Adapted Easy Care
Hair Sheep
Hair sheep that have been bred in a "no-nonsense way" are the ultimate easy care animal. They're unmatched when it comes to efficiency and production on pasture and they're the most profitable endeavor in Agriculture today.
Our Sheep Operation:
In 1998 we added hair sheep to our livestock operation. We were very fortunate to purchase a reputation flock that had originated in the Waco, Texas area. An elderly gentleman had bred them for years and his life-long goal had been to develop a parasite resistant flock of hair sheep. With the advice of noted sheep researcher Dr. Charles Parker a few years later we also purchased some Florida Native Rams to give our sheep some added parasite resistance. Today our sheep are approximately 1/2 Katahdin, 1/4 Dorper and 1/4 Florida Native.
Our sheep are grazed in large groups and the majority of the time they are moved to fresh pasture daily. At times we graze them right along with our cattle. Our ewes start lambing April 25th on pasture in groups of 500 or more and they all lamb during a 35 day period while on the move. Anatolian Shepherd and Komondor Livestock Guardian Dogs provide protection from stray dogs, coyotes and other predators. We normally market our lambs in the Fall or early Winter right off their mothers. We keep a percentage of the ewe and ram lambs for replacements and the remainder are sold as breeding stock to other producers. Most years our wether lambs go to an East Coast buyer.
We are advocates of Tom Lasater's Philosophy of Cattle Raising and when we added sheep to our operation sixteen years ago we asked ourselves "How would Tom Lasater breed and manage sheep if he was in the business?" With that in mind any ewes that fail to breed or raise lambs each year are culled from the flock along with any other animals that require special care for any reason - with no exceptions.
Our sheep are moderate in size, easy keepers, have good feet and legs, good conformation, good hair coats and a high level of parasite tolerance and "livability". Most are a light brown or off white in color and nearly all have dark colored hooves. The ewes are excellent mothers and the rams have the ability to breed and settle a large number of ewes during a short breeding season.
We've maintained a closed flock of breeding animals for years and through stringent culling of our flock and careful selection of replacements our sheep continually get better and better with each generation.
Hair sheep are a great addition to any forage based livestock operation and fit in especially well with an existing cattle operation. In many instances they can be added with little modifications to existing fences or corrals. Sheep have a very high rate of return due to having multiple births and their low maintenance costs. Many times ewes will more than pay for themselves with the sale of one lamb crop. A big part of a sheep's diet consists of weeds and browse so they're also very beneficial when it comes to cleaning up pastures. Have you ever thought about how many ewes you can buy with what a tractor/spray rig/brush hog costs much less the time and expense of running and maintaining it?
If you would like to know more about our Adapted Easy Care Hair Sheep or how they are managed feel free to contact us anytime. Without a doubt hair sheep have more to offer the American livestock producers than any other type of livestock.
"In culling every female that fails to wean offspring every year, regardless of reason, we may lose some good ones but we get all the lemons." ~~ Tom Lasater
In 1998 we added hair sheep to our livestock operation. We were very fortunate to purchase a reputation flock that had originated in the Waco, Texas area. An elderly gentleman had bred them for years and his life-long goal had been to develop a parasite resistant flock of hair sheep. With the advice of noted sheep researcher Dr. Charles Parker a few years later we also purchased some Florida Native Rams to give our sheep some added parasite resistance. Today our sheep are approximately 1/2 Katahdin, 1/4 Dorper and 1/4 Florida Native.
Our sheep are grazed in large groups and the majority of the time they are moved to fresh pasture daily. At times we graze them right along with our cattle. Our ewes start lambing April 25th on pasture in groups of 500 or more and they all lamb during a 35 day period while on the move. Anatolian Shepherd and Komondor Livestock Guardian Dogs provide protection from stray dogs, coyotes and other predators. We normally market our lambs in the Fall or early Winter right off their mothers. We keep a percentage of the ewe and ram lambs for replacements and the remainder are sold as breeding stock to other producers. Most years our wether lambs go to an East Coast buyer.
We are advocates of Tom Lasater's Philosophy of Cattle Raising and when we added sheep to our operation sixteen years ago we asked ourselves "How would Tom Lasater breed and manage sheep if he was in the business?" With that in mind any ewes that fail to breed or raise lambs each year are culled from the flock along with any other animals that require special care for any reason - with no exceptions.
Our sheep are moderate in size, easy keepers, have good feet and legs, good conformation, good hair coats and a high level of parasite tolerance and "livability". Most are a light brown or off white in color and nearly all have dark colored hooves. The ewes are excellent mothers and the rams have the ability to breed and settle a large number of ewes during a short breeding season.
We've maintained a closed flock of breeding animals for years and through stringent culling of our flock and careful selection of replacements our sheep continually get better and better with each generation.
Hair sheep are a great addition to any forage based livestock operation and fit in especially well with an existing cattle operation. In many instances they can be added with little modifications to existing fences or corrals. Sheep have a very high rate of return due to having multiple births and their low maintenance costs. Many times ewes will more than pay for themselves with the sale of one lamb crop. A big part of a sheep's diet consists of weeds and browse so they're also very beneficial when it comes to cleaning up pastures. Have you ever thought about how many ewes you can buy with what a tractor/spray rig/brush hog costs much less the time and expense of running and maintaining it?
If you would like to know more about our Adapted Easy Care Hair Sheep or how they are managed feel free to contact us anytime. Without a doubt hair sheep have more to offer the American livestock producers than any other type of livestock.
"In culling every female that fails to wean offspring every year, regardless of reason, we may lose some good ones but we get all the lemons." ~~ Tom Lasater
