Saint Croix Sheep In The Virginia Highlands
Saint Croix Sheep are a breed of “hair” sheep that were developed their characteristic self-shedding fleece over years of breeding in the Caribbean region. Their coat is more like hair than many more domesticated “wool” breeds. Accordingly, hair sheep are raised primarily for meat (not for wool) and so they do not need to be regularly sheared (their coats shed on their own in the summer and grow back in the winter based on seasonal weather).
There is also a little bit of Katahdin genetics in our herd (look for the brown and sometimes even a little black coloring within the herd). Katahdin sheep are also a part of the hair sheep family and were developed by Michael Piel and named after the nearby “Katahdin” mountain in central Maine.
We chose St Croix / Katahdin Sheep because they are a hardy breed that produces an excellent meat carcass, vigorous lambs, and they do not require sheering (something that is not the focus of our farm).
About St Croix “Hair” Sheep
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Saint Croix Lambs
Lambs are typically born in the spring or in the fall. We keep the rams in with the ewes year round and so we tend to get babies several times per year. The gestation period for sheep is approximately 5 months. If the ewe (female sheep) gets pregnant at a younger age (12-15 months old) or at a time of year when the pasture is less nutritious (e.g. winter) then the momma tends to have a single lamb. Older, more mature, and/or more well nourished ewes (those that get pregnant after eating spring/summer pasture for a while) tend to birth twins. Triplets are possible but tend to happen most often when farmers “flush” (supplement the nutrition of the. animal as they are cycling into heat). Since we do not flush our animals and so we tend to see 1 or 2 lambs from our first-time mommas while the experienced mommas generally birth twins.
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Saint Croix Breeding Stock
We are growing our herd to approximately 160 head (50 mature ewes, 10 mature rams, and roughly 100 head produced annually for meat and/or breeding stock). We expect to have a full herd of 160 by 2025 (currently roughly 20 head strong). Breeding stock is available in limited numbers by request and if available can be purchased for $300 per ewe or $400 per ram. Those animals that are not purchased live are sent to the butcher or are available for on-farm slaughter for $200 per animal (live) and $300 butchered.