Katahdin Hair Sheep Ram Cross

Rams, male sheep, are sexually mature at five months of age.  They are not physically mature for another six to twelve months, as some sheep breeds grow faster than others.

Katahdins are relatively slow growing sheep, the rams mature slowly in terms of their physical size and appearance.  By the time they are a year they are pretty impressive, but at the age of two they can be quite stunning.  I remember at one auction a 4 year old Katahdin ram entered the ring and people gasped as so few had seen anything like it, he looked like a miniature cow, wide nose, strong appearance, and he was brown too. 

6 month old Katadhin cross ram. 

This (photo above) is a young Katahdin cross ram, he is not purebred, his mother is a Barbado hair sheep cross.   Hair sheep have many advantages and they are becoming more and more popular in the United States and Canada, where wool is generally not as valuable as it was even 20 years ago.  The photo gives you a good idea of how hair sheep look in the winter - as he does have a thicker coat.  He is only 6 months old in this picture and will get a longer mane as he gets older.

You can see his tail is a bit shorter than the natural tail of a wool sheep breed. Hair sheep do have shorter tails, and they are less likely to become dirty with feces.




Hair sheep do not need their tails docked, do not need to be sheared, are more parasite resistant and there are claims that their meat tastes superior, even in older animals.  I personally do not eat lamb or mutton, this is just what I have heard and read.

I try not to treat the rams as "pets" as I find if they are too friendly they can also become dangerous.   I like my ewes to be tame and friendly, but if a ram is a little bit scared of me that is okay!

Fat Rumped Sheep

Typically when people think if sheep they think of a classic looking animal with white wool, and a docked tail.  When shown an image of a Fat Rumped sheep they think the poor thing has some sort of growth, but fat rumped, and fat tailed sheep represent about 20 - 25 % of the entire sheep population on the planet, most being the the Middle East, Africa, India, and parts of China. 

Fat rumped, and fat tailed sheep, are not new, they have been around before Biblical times, and are very adapted to their environments and a nomidic lifestyle in harsh conditions.  They are among the more unusual types of sheep.

photo source

Fat rumped, and fat tailed sheep do not have their tails docked, over time these areas get larger.  These sheep store fat in their tails, or rumps, much like a camel stores fat in its hump.  Few people know this, but donkeys store fat in the same way, along the sides of the crest of their neck.  The tails, or rumps, have been used in cooking, but is less popular now than years ago when other cooking oils and fats were harder to get.

Some of the more common breeds include the Blackhead Persian, which is a hair sheep, the Awassi, and the Karakul sheep, whom we have talked about before due to the cruel industry of harvesting fetal lambs.

Fat rumped, and fat tailed sheep are very exotic, and a bit funny looking to people who have not seen them before, but they are ideally suited to life in harsher desert areas. 

Read more, and see more pictures, of fat rumped, and fat tailed sheep, by clicking here.

The Elastrator Tool for Tail Docking and Lamb Castration

In sheep, both tail docking, and castration, are optional.  In some areas these are not done at all as they are seen as cruel, or unnatural.  Some meat buyers of certain cultures or religions prefer unblemished animals, meaning those that have not been altered in any way; they want full tails, and testicles, on the animals they raise, and/or buy.

We, at Kaleidscope Acres, do not dock our lambs tails, hair sheep not need this done, and we have never had problems with the wool sheep having natural tails either. 

The reasons for tail docking are so the fleece can be cut easier, and will be cleaner, as well there is less of a risk of fly strike.  Castrating sheep is done to make a ram into a wether, a sterile male sheep.

Tail docking, and castration, are often done to lambs, along with being vaccinated, around 3-5 days of age. 

In both cases there are a range of tools that can be used, one of which is the Elastrator, shown below.  The tool is opened to stretch out a small (special) rubber band.  Either the tail, or scrotum and testicles, are pulled through the elastic and it is released, pinching off the blood supply to that part of the body - which will fall off in a week or two. 

photo source

There are a few risks, one being tetanus, the other being if the rubber band is not placed correctly - if the tail is made too short the sheep could have problems (rectal prolapse being one).  If the testicles are not down into the scrotum they could be missed.

If asked about cruelty, I would have to say the proceedures are cruel, they may be necessary, but are still cruel.  The lambs do feel pain, if even for a short time.  Tail docking is not necessary in hair sheep, and even those which are hair sheep crosses, as the tails are often shorter than usual, and less wooly.  I would say that there are other methods of tail docking, and I do feel the elastrator is the least cruel method.

Related Sheep Links

Tail Docking in Sheep

What is a Wether?

Advantages of Hair Sheep

Fly Strike