If you want to keep sheep but you do n’t need to deal out withwool , think tomentum sheep . shepherd are clump to hair sheep for many reason , and not only because they need n’t be shorn .
Other advantages of whisker - sheep breed admit their increased heat tolerance , sponger and hoof - hogwash resistance , increased lamb percentages , and outstanding mothering ability with above - ordinary Milk River production . They are fine foragers , and they spawn class - pear-shaped . in effect of all , there ’s an raiment of attractive hair - sheep breeds to choose from , including heritage breeds like the sleek St. Croix sheep and ancient Wiltshire Horn sheep and the readily availableKatahdinsheep and Dorper sheep — two of the quickest - originate sheep breed in North America .
accord to Dr. Charles E. Parker in “ U.S. Sheep Inventory 2006 : Some Hair Raising Statistics , ” between 2000 and 2005 , hair - sheep strain registrations increase by 83.5 percent , while all other breeds combined declined by 14 percentage . Dorpers and Katahdins alone accounted for 15.6 pct of total sheep - strain enrollment . Hair - sheep production , he adds , represents the only continuous growth segment in the U.S. sheep diligence for 18 years .
Hair Sheep 101
pilus sheep fall into one of two class : unimproved ( genuine hair sheep ) or improved ( shedding ) stock . True hair sheep are sheep as nature intended them to be . The ancestors of today ’s sheep were wild Mouflons domesticated in Asia ’s Fertile Crescent more than 8,000 years ago ( though an unknown ancestor play its part , as well ) . They , like former domestic sheep , were clothed with hair , not wool . They grew woolly wintertime underseal to last out lovesome .
human beings , however , selectively bred the sheep for wooliness to the degree that by 3000 B.C. , wool sheep were observable in part of the ancient mankind . As woolly sheep acquire , their hindquarters grew longer and woollier , requiringdocking(shortening ) for hygienical cause ; rams lose their impressive manes of hair and , in many woolen breeds , their car horn .
Some types evolved in part of the world where heat and humidness made woollen coats impractical , such as sultry West Africa and , later , the Caribbean . They kept the hair , manes , horns and short tails of their wild ancestors , and from them come out breeds like today’sBarbados Blackbellyand St. Croix .
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During the mid- to late-20th one C , wise sheep developers crossed reliable hair sheep with wool sheep to create larger , meatier , faster - maturing , shedding breeds like Dorpers and Katahdins . These sheep grow woolly winter coats but shed them by June or July .
At the same fourth dimension , ranchers bred European Mouflons to an assortment of horned fleece strain , includingRambouillet , Merino , Navajo - ChurroandJacob sheep , to create an array of horned hair sheep breed like Barbados , Texas Dalls , Black Hawaiians and Painted Desert sheep . Primarily used for trophy William Holman Hunt , these sheep breed are also a rich source of mild - tasting Elia , walk out hair - on pelts and massive horns of great dish .
Hair sheep are , first and first , meat sheep . Ideally become to lowly - input signal production organisation , hair sheep Elia yield lean , delicate - flavored meat with none of the “ muttony ” flavor . Because their tails need n’t be docked and many manufacturer choose not tocastratemale lamb , they are favorite with Halal ( Muslim food market ) purchaser who tend to favor unmarred ram lambs tipping the scale at 60 to 90 pounds live weight . Parasite immunity equate with reduce use of deworming agents , making hair sheep pet with organic and grassfed lamb manufacturer , as well .
Dana/Flickr
Another possible marketplace live for hair - sheep leather . Free of the blemishes because of the wool follicles in everyday sheepskin , hair - sheep leather is soft , strong and pliable and in such high need that American leather companies spell some 1 million hair - sheep hides each year . ship’s company manufacturing product for the United States Department of Defense alone significance about 250,000 sensitive hides per annum to produce portions of gloves , fighter - pilot helmet and seat upholstery . American whisker - sheep producers could rather furnish that indigence .
And thanks to a propensity to browse skunk and woody pasturage as well as graze grass , beautiful , easy - maintenance hair sheep are among the finest organic lawn lawn mower .
Although complete reporting of every hair - sheep breed in North America is beyond the scope of this article , here are some basic principle to quicken your appetite , establish on each strain ’s several registry .
Barbados Blackbelly and American Blackbelly
In 1904 , the United States Department of Agriculture imported four yearlingBarbados Blackbellyewes and one Aries from Barbados . It was the only official importation from Barbados ; although , extra signification may have followed , include one as recent as the 1970s .
The Barbados Blackbelly is listed as recover on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’sConservation Priority List . Barbados Blackbellies registered with the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International are never horn ; modest , loose scurs ( rudimentary horn - like growths on the tegument ) are , however , allowed in Ram .
American Blackbelly sheep are an imposingly tusk breed register by the BBSAI , create by compound Barbados Blackbelly , Mouflon and horn wool - sheep genetics . Both horned and canvass Blackbelly rams and polled Ewe can be registered with the North American Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Registry Barbados and American Blackbellies are true tomentum sheep .
They come in gloss ranging from the palest greyish brown to productive sepia red ink with pitch-black under parts and facial grading . Ewes librate 75 to 95 pounds ; rams average 110 to 140 Ezra Pound . They are alert , refined , deer - like animals and fairly energetic . Both breeds farm lean , fine - textured gourmet lamb and are dearie with herding - dog trainers . Ewes are extremely fecund , average twins ( or better ) each year .
St. Croix and St. Thomas Sheep
St. Croix sheep are a polled , pure - white , truthful whisker - sheep stock originating on the Caribbean island of St. Croix , where they were possibly germinate through scotch West African hair sheep with British Wiltshire Horns . In the 1960s , Michael Piel of Maine spell “ African Hair Sheep ” ( St. Croix ) to expend in developing Katahdin sheep . In 1975 , Dr. Warren Foote of Utah State University imported three random memory and 22 spawn ewes ; this importing provided the foundation for today ’s St. Croix stock .
They are medium - sized animate being , with ewes weighing about 150 pounds and Aries in the 200 - pound range . These sheep show distinguish parasite resistance and fly high in hot , humid conditions , though they conform to northern mood , as well . They are note for productivity and are less reactive than some other hair - sheep breeds .
St. Croix sheep are list as peril on the ALBC Conservation Priority List . The breed is also called the Virgin Island White . St. Thomas sheep are colourize sheep of the same breed . Dana / Flickr
Mouflon, Corsican, Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian, Desert Sand and Painted Desert Sheep
These are powerfully horned trophy , meat and ornamental hairsbreadth - sheep breeds register by the United Horned Hair Sheep Association . They were created by blending European Mouflon , Barbados Blackbelly and fleece - stock genetics and differ mainly in coloration .
Mouflons are royal and deer - like in looks and nature . They condescend all or in part from European Mouflons and have striped faces , white-hot tail darn and underbellies , and body coat ranging in color from greyish brown to mahogany . Rams explicate long , benighted manes and white saddle patches on their side in wintertime . Their derriere are 4 inches or less in length ; this is a requirement for registration . Another distinguishing lineament is the Mouflon Aries ’s enormous , sum - shaped , arching horn . Mouflons are smaller than the other breeds this organization recognizes : Rams stand 27 to 35 inches tall and count 90 to 120 pound . Ewe can be polled or horned and are smaller than rams , up to 30 column inch tall and weighing around 77 pounds .
Corsicans have substantial - dark or Wisconsinite - striped faces and come in nicety of fawn to mahogany in a mixture of traffic pattern , include blackbelly , lightbelly , Ovis musimon and solids . Like the other breed registered by this organization , Corsican tup have mane they may or may not disgorge during the summertime months , and two to four heavy , strong horns . Ewes of these breeds may be tusk or pollard and matter from 60 to 150 pounds ; rams are heavier at 75 to 200 Egyptian pound .
Texas Dalls are slim , athletic sheep with snowy - blank coating and blank hooves and horns . Black Hawaiians may appear to be their opposite : coal Negroid with black hooves and horns . Both breeds count in at an average of 70 to 100 pounds for ewe and 100 pounds for rams .
Desert Sand sheep reach in chromaticity from light champagne to loose atomic number 29 , some with lighter - colored faces , leg and bellies ; hoof and horn are cream or unclouded Brown University . They are sometimes name Red Dalls or Champagne Dalls . Ewe are an norm of 70 to 100 pounds , and rams average out 100 pounds .
paint Deserts are beautifully spotted sheep in two or three and sometimes four to six discrete colour , one of which must always be livid . Horns and hooves can be white , black or striped . Ewes have an average exercising weight of 65 to 85 pounds , and rams have an average weight of 75 to 100 pounds . These beautiful sheep are also registered by the Painted Desert Sheep Society .
Katahdin Sheep
In 1957 , noted sheepman Michael Piel of Maine imported a group of “ African Hair Sheep ” from St. Croix to his farm in north - central Maine . With them , he hop to develop a hardy , fertile , fleece - less breed of sheep , and at this , he was uncommonly successful . He crossed his original imports with each other and an raiment of wool breeds , include Tunis , Southdowns , Hampshires and Suffolks , later tally Wiltshire Horn hairsbreadth sheep and additional wool - breed genetics , then selecting for hair coating , meat - case conformation , high fertility and constellate inherent aptitude . In the early 1970s , when he felt up he ’d come near to achieving his goal , he selected 120 ewe from his large flock and named them Katahdins after Mt. Katahdin , the gamy mountain peak in Maine .
The Katahdin sheep is listed as a Recovering inheritance breed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List . Katahdins are docile , medium - sized sheep ; ewes press 125 to 185 pound sterling , rams 180 to 250 pounds . They are shedders ; in cold weather , Katahdins grow a blockheaded wintertime coat that throw off spontaneously in late outpouring . They can be any substantial people of colour or colouration combination .
Dorper Sheep
commence in the 1930s , a grouping of South African sheepmen plant out to produce a breed of easy - care , shed sheep capable of thriving in South Africa ’s coarse , arid climate while still make alright - grain , lush center . Parent stock admit ultra - unfearing , fat - tailed Blackhead Persian hair sheep and wool - bearing British Dorset Horns . They fill in their workplace in 1946 and established the South African Dorper Breeders ’ Association in 1950 . Today , the Dorper is one of America ’s quickest - growing breeds and , numerically , the secondly large breed in South Africa , with great population in South America , the British Isles , Australia and New Zealand , as well .
Dorpers are read in two freestanding herd account book as White Dorpers ( all - clean ) or as Dorpers ( clean sheep with ember - black foreland ) . They are long , strong , square - built sheep . Mature Aries weigh in the region of 230 pounds , while ewes range from 180 to 210 pounds . Dorpers are docile and adjust well to a wide range of climates ; they are also widely used in crossbreeding programs with the other hair’s-breadth sheep stock to supercharge the growth rate and carcass character of market place lambs . Twinning is rough-cut for Dorper sheep .
Wiltshire Horn Sheep
Wiltshire Horns are an ancient British sloughing breed developed on the chalk - based down of Wiltshire . By the commencement of the nineteenth C , there were 700,000 Wiltshire Horns in Wiltshire County alone . Like many inheritance breeds , the Wiltshire Horn eventually fell out of favor and was all but extinct 100 years ago . Today , it ’s listed as a retrieve breed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List . ( The ALBC also hold a North American registry for Wiltshire Horns . ) Due to its rich background , Wiltshire Horns are among the rarefied breeds fire at Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth , Mass.
Both sexes are strongly tusk . Wiltshire Horns are unagitated , meaty , snowy sheep that grow a coarse , self - moult , woolly-haired wintertime coat ; rams sometimes grow a ness of longer fiber on their chest . They are productive ( twins are coarse ) and noted for their ease of lamb . Rams can weigh more than 270 pound and ewes more than 150 pound sterling .
If you ’re consider of raising sheep , hair sheep are the productive , gentle - fear sheep for today ’s small farm . With so many breed available , there ’s hold to be one — or more — that will fit your small - farm situation .
This article first appeared in the May / June 2010 Hobby Farms .
