AVERY's KATAHDIN SHEEP: Some Trade-Offs when Feeding Haylage

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OFFICIALLY CLOSED!

Please see last post for breeder reference information.

FROZEN SEMEN STILL AVAILABLE
Collected at OC Flock Management Bowden Alberta

https://www.ocflock.com/Katahdin.html

Breeder Reference - CLRC

http://www.clrc.ca/cgi-bin/query.cgi?_association=30

I am Dee Avery and I appreciate the time you have taken to visit this KATAHDIN blog.

AVERY's Katahdin's dedicates our entire business focus on producing 100% purebred Katahdins that are Excellent Representatives of the Breed Standards

We welcome and promote farm visits to view our entire flock. Bio-security and No-Smoking protocols are in place.

We are located near Haynes, Alberta

(30 klms east of Red Deer on Hwy 11). 403-318-3590

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Some Trade-Offs when Feeding Haylage

1. The plastic and netting are a bit of a pain for clean up, especially when it gets trampled under the snow. And since I am a clean freak, this becomes extra work in the spring Next year I will have feeders in place so as plastic and netting can be removed before feeding.

2. Mineral intake has doubled since we went on haylage.

3. Pregnant ewes can not be on haylage for the last 8 weeks of gestation. They ingest more haylage due to water content, and with babies growing they can not eat enough to meet their nutritional requirements.

Just wanted to share these factors with the folks who might have some interest in feeding haylage in future years.

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Did You Know?

KATAHDIN FACTS:
The purpose of the breed is to efficiently and economically produce MEAT.

The Katahdin is a well-muscled, medium sized, easy-care meat type sheep.

They exhibit a natural tolerance of climatic extremes and are capable of high performance in areas that vary in geography, temperature, and humidity, as well as feed and forage.

Katahdins usually have a docile and quiet disposition with good flocking tendencies - a temperament which contributes to easy handling. The coat can be any colour from white to brown, black or spots thereof. Polled animals are preferred; scurred or horned animals are recorded as such.

Katahdin ewes do not, as a rule, require much assistance at lambing, exhibiting strong maternal instincts with sufficient milk supply to raise twins or triplets. With good nutrition and management there is a high survival rate with the lamb crop. With the belly area being clean it is not necessary to pre-lamb shear. Katahdin ewes with such excellent maternal traits could be used in a cross breeding program to enhance survival rates with less stress at lambing time.

The shedding coat of the Katahdin does not require shearing.

They mature early and have strong fertility traits so early separation of intact rams is advisable.
Averaging 7-9 lbs at birth, lambs grow and mature rapidly to an acceptable market weight using a good forage based management or with grain supplementation.

Katahdin produces a lean carcass with a mild flavour.

Some producers have experienced very little taste variation in the Katahdin meat even at a mature age, therefore maintaining a marketable product past the "lamb" stage.

KHSI (Katahdin Hair Sheep International - USA) Breed Std.

Size: Live weight of a mature ewe in good condition usually ranges from 150 to 185 pounds; a mature ram will weigh 200 to 265 pounds. Average birth weight of twins is about 8 pounds.

Where our Lamb is Processed

After visiting many butcher facilities, we found The Meat Chop (in Penhold Alberta) to be a clean, peaceful, professional choice to butcher our gently raised grass lambs. Part of our whole management is to keep our animals happy and stress free. The trip to The Meat Chop is 45 minutes, and our animals are processed almost immediately, keeping stress to a minimum. We are so happy to be partnered with The Meat Chopat the start of our business selling lamb from our farm. Thank you , Bettina, for your excellent service which supports our excellent product.

Animal Management/Care Philosophy

I want to talk a little bit about the method of animal management on our farm. Our sheep are very important to us. Humane treatment is utmost for all animals we care for.

We work consistently to win the trust of our animals through daily handling, care & feeding. We do not have herding dogs or extensive handling systems, thus we choose to enlist the animals trust when moving and processing them. Stress levels are kept to a minimum.
Nutritional requirements are calculated to ensure that protein levels are optimum when most required. All hay is bought dry, stored dry, tested for nutritional value and has zero mold. We want our animals to eat because the food is good, not because it's the only food they have.
Water troughs are cleaned often. We have observed that the animals consume more water when it is fresh and clean and we all know how important water consumption is.
Lambs are raised on natural pasture and Momma's milk. Lamb creep is made available from birth to weaning, but very little is consumed. Grain is not fed at weaning.
Daily paddocks and pasture checks are done to ensure that changes in behaviors are quickly identified and consequently possible health issues dealt with in a timely manner.
Also pastures and paddocks are kept free from twine, sharp tools, equipment, debris, etc. That way we minimize the potential for injury to animals and to humans.

Some have said that it's impossible to maintain such a high standard of care when there are hundreds of animals to care for. We understand that and decided to keep our numbers low and focus on Quality over Quantity when raising breeding stock.

Some would say we treat our animals as pets. We say we treat them with a great deal of respect for their service as dams and sires and for the income they bring to the farm. They, in turn, stay healthy and produce excellent lambs. It's a win, win situation.

As Temple Grandin might say. Relaxed, healthy animals are profitable, productive animals & We Agree!

AVERY's KATAHDIN SHEEP

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Saturday, January 19, 2013

Some Trade-Offs when Feeding Haylage

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