RBR News | May 1, 2015

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Around the Ranch
There is so much new life on the Ranch at this time of the year. Aside from the thousands of new vegetable plants eagerly awaiting their chance to hit the ground, we’ve got newborn piglets, chicks, rabbit kits, and lambs. I personally am most excited about the new lambs and ewes that just came on to the property a few weeks ago. They are a unique breed called Katahdin Hair Sheep.

Hair sheep like the Katahdin naturally shed their hair as Spring temperatures warm up, eliminating the need for shearing. With the high cost of shearing and the low prices of wool, hair sheep have become very popular in the last few years. In addition, Katahdins do not produce as much lanolin as wool sheep, thus their meat is less greasy which is yet another benefit to the breed. We raise sheep for meat, not wool, so this breed is perfect for the Ranch.

The Katahdin breed was developed in Maine by a farmer named Michael Piel, who in 1957, had three African Hair Sheep imported from St. Croix to Maine. He began breeding these rams with all sorts of sheep from Cheviots to Suffolk—looking for a docile meat sheep that did not require shearing, could lamb easily, and would thrive on pasture. 60 years down the road the ewes are getting used to their new home at Rock Bottom Ranch! We look forward to continuing to grow our own Katahdin flock and perpetuate the breed as a whole. So far, I’m hooked!