of dry matter forage to produce each pound of wool. How often do dorpers have breeding problems and we will then have to pull the lambs? Katahdins often breeding out of season. Katahdin sheep are one of several hair breeds, the most common of which includes Barbados Black Belly, St. Croix and Dorper sheep. The majority of ewe lambs are sold as registered breeding stock; the majority of ram lambs are sold for slaughter. Several myths still surround hair sheep. The hair sheep breeds lamb easily in the pasture and the lambs gain weight rapidly and develop to maturity quickly. In lambs, grain feeding versus grass-fed has a greater influence on flavor than the differences in breeds. The ewes are also heavy milkers with excellent maternal instincts. You are using an out of date browser. Baby Sheep: What a Baby Sheep is Called & Other Fun Facts. Unlike meat goats, hair sheep are resistant to many of the parasites shed by cattle. including sheepamong them an extra-special Dorper-Katahdin lamb named Mopple. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogoh:n dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogoh:n people, past and present, to these lands and waters. We have members from Mexico to Northern Canada and have exported to Ecuador, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, United Kingdom, Chile, and Central America. This breed was developed after 20 years of breeding and selection. Keep reading to learn more about the best sheep breeds for meat. Lambing %: Average lambing rate is between 150 and 250%. Lambs can also take a little longer to reach their market weight than some other breeds of sheep. The only things to consider include: The fact Katahdin sheep dont produce wool isnt necessarily a disadvantage. My customers are also distributors of various sizes who sell mainly at restaurants and their private customers. All Rights Reserved | Website by Maple Creative, God Save the Beef: Trials of Sustainable Farming in the UK . Mostly Katahdin hair ewes exposed to Dorper and Katahdin bucks. Hair sheep breeds simply shed their hair covering and fleecy undercoat when the weather warms. I have some St Croix and they are quite large. This matters up here as our point of having hair sheep is to eliminate useless shearing. Photo courtesy of: Dr. Stephan A. Wildeus. I would never go back to merinos & do not intend having cattle again, My dorper sheep have been lambing only male lambs..i do not know why there are no females being born9males so far..no females. Origin: This breed was developed or evolved on the Eastern Caribbean Island of Barbados. His father Barley ( in picture behind him) is a full blooded Dorper. They are best raised on pasture and finishing these breeds on feedlots can lead to less desirable meat products as the ethnic market prefers a leaner lamb. Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 70 -120, Ram = 110 140. Check out my article Best Sheep for Wool: Top 8 Sheep Breeds for Wool. Hairsheep breeds such as the Barbados Blackbelly and St.Croix are largely found in these tropical areas of the world. Originating in South Africa, these lovable and attractive sheep tend to come with a lot more pros than cons. However, they have been cross-bred with other breeds over the years to develop the modern breed we see today. But the dorpers always have say ten % that need shearing still. Environmental Adaptability: Withstand heat and cold well, and part of this adjustment to extremes is behavioral. I have a very small Dorper ewe, she is 7 months old but very small. Forty-six Dorper, 46 Katahdin, and 43 St. Croix female sheep from four regions of the USA were used to evaluate responses to high heat load index (HLI) conditions. There are three main reasons to raise hair sheep. As with any young growing animal, the weight gains of a Katahdin lamb increase as the protein and digestibility of the forage increases. Animals dont grow as fastbut dont need to with milder winters and longer growing season. my ewe with CL has had her first batch of lambs last month and she is a really good mother! Dorpersare known for their fast weight gains as lambs. If I took the chance and had her bred would she be able to carry her lamb/s? Market Weight/Live/Age: 80 110 lbs / 5.5 6 months. In this useful guide, youll discover the pros and cons of both Dorper and Katahdin sheep, alongside advice on choosing the best type for your farm or homestead. My friend used to manage a flock of purebreds of both breeds and crosses. Why Katahdin x Dorper Crosses. I think that we are asking for bloat. The breeds of hair sheep that are of importance in Florida include Katahdin, St. Croix, American Blackbelly, and Barbados Blackbelly. Katahdin sheep and Dorper are bred as meat sheep breeds. They reach sexual maturity early, and will remain fertile for a longer period of time than many other breeds. We have an 18-cell planned grazing system with 10,000 feet of electric fence and 5,000 feet of underground waterline on 35 acres. I saw that the author is from Central Missouri, which is where we live. Making Natural Clothing Dye From Vegetables. My friend also mentioned his Katahdin-Dorper lambs are much fatter when born than Polypays. We live in central NSW ( Australia ) our usual rainfall is 30 inchs, temp range from -7 deg to 45 deg C ( yes 115 F ) but over the past 3 years we have been experiencing a huge drought. The Barbados Blackbelly got its name because of the characteristic black belly on an otherwise red brown coat. let me know! We are currently using rams with high shedding scores, while culling heavily on production traits. They are attentive, protective, and make excellent mothers. Dorper Sheep vs. Katahdin Sheep. Sheep are one of the most versatile producers when it comes to livestock animals. He farms in the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. In conclusion, based on RT and RR, resilience to high HLI conditions ranked St. Croix > Katahdin > Dorper, with lowest . Nick. A Katahdin ewe will average between 140-180 pounds, while Dorper ewes will average 160-200 pounds. As hair sheep breeds become more popular, it will be important for breeders to ensure the future integrity of the breeds. Some breeders have been working on crosses between traditional wool meat breeds and hair sheep breeds. The Royal White produces more mea t than Katahdin sheep and Dorper sheep. Considered to be the 2nd most popular breed of sheep in the US, the Dorset sheep is another solid meat-producer. 3 year old Dorper Katahdin Ram. When I look out in the paddock it looks like hell on earth but at the same time beautiful. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. They were significantly more reasonably priced and for practical matters were the same. (Icelandic sheep grow a double coat.) Because of the wool, the Icelandic sheep do need to be sheared once to twice per year. Another goodproductfromhair sheep is leather. Relative resistance of Dorper crossbred ewes to gastrointestinal nematode infection compared with St. Croix and Katahdin ewes in the southeastern United States. The entire belly is black including areas between the legs, nose and forehead. While I cant speak for other hair sheep breeds, Katahdin sheep are often more flighty than many other breeds: Several producers of both hair and wool animals have found coyote losses are considerably lower with Katahdins. Dorper-sired. The Dorper grows more wool but self-sheds annually. Rams generally have horns. Katahdins are awesome and productive mothers plus they are a very hardy breed and the Dorper will put more size on the meat sheep. Crossbred individuals tend to be more vigorous, more fertile . Mature Weight (Lb): Ewe = 130 140 (Average is 136), Ram = 170 - 200. Sales of sheep meat and sheep breeding stock are on the rise in the United States and Canada. Thirdly how long after separation to market. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The coat is a mixture of hair and wool and will shed from animal in late spring/early summer. They are excellent mothers. 109:265-275. Crossing these breeds with woolen breeds for efficient meat production does hold some potential. Our paddocks are grazed for 5-7 days followed by 25-34 days of . Bred to produce less back fat, their meat is lean and flavorful. Hair sheep breeds are growing in popularity as consumers look for economical ways to raise homestead meat animals. In addition, there is almost no incidence of flystrike with hair sheep breeds. for info and videos along with books and much more! Three ewes needed assistance lambing (one got it, the other two didnt and lost their lambs), one of which was 8 years old. However, as the challenge escalated, parasite resistance was greatest in St. Croix lambs, followed by Katahdin and Dorper lambs. McKinney. "We liked their look," Ruby puts in. Any of the sheep breeds thats considered to be one of the true hair sheep breeds has an advantage in that cockleburs, briars, stick-tights and so forth dont become entangled. How do you decide which breed is right for your needs? Lambing %: Approximately 125%, exceeding 200% with subsequent lambing. Icelandic Sheep are excellent and reliable breeders, breeding seasonally in the Fall to Winter. You can find out more about lambing Dorper sheep through the American Dorper Sheep Breeders Society. I sell a lot of culled ewes as roasts, ground meat, stew meat and various sausages. Materials and methods Some of the ancestors of these breeds originated in Africa and were brought to the Caribbean Islands, Central America and northern South America during the 18th and 19th century. If you have space to corral a few sheep, you can fill the freezer with a healthy alternative to beef and chicken. Instead, I get raving reports back and I never seem to have enough market lambs to make everyone happy.