Katahdin sheep
{{Short description|American breed of sheep}}
{{Infobox sheep breed
| name =
| image = Katahdin1.png
| image_size =
| image_alt = a broken-coloured hornless ram with large testicles
| image_caption = A ram
| status = {{ubl|FAO (2007): not at risk{{r|barb|p=147}}|DAD-IS (2024): not at risk{{r|dad}}|Livestock Conservancy: not at risk{{r|tlc}}}}
| altname =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| country = United States
| distribution = {{ubl|44 American states{{r|dad}}|Canada|Caribbean|Central America|South America{{r|dad2}}}}
| standard =
| use = meat
| maleweight =
| femaleweight =
| maleheight =
| femaleheight =
| skincolor =
| type =
| haircolor = variable
| facecolor =
| horns = usually polled (hornless)
| note =
}}
File:Registered-katahdin-ewes.jpg
The Katahdin is a modern American breed of sheep. It is an easy-care sheep: it grows a hair coat with little wool which moults naturally in the spring, and so does not need to be shorn. It is reared for meat only.
It was developed by a breeder named Michael Piel in Maine, and is named for Mount Katahdin in that state. From about 1957 he cross-bred a small number of African Hair Sheep from the Virgin Islands with various meat breeds, principally the Suffolk.{{r|cabi|p=837}}
History
In 1957 a farmer named Michael Piel imported three African Hair Sheep{{efn|name= a}} – a ram and two ewes – from the island of Saint Croix in the Virgin Islands to his farm in Abbot, Maine.{{r|jan|p=153}} For almost twenty years he experimentally cross-bred them with sheep of a wide variety of breeds, among them the American Tunis, the Cheviot, the Hampshire Down, the Southdown, the Suffolk and other English Down breeds.{{r|cabi|p=837|sfj}} All but the Suffolk crosses were eventually discarded,{{r|cabi|p=837}} and a flock of about 120 breeding ewes was selected.{{r|jan|p=153}} In the 1970s he experimented with cross-breeding with the Wiltshire Horn, the only naturally-moulting English sheep; after his death in 1976, his widow took steps to breed out unwanted characteristics of this cross including the horns, the lower prolificacy and the reduced ease of handling.{{r|jan|p=153}}
A breed society, Katahdin Hair Sheep International, was formed in 1985, and a flock-book was started.{{r|jan|p=153}}
The Katahdin was formerly an endangered breed, included on the watchlist of the Livestock Conservancy; it was removed ("graduated") in 2013. In 2024 its conservation status was listed in DAD-IS as "not at risk";{{r|dad}} the world-wide population was estimated at {{val|13957}}, of which approximately 85% was in the United States.{{r|dad2}} The sheep were also present in Canada and in sixteen other countries, principally in the Caribbean, in Central America and in South America.{{r|dad2}}
Characteristics
The Katahdin is of medium size: the average weight for ewes is approximately {{cvt|65|kg|round=5|abbr=on}} and for rams about {{cvt|95|kg|round=5|abbr=on}}.{{r|dad}} The sheep may be of any colour, and are usually naturally polled (hornless).{{r|jan|p=153|tlc}}
The Katahdin has the typical characteristics common to hair sheep: it has an outer coat of fine hair, and in winter may grow a wool undercoat which moults naturally in the spring, so that it does not need to be shorn; it is tolerant of hot and humid climatic conditions, and has good resistance to parasites including some gastrointestinal nematodes resistant to anthelmintic drugs; ewes are to some extent aseasonal and capable of breeding in the spring.{{r|jan|p=153|burke|p2=52|frank|p3=503|tlc}}
Use
The Katahdin is reared for meat. The lambing rate is some 168%.{{r|burke|p=52}}
Notes
{{notelist | refs=
{{efn|name = a|These were later known as Virgin Islands White and as St. Croix.}}
}}
References
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{{Sheep breeds of Canada and the United States}}