Katahdin Sheep will put Lamb back on the Menu
Katahdin Sheep do not require shearing. They grow a thick winter coat and shed it in the spring. It is of no commercial use. The udder, belly and legs are free of wool and stay clean. The tails are
left on breeding stock and add protection in the freezing cold winds of winter.
The Katahdin is a unique breed of sheep developed to efficiently and economically produce meat. In the 1950's, A Michael Piel of Maine saw a need for a hardy meat sheep which would not require shearing. To achieve this end, Piel imported a small number of Virgin Island sheep to cross with some of his existing flock of traditional sheep. His goal was to combine the hardiness, prolificacy and shedding hair coat of the Virgin Island sheep with the carcass conformation and growth rate of the British breeds. After 20 years of cross-breeding, Piel eventually assembled a flock he called Katahdin (pronounced Ka-TAH-din) named after Mt. Katahdin in Maine.
Mature ewes can weigh on average 170 pounds in the late fall. However, regard must also be given to lighter but extremely productive ewes. Lambing is 200% plus. Ewes with triplets are fed separately but most manage to raise the 3 lambs if of an equal size. Winter lambs have access to creep feed at an early age.
Exercise, good alfalfa hay and barley last month of pregnancy, very comprehensive salt and mineral mix and clean fresh water all make for good health and few losses. We have pasture for about 4-5 months and the browsing and walking is good for breeding stock young or old.
Although sheep are often regarded as lawnmowers, and dry ewes can be used to clean up a rough area, a ewe carrying twins or better needs a good quality short legume mix hay. We use whole barley grain. It is easier to supplement the diet of sheep with commercial pellets, soya meal, canola meal and alfalfa pellets. Our rations vary but we do not feed supplements with antibiotics. It is now illegal to feed ruminants any type of meat or by-product so feeding guard dogs needs careful planning for their biscuit ration placement.
Given a sheltered barn and deep straw, even at -20c the Katahdin lamb is up and nursing within
minutes of being born.
Glanvac-6 and 8-way vaccinations are used for protection. Antibiotics are not used on a regular basis. The Katahdin sheep flock practices Farm Food Safety methods which means raising safe, chemical and residue free, healthy food for our tables. Particular attention is paid to vaccination sites, no broken needles and only using products approved for sheep and observing slaughter withholding times. The emphasis is on raising animals in as natural and safe an environment as possible.
Two livestock guardian dogs, two alpacas and one llama take guarding the sheep seriously. They do a wonderful job of allowing us to live with the predator residents of the surrounding country-side e.g. coyotes, wolves, foxes, bear and cougar.
Breeding ewe lambs are selected from ewes that qualify as replacement stock breeders. Keeping records is extremely important for this as is weighing lambs. Having an excellent meat market takes care of the majority of lambs produced. Since Katahdins can be classed as both a maternal and terminal breed, the qualities of both need to be addressed.
An interesting note in 2004 is that since retaining ewes from those that could do well during the drought conditions, when the rains finally arrived last year I had some very well conditioned ewes at breeding time. Lambing in January 2005 saw a third of the flock producing triplets. The summer conditions play a big part in next years lamb production.
Smaller at birth than more traditional lambs, they grow fast on the high producing, rich milk of their dams. Newborn lambs are noted for vigour and survivor type traits. It is truly amazing to see them at only a few days old jumping and leaping around the yard full of life and tummy.
Scrapie Genotyping - It has been determined that with genotyping you
may be able to eliminate the susceptible DNA lines in your flock and build up to
a "resistant" line for scrapie. Scrapie is the TSE that sheep get.
Bovine's have BSE and deer and elk CWD. That there has been no recorded
case in history of a human getting scrapie from a sheep is not important what
is, is the necessity to eliminate scrapie in the sheep and our minds. To
this end several programs are available. Franklyn Farm has submitted heads
to be tested and genotyped most of the flock. The sheep are about half -
resistant, quarter - highly resistant, and quarter - intermediate. None
are in the susceptible lines. The heads have proven negative and needless
to say no signs of scrapie have ever been seen in this flock. There is
little scrapie if any in Alberta. It is not in our plans to eliminate
everything but the highly resistant lines as they are not always the most
productive and also there is evidence coming to light that this is not a route
that guarantees they will never get it if exposed to it. In short we still
do not know enough about the TSE's. They are developing more reliable live
animal testing and in time maybe we will see a vaccine. The internet has
loads of information on this topic which like many other scary scenarios we are
faced with everyday it seems, you need to be informed but not paranoid. It
has probably become a political issue rather than any threat to our food supply.
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Mail to: Lynette Kreddig
Box 486, Mayerthorpe,
Alberta, T0E 1N0 Canada
Phone/Fax: 780-786-4754
Email: Lynette Kreddig