Katahdin Hair Sheep ~ Our Goals

Quality Registered Katahdin Breed Stock
Parasite Resistance
Scrapie Resistance (RR & QR at Codon 171)
Efficient Foragers
Community Grown Food for the Small Family
Pasture and Grain-Fed Lamb Meat
No Antibiotics; No Processed Foods

We aim to produce high quality healthy sheep for breed stock. The sheep and lambs that we decide do not meet the standards for breed registration will be sold for the dinner table. For those of you interested in stock dog training, we also supply "dog broke" lambs and yearlings. Our sheep are raised on pasture, hay and grain. We are enrolled in the USDA Voluntary Scrapies Program and we are member of KHSI and MSBA. This year we will be entering the NSIP Program. If you decide to purchase one of our young moderately sized lambs for the freezer we want our customers to be confident they are getting food of the highest quality, meat that is lean, mild, delicious, and free of antibiotics, raised, and processed humanely. We like to think of ourselves as supplying food for the small family where quality is the value. If you are thinking about purchasing one of our registered ewes or rams be assured you will be buying an animal that will meet our high standards and guidelines for breed characteristics. It will be an asset to your breeding program.

Katahdin Sheep History

Katahdin Sheep were developed by Michael Piel of Abbot Maine in the 1950's. He was serious amateur geneticist who stepped up to the challenge of developing a single purpose breed of sheep that was of medium size, heavy-muscled, good for meat, tolerant of harsh weather conditions, parasite resistant, vigorous, did not require shearing.

Initially Piel introduced the St. Croix Hair Sheep into his flock of Southdown, Tunis, Hampshire, Suffolk, Cheviots and a few others. In the results of the breeding he was looking for lambs of good conformation, size, meat type, hair coat, flocking instinct, and high fertility. The most promising off spring were selected to continue the program.

For a brief time the Wiltshire Horn was introduced into his breeding program. This increased bone density and size however it also introduced a flightier temperament and horns. After Michael Piel's death in 1976 his work was carried on and the influence of the Wiltshire Horn was decreased by careful selection.

The Katahdin are known for being highly tolerant of extreme temperature conditions, from the tropics of Guatemala to sub-zero temperatures of Northern Canada.

Why Katahdins?

Hardy: They shed their thick winter coat in the spring.
Adaptable: Tolerant of high and low temperatures, dry or humid climates.
Relatively resistant to internal parasites.
Low maintenance.
Ideal for grass/forage-based farmland.
Strong flock instinct (good for stock dog training).
Small to Medium Size ruminant: Ewe 120 -- 160 lbs, Rams 180 to 225 lbs.
Good Mothering instinct: they rarely reject their lambs.
Easy lambing -- mature ewes usually produce twins and occasionally triplets.
Lambs mature early.
Meat is lean with a mild flavor.