Showing Katahdins. NEED HELP!

[kfacres]

Are you showing a breeding animal, market lamb or what?

"mylamb" is a decent resource for showing lambs and sheep.,.but bear in mind, it is geared more towards the traditional breeds and more towards market. There is a young lady on there "DownWithHair" who shows Kat's at some of the bigger shows..she might be a good resource for you.

mylamb is a waste of time and a joke none- the less...

I know downwithhair personally, she lives just south of me, and I've judged her and her sheep at a few shows here and there.

If you can wade thru the clubbie caca and politics..there is some information for a newbie on there..I was refered there when we started and got some good basic info...coupled with watching shows..either in person or youtube.

OP-some shows are "terminal", in the animal is sold after the sale. Others are non terminal..our county show is like this..we have a psuedo sale, because alot of our kids go to the bigger shows, which are terminal. (this is for market)

very few shows are terminal, and I'm willing to bet that 99% of Kat shows will not be terminal.

 

[TexasShepherdess]

Let me add, mylamb is geared more towards market wool breeds..not so much breeding and not so much hair's.
Is there a regional Katahdin club near you??

 

[boykin2010]

I am not sure what you mean by regional kat club. The KHSI is in Ohio of which I am a member. Is this what you are referring to TexasShepherdess?

I will have to find a local 4-H club... I will call around and find out something. Thank you all for the helpful advice you have given me.

 

[kfacres]

I am not sure what you mean by regional kat club. The KHSI is in Ohio of which I am a member. Is this what you are referring to TexasShepherdess?

I will have to find a local 4-H club... I will call around and find out something. Thank you all for the helpful advice you have given me.

some states have their own club, some counties have a club, and sometimes there might be something like Southern IL Suffolk club..

In your case, I would bet the state level might be as low as any such breed specific club would go.

Here is hte email to the girl as mentioned above. Her name is Sam, but I bet if you call her Sam Bo-- she'll know who sent you her way.
ffaponies@gmail.com

She will be a good person for you to socialize with, and I'm betting she's not far from your age maybe too??

 

[TexasShepherdess]

mylamb is a waste of time and a joke none- the less...

I know downwithhair personally, she lives just south of me, and I've judged her and her sheep at a few shows here and there.

If you can wade thru the clubbie caca and politics..there is some information for a newbie on there..I was refered there when we started and got some good basic info...coupled with watching shows..either in person or youtube.

OP-some shows are "terminal", in the animal is sold after the sale. Others are non terminal..our county show is like this..we have a psuedo sale, because alot of our kids go to the bigger shows, which are terminal. (this is for market)

very few shows are terminal, and I'm willing to bet that 99% of Kat shows will not be terminal.

San Angelo, San Antonio and Austin are all terminal for MARKET lambs..those are our "bigger" shows down here..where the kids take their market animals..hence why I said the bolded above.

Yes OP, sometimes regional clubs are good places to start networking. Good luck.

 

[kfacres]

If you can wade thru the clubbie caca and politics..there is some information for a newbie on there..I was refered there when we started and got some good basic info...coupled with watching shows..either in person or youtube.

OP-some shows are "terminal", in the animal is sold after the sale. Others are non terminal..our county show is like this..we have a psuedo sale, because alot of our kids go to the bigger shows, which are terminal. (this is for market)

very few shows are terminal, and I'm willing to bet that 99% of Kat shows will not be terminal.

San Angelo, San Antonio and Austin are all terminal for MARKET lambs..those are our "bigger" shows down here..where the kids take their market animals..hence why I said the bolded above.

Yes OP, sometimes regional clubs are good places to start networking. Good luck.

I realize the hair sheep deal is gaining popularity-- but how many true Kat lambs attend these shows? And I'm not talking about the F1 'wooled' "hairy" lambs...

 

[boykin2010]

I've never been to a show for Katahdins. Actually, I don't know of anyone in my Area with wooled sheep except for 1 person. Most are Katahdin, dorper, Barbados or a mix of the three. There is about 25 registered Katahdin breeders just in ga and the majority are in the south. I am excited and actually think there will be plenty of sheep being shown.

I was able to find someone local (the one person I knew with wooled sheep) that shows sheep and I am going to ask them to show me the ropes. I was also able to find a regional Katahdin club. I will join sometime soon... I never knew it existed. Khsi is the big organization because it has the members from all of North America. This is just a southern Katahdin breeders club.

I was wondering how exactly you choose the lamb you want to show? I am guessing you would want the big lambs with all the right characteristics. I only have 6 registered ewes now and the rest are mostly Katahdin but not purebred or registered. I would need to choose a lamb born from those 6 or buy from another breeder... For showing a ewe lamb I am not exactly sure what the judges look for. Obviously in the rams they are looking at meat and body mass.

 

[kfacres]

I've never been to a show for Katahdins. Actually, I don't know of anyone in my Area with wooled sheep except for 1 person. Most are Katahdin, dorper, Barbados or a mix of the three. There is about 25 registered Katahdin breeders just in ga and the majority are in the south. I am excited and actually think there will be plenty of sheep being shown.

I was able to find someone local (the one person I knew with wooled sheep) that shows sheep and I am going to ask them to show me the ropes. I was also able to find a regional Katahdin club. I will join sometime soon... I never knew it existed. Khsi is the big organization because it has the members from all of North America. This is just a southern Katahdin breeders club.

I was wondering how exactly you choose the lamb you want to show? I am guessing you would want the big lambs with all the right characteristics. I only have 6 registered ewes now and the rest are mostly Katahdin but not purebred or registered. I would need to choose a lamb born from those 6 or buy from another breeder... For showing a ewe lamb I am not exactly sure what the judges look for. Obviously in the rams they are looking at meat and body mass.

that's the point of going to shows-- to learn what wins..

Join a judging team, join a 4h club, and converse with existing breeders.. best way to figure out what is good to produce.

btw: if you have no idea what a 'good' sheep is, how do you make your breeding decisions on which to improve on and to decline on the negitives?

 

[boykin2010]

I just didn't know what the judges judged on. If it is how feminine a ewe is, the meat, the stance, etc. Would it be best for me to select a ewe lamb that is a single so that she is larger than a twin of triplet. The judges won't know anything about the genetics of the sheep. So really, I could be showing my worst lamb as far as genetics as long as she is large and feminine... I am just guessing...

I make my breeding decisions based on several things. I breed for parasite resistance, and prolific ewes that take care of their lambs while still producing good meaty lambs. I cull ewes if they aren't good mothers, don't produce enough lambs, size of the lambs, and how parasite resistant it is. Sometimes also based on the codon of the sheep. I prefer to only keep QR or RR. Most people buying the Katahdins really care about the codon even though I am not worried about it. Scrapie is very rare.

Let's say I somehow win a show with one of my ewe lambs. Does the win go on her papers or something? Could I advertise selling lambs from a show quality ewe???