What breed of hair sheep should we do?

[TAH]

We are looking to do hair sheep. We have a few breeds but am not sure witch one is best.

What we want from our sheep

Good weight gain
Possibly used for milking
Good mothers
Good parasite and hoof rot resistant
And can stand really cold weather

We have narrowed down to 3 breeds of sheep

St croix
Katahdin
and maybe Dorper if I can get a good report on them.

 

[mysunwolf]

Katahdin for sure...

St. Croix are too light bodied to produce a good sized market lamb.
Dorpers are not as parasite hardy.

Katahdins are amazing if you get some of the better genetics!

 

[TAH]

Katahdin for sure...

St. Croix are too light bodied to produce a good sized market lamb.
Dorpers are not as parasite hardy.

Katahdins are amazing if you get some of the better genetics!

Thank you Mysunwolf. What is the normal weight butcher weight?

 

[Bossroo]

In todays' day and age , without a hands down doubt the Dorper. Look them up by Googling Dorper sheep and go to the site dorper.org .

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I do shearing for local people and have a number of clients who have me out to shear dorpers. It might just be the local stock but if you go that route make sure to ask the breeder about how well their stock sheds out. They're all good tempered, meaty sheep with huge fat lambs on pasture though.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

If I were to get into sheep, I'd get Dorper and maybe Katahdin/Dorper x.

I don't think any breed is truly hoof rot resistant.

 

[TAH]

If I were to get into sheep, I'd get Dorper and maybe Katahdin/Dorper x.

I don't think any breed is truly hoof rot resistant.

I mean by hoof rot resistant is hardly ever gets it. But after you said that I got to thinking about it, any breed of sheep left with out it's hooves untrimmed for a long time is most likely going to have hoof rot. I am sure there are lines that are less likely to have it than others.

I had to Katahdin Dorper cross ewes and did not like them that much. And plus I would like to go purebred. It seems like there are more Katahdins up in Alaska so I think we are going to get Katahdins. If you have had any experiences with this breed and what you liked and didn't like about it feel free to tell me. I want to learn as much as possible.

 

[JACB Dorper]

We are looking to do hair sheep. We have a few breeds but am not sure witch one is best.

What we want from our sheep

Good weight gain
Possibly used for milking
Good mothers
Good parasite and hoof rot resistant
And can stand really cold weather

We have narrowed down to 3 breeds of sheep

St croix
Katahdin
and maybe Dorper if I can get a good report on them.

Heel low from the GREAT WHITE NORTH:

June 11, 2016
​

This was a few days ago...may as well be winter for the white eh!


I just went from registered Jacobs (started with them in 2003 and still got me four geriatric ones...12+ years young) to registered Dorpers and two Dorper/Katahdin ewe lambs (fur spots of colour, I loved the dotty dotted piebalds...still do!).

May 3, 2016​

Stats here, the flock has been in this area here for round abouts five years already (bin here over 20 years and our maximum temperature is like 39C/102F to as low as -50C/-63F) and these Dorpers have prospered and multiplied well.

2014​

​

Note that is a minus "-" sign in front of the 37.8 C....gets colder than that by far but that be one I clicked a pic of.

So in the Dorpers, you got GREAT weight gains...

This is Duro, she's exactly six months old in this click, born January 2, 2016...she is one honkin' BIG girl...that being a good, wanted thing in meat sheep.

She has since FULLY shedded out...and lookit that bone on her...now that be a GIRL Dorper, eh!

Decent milk supply (some of the Dorper ewes fed triplets on their own this spring) and great mothers!

Melissa the Momma and D'arcy the Baby...March babe, Melissa still lets her nurse​

Dorpers have hard hooves (jest like my Jacobs), obviously they thrive in cold climates like ours (snow EVERY month of the year...yup, two inches August 2001) and have excellent parasite resistance...

In fact I need to mention a bit more about the parasite resistance of the Dorper...their leather is a premium preferred skin...because the black headed Persian was used to make the dorPER sheep (Dorset Horned - DOR)...their hides are really thick and hard for biting insects to penetrate...hides are sought after for making specialty glove leather, but hey now, don't take my word on that...here's a site that explains it way better than moi!

http://capehidetraders.yolasite.com/products.php#!

Dorper Skins:

We also offer Dorper sheep skins. Dorper skins are regarded among the best in the world. It has no wrinkles and a smooth grain. It is used in the manufacture of high quality leather clothes and gloves.

These skins are a sought-after export product, and few Dorper skins are used locally in the leather industry. Pickled Dorper skins are mostly sold for export at good prices. The grain of the skin takes up half of the total thickness of the skin. Glands are not well developed in the grain, as the grain consists of a network of strong collagen fibers. This network of collagen fibres makes the leather exceptionally strong. Collagen is the material that forms the leather.

A sheep skin with a lot of hair closely resembles a goatskin. The fibers of a Dorperskin are delicate, but the skin structure is tighter and denser that that of goatskins or wool skins. The weave angle of Dorper skin fibers is flat – a feature that strengthens the leather further.

Because I have like 800 pounds of Jacob wool stored in my hay and straw barn...plus I am not the spring chook I once use to be...I wanted HAIR SHEEP that shedded out...I got to choose going for Katahdins or Dorpers and chose Dorpers. I guess I like the overall look of the Dorper structure wise. I know the Katahdins can come in all sorts of colours but the black head and white body has kinda charmed me.

I have wanted Dorpers ever since they were first imported to NA but the thousands of dollars they once were...made that just a mere fleeting thought. Now, they are much more reasonably priced and you can choose for ones that shed out thoroughly. From my research, I am starting to get the feeling that the more meaty commercial type Dorpers are the ones that don't completely shed out...but that could be a wrong theory I am forming. I have genetics from Australia and the US ... so not really an inbred flock and will be getting a ram not at all related to my current ewes. The flock is from the one you see on the TV program Heartland. I like to begin with unrelated and then close the flock up. Biosecure protocols in place here because we are a Conservation Farm that also raises lots of birdles.

I call this my view from my shoe...Aug 13 2015 - See that one pair of Black Aus Swans on the right? ​

Lookit the Mah and Pah and other siblings and make judgement on how well they shed off. You can always take your shears to what is the left of the attached wool/hair on their backs and clean them up. That one gal, Melissa, is on the huge shed and you can pluck out clumps of hair like a deers off her. I have a brush I gotta put out where they can access it (got vintage trucks fenced off where I put it in the ram pasture) that is meant for hair sheep to rub up on. Looks like a floor broom head but way more sturdy.

Good luck in your choices and I for one, would hunt hard and well for the cleanest animals you can possibly find. No OPP, Johnnes, CL or other such nasties like keds, lice, or foot rot. Try for clean beasties to begin with and that way you never get to have a really bad time with your sheeps.

Just let the fun times roll and never know the horrors you missed out on...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

Edit - to remove "/" on quote...still learning how tah post here...sorry...

 

[SheepGirl]

Out of the three, I would say get rid of the St. Croix -- they may be hardy, but are not commercially viable (fast growing, meaty). The two remaining are the Katahdin and the Dorper. Both have good weight gains and are reportedly good mothers, however Katahdins are touted as being more parasite resistant. Hoof rot is not a very common disease--my wool sheep have never had a case of it. Also, any stock purchased locally will be adapted to your climate for the most part, however, Katahdins were developed in Maine and Dorpers were developed in South Africa. If I were you, I would buy Katahdin ewes and cross them to a Dorper ram if you want the best of both worlds.

 

[TAH]

Out of the three, I would say get rid of the St. Croix -- they may be hardy, but are not commercially viable (fast growing, meaty). The two remaining are the Katahdin and the Dorper. Both have good weight gains and are reportedly good mothers, however Katahdins are touted as being more parasite resistant. Hoof rot is not a very common disease--my wool sheep have never had a case of it. Also, any stock purchased locally will be adapted to your climate for the most part, however, Katahdins were developed in Maine and Dorpers were developed in South Africa. If I were you, I would buy Katahdin ewes and cross them to a Dorper ram if you want the best of both worlds.

We were thinking of getting to rams so we may go head and get one katahdin and one dorper ram.