Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Katahdin Hair Sheep
As many of you know the Lord blessed us abundantly with our animals. We were able to purchase a "farm" from another Christian family that is moving out of the state. They have cared for their animals with great love and have offered us so much wisdom on caring for our new farm friends! As a family we have enjoyed learning about each of our animals and the breeds we have. I thought I would share some of my "new knowledge" with all of you. 
All of our sheep are registered Katahdins. Katahdin hair sheep as a breed originated at the Piel Farm in north central Maine. Michael Piel's goal was to provide a quality meat sheep that didn't require sheering. He breed "African hair sheep" with meet sheep such as: Tunis, Southdown, Hampshire, and Suffolk. His search started in 1956 and by the 1970's he felt he had come close to reaching his goal and named the breed "Katahdin" after Mt. Katahdin in Maine. In 1975 he incorporated the Wiltshire Horn sheep with the Katahdins to improve their size. Katahdin's are white and have tan as well. Some people have continued "improving" on the breed and you will find some rare black Katahdin however, these are not from the original Piel farm, as they never introduced a black gene. Katahdins may or may not have horns or spurs. Ours do not have horns and we prefer to keep it that way so any born with horns would probably be eaten. Katahdins make wonderful meat lambs and are very easy to care for. We were afraid they would take too much work having heard of their "stupidity" yet, we have found that are sheep are quite alert and aware and have proven to be no hassle at all! I especially enjoy watching the sheep and spending time with them. I am pryaing about starting a herd that has been bottle fed so they will be like all my other animals and enjoy spending time in my presence as I do with them.
My little ones are needing my help with school now.. that is all for today and our "sheep sharing." Have a wonderful day dear friends!!!

All of our sheep are registered Katahdins. Katahdin hair sheep as a breed originated at the Piel Farm in north central Maine. Michael Piel's goal was to provide a quality meat sheep that didn't require sheering. He breed "African hair sheep" with meet sheep such as: Tunis, Southdown, Hampshire, and Suffolk. His search started in 1956 and by the 1970's he felt he had come close to reaching his goal and named the breed "Katahdin" after Mt. Katahdin in Maine. In 1975 he incorporated the Wiltshire Horn sheep with the Katahdins to improve their size. Katahdin's are white and have tan as well. Some people have continued "improving" on the breed and you will find some rare black Katahdin however, these are not from the original Piel farm, as they never introduced a black gene. Katahdins may or may not have horns or spurs. Ours do not have horns and we prefer to keep it that way so any born with horns would probably be eaten. Katahdins make wonderful meat lambs and are very easy to care for. We were afraid they would take too much work having heard of their "stupidity" yet, we have found that are sheep are quite alert and aware and have proven to be no hassle at all! I especially enjoy watching the sheep and spending time with them. I am pryaing about starting a herd that has been bottle fed so they will be like all my other animals and enjoy spending time in my presence as I do with them.
My little ones are needing my help with school now.. that is all for today and our "sheep sharing." Have a wonderful day dear friends!!!
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Comments
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - Neat Sheep
That's cool, so you don't have to sheer them, ever? Didn't know such a sheep existed. Thanks for sharing - Chris
Thursday, January 25, 2007 - Nice To Meet You!
Wow, that's great you could buy the farm and the animals too. We are slowly working up on our animals. We only have 2 1/2 ac. but I am praying for more - at least 10. I think we should have a 2 ac. garden!
Thank you for sharing on my blog!
Many Blessings!
-Jacque
Thank you for sharing on my blog!
Many Blessings!
-Jacque
Thursday, February 1, 2007 - Katahdins...
Hi, Just getting to know you with your blog. It is so fun to see all that is happening with everyone. We also have Katahdin Hair Sheep. We have enjoyed these sheep for almost 8 years now. I saw a picture of your lambs and I was just shaking my head... those aren't wool sheep! LOL... does she have katahdins? LOL. And you do... now how funny is that? Anyways, nice to meet you... We started lambing as well, unexpectedly. We planned for March, but we had a jumper that got a couple so now we have lambs and it is near zero degrees... We tried January once and said, never again... we'll wait for March... and it has always worked out so much nicer... and I remember why... January is just tooo cold! LOL.
Off to bed for me...
Warmly,~Melissa
Off to bed for me...
Warmly,~Melissa


Greetings!



