We recently took a trip to the Seattle/Tacoma to explore some marketing options. We are new at this marketing game and were hesitant to invest heavily in growing our farm too fast if there really wasn’t a customer base to support the growth. So we sent out some feelers and were exploring some options. We were pleased and frightened by the intensely positive response.
Now we need to focus on growing the farm and our flock. I have been searching the web for Katahdin ewes for sale in our general vicinity. We don’t want to purchase anything too close to home as we are interested in diversifying our blood lines, but we don’t want to traverse the continent either.
There are several aspects to growing a flock that it is wise to heed. In our particular breed multiple birthing are quite common so a ewe that routinely has only one lamb is not so desirable. Good mothering habits- or rather an attentive mother is another important factor. Body confirmation on a farm such as ours is only important as far as it effects the quality and quantity of the meat. We have one ewe that has the strangest shape and wouldn’t be winning any beauty contests, but she has nice twins every year.
All this fuss about registered and full blood animals is beyond me. I’ve had some wonderful mutts in my life and those extra papers don’t enhance the flavor of the meat one bit. I am a bit picky about this when it comes to purchasing a ram though. I want to know how well he has performed in the past and what kind of blood line he comes from. If I choose a poor performing ewe I can easily cull her and all her offspring. If I choose a ram that is no good then my whole lamb crop is affected.
Some farmers like to have ewes that are all related so that they are able to track their genetics better. I say that is what a barn record and ewe logs are for. I am a meticulous record keeper when it comes to my sheep. They are my lively-hood and the more I know about their performance the better I am able to manage my farm.
Filed under: Katahdin, Ranch work, Sheep, Washington, breeding, farm | Tagged: confirmation, customer, ewe, flock, genetics, growth, mothering, ram, records, registered, twins
I live near Port Angeles and am just starting to raise Katahdins. I traded a pair of my wethers for a registered ewe out of Shelton to obtain an unrelated ewe. I have a nice ewe born in April I would like to trade for an unrelated young ewe. My sheep were originally from British Columbia.
If you are interested please advise.
Ted Schmidt
Hi Ted – We live on Orcas Island and looking for a Katahdin ram. I’m inquiring on behalf of the owner of the farm, Don Tompkins. Could you email me or call him at – 360 376-4266. Thanks – Phil
Are you looking for a ram for breeding registered blood lines, fair stock, or a meat herd? To be fair you can get a good ram that will cover all those qualities, though you may pay more than necessary. Our herd is largely unregistered through our own choice. We simply didn’t transfer the registrations as it wasn’t a priority for us. Fair animals tend to be of good confirmation, but not necessarily provide lean and tender meat. Meat animals, usually have good confirmation, but aren’t always registered and are often hybrids. Registered animals are not always of the best meat and confirmation as some breeders focus on one or two traits and often end up breeding out other desirables. Knowing your goals will help to choose the best ram for your needs.