Sunday, September 11, 2016

For Quality Katahdin Sheep For Sale Kentucky Is Worth Visiting

By Joseph Davis


The start of the development process of Katahdin sheep was in 1950s. Michael Piel of Maine receives the credit for developing the breed. The initial development occurred on the Piel Farm, which had many thousands of sheep at the moment. Other breeders adopted the breed from Piel Farm, and today, its population in the United States keeps growing. Therefore, when in search for Katahdin sheep for sale Kentucky offers a good place to prioritize. Breeders in Kentucky are careful with their breeding practices so that they produce high-quality animals for sale. The breeders offer reasonable prices.

Piel was motivated by one single factor to develop katahdins. Piel was of the opinion that sheep selection did not need to depend on wool only as the main determining factor. He proposed the use of other criteria in the selection of animals meant for meat, breeding, and other uses. The intention was to combine good qualities in Virgin Island sheep with those in wool breeds.

Virgin Island sheep possessed hardiness, prolificacy, and hair coat that Piel wanted. So, Piel set out to combine the characteristics in Virgin Island animals with the rate of growth and meat conformation of wool breeds. The experimentation began with crossing hair breeds and other British breeds, particularly Suffolk.

The experimentation continued for another twenty years and involved breeding and selecting animals that had the desired mixture of traits. Piel managed to produce a flock of ewes after all those years. He gave the name Katahdins to the flock, after mount Katahdin in Maine. In the 1970s, Wiltshire Horn was integrated into the flock for the purpose of improving size and the quality of the carcass.

From the original flock, breeders have managed to expand the number of Katahdins in the entire North American continent and worldwide. This is done with careful selection for reproductive efficiency, carcass quality, and hair coat. The KHSI was formed in 1986 for the purpose of registering individual Katahdins, record performance, assist with marketing and promotion, and to encourage research and development on the breed.

Registration of animals is only done after an inspection has been conducted to prove conformance with breed standards. Also, the animal must be one year of age and the breeder must also be a KNSI member. Only members of KNSI can request for inspection to have their animals registered. Animals lambed by 100 percent purebred parents usually do not need to be inspected if the parents were not born before 1/1/1998.

There are several qualities in katahdins that are way superior over those in other breeds. Compared to other breeds, this breed has been proven to be more resistant to parasitic attacks. Individual maintain good health and growth even in the face of parasitic attack. Similarly, the breed is more heat resistant.

Other qualities used in comparison include prolificacy, meat flavor, fertility factors, out-of-season breeding, carcass quality, and growth performance. The breed is celebrated worldwide for its superior meat quality and flavor.




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