For Quality Katahdin Sheep For Sale Kentucky Is Worth Visiting

By Joseph Davis


The start of the development process of Katahdin sheep was in 1950s. Michael Piel of Maine receives the credit for developing the breed. The initial development occurred on the Piel Farm, which had many thousands of sheep at the moment. Other breeders adopted the breed from Piel Farm, and today, its population in the United States keeps growing. Therefore, when in search for Katahdin sheep for sale Kentucky offers a good place to prioritize. Breeders in Kentucky are careful with their breeding practices so that they produce high-quality animals for sale. The breeders offer reasonable prices.

One factor motivated Piel into the development of the breed. Piel realized that other factors other than wool needed to be based upon when engaging in breed selection for meat. Wool breeds were after all not the best animals for meat production. Piel wanted to combine the good qualities he saw in wool breeds with those in Virgin Island sheep to produce a new breed.

Virgin Island sheep had the prolificacy, hair coat, and hardiness Piel was looking for. So, he combined these qualities with those found in wool breeds, which included fast rate of growth and conformation of meat. Piel kicked off the development by crossing British breeds, Suffolk in particular, with hair breeds.

The experimentation would go on for almost the next twenty years, involving breeding and selection of animals with the desired combination of traits. After these years, Piel was able to come up with a flock of ewes he named katahdins. The naming was done after Mount Katahdin in the state of Maine. To improve carcass quality and size of the animal, the Wiltshire Horn was introduced into the flock in the 1970s.

The population of katahdins countrywide and worldwide has been increased a lot from the original flock developed at the Piel Farm. The expansion is performed with careful selection for carcass quality, hair coat, and reproductive efficiency. The formation of KHSI was done in 1986. The purpose of KNSI was to register individual Katahdins, assist with marketing and promotion, encourage research and development towards betterment of the breed, and to record performance.

Registration of animals is only done after an inspection has been conducted to prove conformance with breed standards. Also, the animal must be one year of age and the breeder must also be a KNSI member. Only members of KNSI can request for inspection to have their animals registered. Animals lambed by 100 percent purebred parents usually do not need to be inspected if the parents were not born before 1/1/1998.

There are several qualities in katahdins that are way superior over those in other breeds. Compared to other breeds, this breed has been proven to be more resistant to parasitic attacks. Individual maintain good health and growth even in the face of parasitic attack. Similarly, the breed is more heat resistant.

Other qualities compared with other breeds are fertility factors, growth performance, prolificacy, meat flavor, out-of-season breeding, and carcass quality. The superior meat flavor of this breed makes it favorable to many people worldwide.




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