Katahdin Sheep
Katahdin sheep are a unique breed whose characteristics make them ideal for homesteaders with little or no experience raising sheep. They are a fleece-less breed that grow hair instead of wool so they require no sheering. Katahdins put on hair in the late fall to keep warm through the winter, and then naturally shed the hair in the spring. They are a moderately-sized, sturdy breed that can survive in warm, cold, dry or humid climates and are able to meet almost all their dietary requirements through foraging so long as they have a reasonably healthy and diverse pasture. They also lack requirements for tail docking, crotching, or dehorning (they are naturally polled).
Katahdins are good mothers who lamb easily, and generally on their own, often having twins or even triplets. They have good flocking instincts and very docile personalities. We have found them to be very easy to raise and enjoyable to shepherd.
Katahdins are good mothers who lamb easily, and generally on their own, often having twins or even triplets. They have good flocking instincts and very docile personalities. We have found them to be very easy to raise and enjoyable to shepherd.
How Our Lambs Are Raised
Our lambs are born in the spring, kept with their mothers, and are raised on mother's milk and fresh pasture, self-weaning in the summer. They receive NO dewormers, antibiotics, or hormones. The only things we give them outside of fresh grass are lots of love, a vitamin E/selenium shot at birth (to correct a deficiency in our soil and protect from white muscle disease), and a periodic handful of grain or chopped apples near sales season to train them to come to us quietly. We sell the lambs live in early September.
Our breeding sheep are kept on rotating pastures with mixed grasses and legumes for 9-10 months of the year, depending on the weather and the pastures. In the winter they are fed hay, then a high quality hay with a small amount of grain supplement during very late pregnancy and early lactation.
Our breeding sheep are kept on rotating pastures with mixed grasses and legumes for 9-10 months of the year, depending on the weather and the pastures. In the winter they are fed hay, then a high quality hay with a small amount of grain supplement during very late pregnancy and early lactation.