Characteristics of St. Croix, the Easy Care Sheep:
St. Croix Hair Sheep are an attractive, hardy, medium-sized, polled (hornless),
white hair sheep. Their hair coat is smooth in summer, and thicker with mixed
hair and downy undercoat in winter. They naturally shed their coat, and never
require shearing.
Mature rams sport a lion-like mane that may fall down to the knees. Mature
rams weigh up to 200 lbs, and ewes up to 150 lbs. Birth weights for twins
average 7 lbs. St Croix sheep are active and vigorous without any tendency to
be wild. They demonstrate greater resistance to internal parasites than do both
wool sheep and most other hair sheep breeds.
The ewes can breed back one month after lambing, and ewes can produce two lamb
crops per year. Ewes usually bear twins, with some singles, frequent triplets,
and occasional quadruplets; lambing rates vary from 150-200%.
Carcass composition of St Croix is similar to that of Rambouillet, but the St
Croix have a 23% higher carcass yield due to smaller bone and less fat. The
meat is tender with a mild flavor. As an unimproved breed, the St Croix has
slower growth rates than many meat breeds, which have been selected for rapid
growth and large body size. St Croix are an ideal size, however, for many
ethnic markets.
Globally, hair sheep comprise approximately ten percent of the sheep population
and are located primarily in the tropical regions of Africa, South America and
the Caribbean. Interest in hair sheep has risen since the loss of the Federal
wool subsidy. Caribbean hair sheep, such as the St. Croix, are prolific and
breed throughout the year and thus are of value to theCanadian and U.S. sheep
industry. With no shearing costs, strong parasite resistance, no fly strike,
high lamb survivability, good mothering instincts and good flocking, the St.
Croix Sheep has a lot to offer for people who wish to raise sheep.
St. Croix Sheep for Sale:
We have St. Croix Hair Sheep for sale at Cashman Creek Llama Farm. Our sheep
are raised with freedom to roam on grassland and are handled enough to make
health care easy.
St Croix sheep are a unique and rare species and are ideal as breeding stock
for small acreages, or can be pets. Sale packages or small herds are available,
and come with a Guardian Llama if desired, to help guard against predators.
Please contact us at Cashman Creek for more information.
We can be reached at:
Angela Gojevic and Wynne Gorman
Tel#: (604) 888-3953
e-mail: angellamahouse@shaw.ca
Cashman Creek Llamas, 22986 74th Ave., Langley, BC, Canada,
V2Y 2S2
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