Friday, January 17, 2014

When There Is Need For Katahdin Sheep Kentucky Is Worth Checking Out

By Marissa Velazquez


When in necessity for Katahdin sheep Kentucky is an elegant place to check out first. Katahdin is a breed of domestic sheep crossbred in the late twentieth century in the US. The breeding was first performed by somebody referred to as Michael Piel around 1956. Piel imported a species of St. Croix sheep and crossbred them with numerous other breeds. After cross-breeding, he chose them according to their meat-type conformation, fertility, flocking instinct, and hair coat.

These species is liked by many farmers since it has many beneficial features. They are hardy, highly adaptable creatures that require minimum maintenance to survive. The meat is lean whereas the lamb crop is superior. They do not require shearing because they do not produce fleece. They are greatly adaptable as they were derived from the Caribbean, British Islands, and Maine as their place of origin.

During cold seasons or in chilly weather, they develop think winter coat. This coat persists during the whole cold season and only sheds off after the weather starts to warm up. The soft hair allows them to survive and tolerate humidity and warmth better. Their ability to withstand external and interior parasites is very great and with good maintenance, they only require minimal parasite treatment.

The hair coat differs among individuals of this strain. The coat might have a single color shade covering the entire body or may have a combination of various colors mixed in diverse ways and patterns. The coat is formed of two layers, an external layer formed of rough hair fiber and an undercoat made of soft wooly fibers. The under-coat sheds gradually as the warm season sets in.

Both rams and ewes undergo early puberty and they have long productive lives. Full-grown ewes normally give birth to twins, triplets, or quadruplets at times. Carefully chosen flocks produce two hundred percent lamb crops. Males are known for being aggressive breeders and stay fertile for a whole year long. During first exposure they fertilize flocks in weeks. Well chosen ewes lamb for the entire year with no stops.

A Katahdin ewe reveals strong protective mothering instincts and it does not need assistance during the lambing process. Newly born lambs are vigorous and alert even after a few minutes of birth. Both male and female can be used for crossbreeding purposes even though the first generation normally have wool fleece in most cases. Stable purebred characteristics such as shedding hair and ample milk normally start showing in the third generation.

This breed of sheep weighs great when in good health condition. Males can reach a weight of 180 to 250 pounds whilst females can weigh from 120 to 160 pounds. Lambs also weigh very high at birth with most twins having a mass of eight pounds. However, the weight may reduce if the mother gives birth to several lambs at ones.

When looking for elegant Katahdin sheep Kentucky is an advisable place to give first priority on a search. This is a nice species for any farmer since they can survive in almost any place. There docility renders them easy to deal with and the capability to give birth to several lambs is profitable.




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