Introducing the Katahdin sheep, a remarkable breed developed in the USA to produce a mild-tasting and highly nutritious meat with low fat content and cholesterol levels.
The Katahdin has a hair coat, unlike traditional wool breeds, so it does not need shearing and does not produce a fleece. Its sole purpose is to provide excellent meat for your dining pleasure. Our sheep are raised naturally without the use of hormones or pesticides. We use intensive rotational grazing management techniques, so the sheep are moved on a daily basis in summer. They are always on fresh grass in this period – we do not use feedlots at all. During winter they have constant access to quality alfalfa with a daily supplement of grain to ensure sufficient energy requirements.
Katahdins have a number of characteristics that make them very suitable for meat-producing. They are an easy-care breed, docile but self-sufficient and adaptable to a wide range of dietary and environmental conditions. Their hair thickens and sheds rapidly according to the season – the heavy winter coat enables them to withstand cold, and the light summer hair gives them unusual tolerance to both heat and humidity. Females produce multiple births the year round and have a strong mothering instinct, requiring little human intervention. The lambs are born alert and strong. Katahdins flock naturally, forage as well as eat a wide range of pasture fodder, and are highly resistant to worms and other internal and external parasites.
In short, the breed is naturally subject to less stress than many domestic animals and unusually self-sufficient, with many characteristics more typical of wild breeds, and producing the lean, healthy meat typical of such animals.
We raise laying hens, housed in “eggmobiles” during the summer months. As the cattle and sheep move between pastures, the chickens follow after about three or four days, fertilizing the pasture and acting as insect control. The eggs are, high in Omega 3 since the hens are free-ranging on pasture. Even in winter they are kept in a barn, so they are free to scratch about and forage.
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