samedi 11 janvier 2014

When One Needs Katahdin Sheep Kentucky Should Be The Place To Go Searching

By Marissa Velazquez


When in necessity for Katahdin sheep Kentucky is an elegant place to check out first. Katahdin is a breed of domestic sheep crossbred in the late twentieth century in the US. The breeding was first performed by somebody referred to as Michael Piel around 1956. Piel imported a species of St. Croix sheep and crossbred them with numerous other breeds. After cross-breeding, he chose them according to their meat-type conformation, fertility, flocking instinct, and hair coat.

These species is liked by many farmers since it has many beneficial features. They are hardy, highly adaptable creatures that require minimum maintenance to survive. The meat is lean whereas the lamb crop is superior. They do not require shearing because they do not produce fleece. They are greatly adaptable as they were derived from the Caribbean, British Islands, and Maine as their place of origin.

During the cold seasons or in cold weather, they are known to develop a think winter coat. The coat persists during the entire cold season and sheds off when the weather starts warming up. The smooth hair enables them to tolerate and survive humidity and heat better. Their ability to tolerate external and internal parasites is very high and with proper maintenance, they only need minimal parasite treatment.

The hair coats vary among individuals. The coats may have one single color shade coating the full body or might have a mixture of various color shades mixed in diverse patterns and ways. The coats are formed of 2 layers, an exterior layer made of rough hair fibers and an under-coat formed of soft wooly fibers. Undercoats shed off gradually as warm season starts to come in.

Both the rams and ewes experience early puberty and undergo long productive lives. Mature ewes are observed to have twins or triplets and sometimes quadruplets. A carefully chosen flock produces a two hundred percent lamb crop. Males are aggressive breeders and they stay fertile for the entire year round. During first exposure to ewes, they can fertilize a whole flock in weeks. A well chosen ewe lambs the entire year without stopping.

A Katahdin ewe reveals strong protective mothering instincts and it does not need assistance during the lambing process. Newly born lambs are vigorous and alert even after a few minutes of birth. Both male and female can be used for crossbreeding purposes even though the first generation normally have wool fleece in most cases. Stable purebred characteristics such as shedding hair and ample milk normally start showing in the third generation.

This breed of sheep weighs great when in good health condition. Males can reach a weight of 180 to 250 pounds whilst females can weigh from 120 to 160 pounds. Lambs also weigh very high at birth with most twins having a mass of eight pounds. However, the weight may reduce if the mother gives birth to several lambs at ones.

When looking for elegant Katahdin sheep Kentucky is an advisable place to give first priority on a search. This is a nice species for any farmer since they can survive in almost any place. There docility renders them easy to deal with and the capability to give birth to several lambs is profitable.




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