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Katahdin sheep are a breed of hair sheep developed in the United States.
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| Peter the Great, 32 inches tall, 275 pounds. Codon 171 QR. |
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| Big Red, 31 inches tall, 250 pounds. Codon 171, QR. |
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Glenmore Farms
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Katahdin sheep originated at the Piel Farm in Maine and are named after Mt. Katahdin,
the highest peak in Maine. Michael Piel felt he produced "meat sheep that did not require shearing" in the early 1970s.
Mr. Piel selected for hair coat, meat-type conformation and high fertility. Katahdin sheep origins include
many breeds of sheep, such as, African Hair Sheep, Tunis, Southdown, Hampshire, Suffolk, Cheviots, Wiltshire Horn sheep and St.
Croix hair sheep. Katahdin Hair Sheep International was incorporated in 1985 and the first KHSI members were accepted
in 1987.
Katahdin sheep are a hair sheep (do not produce a fleece) and do not require shearing.
They do develop a very thick winter coat which sheds completely during the early summer. Katahdin
sheep are hardy, low maintenance and ideal for pasture lambing and a forage-based management system. We graze our
Katahdin sheep with the miniature horses for improved pasture utilization. Sheep both graze and browse and they
will eat many weeds and plants a horse will not consume. Katahdins are docile and exhibit moderate flocking instinct.
A mature ram will weigh 180-250 pounds and mature ewes weigh 120-160 pounds. Ewes and rams reach sexual maturity early,
are fertile year around and ewes can, with proper management and selection, lamb throughout the year. Mature
ewes usually have twins and, with good management and selection, a flock should produce a 200% lamb crop. Katahdin
lambs are well muscled, lean and the meat flavor is mild.
We are a breeder of Katahdin sheep concerned much more about quality than quantity
of Katahdin sheep. All of our sheep (both rams and ewes) are DNA tested at Codon 171 and registered with Katahdin Hair
Sheep International. All breeding quality lambs are also DNA tested and registered with KHSI before they are for
sale at 4 months of age. We cull any sheep that do not shed completely, any animals with a scur or horn or who have
produced offspring with horned traits, any ewes that do not have multiple births (twins or triplets) after their first lambing
and any animals that do not have good conformation.
Our ewe lambs are spoken for 2007, and probably 2008 but we have several registered
RR and QR breeding quality ram lambs available. The rams pictured above will be the sires. Peter's dam is
a Piel Farm sheep and he has a number of Piel Farm sheep in his pedigree. Peter is a triplet. Big Red, a twin, is
a big ram that produces beautiful red colored and white lambs with excellent conformation. Big Red is an own son
of the record ram for ewe offspring milk production, an inherited trait that directly affects lamb growth.
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| Yearling ewes |
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| 4 month old ewe lambs |
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| 7 month old ewes |
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| Peter shedding his winter coat |
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| Ram lambs, 3 months |
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