Baa, Baa, So Many Black Sheep

This year, we introduced a Dorper ram to some of our Katahdin ewes.

I was hoping for mellower sheep for dog  work and a better meat sheep.

We also bred some Katahdin ewes to a Katahdin ram.

While we have lots of color in the Katahdin flock, I wasn't expecting this.

This is the first black Katahdin lamb we've had on the farm.

From the Dorper/Katahdin crosses, I expected the lambs to look like the black and white lamb pictured below.

A few of the Katahdin/Dorper crosses are black and white, but the majority are mostly black. It may be because our Katahdin flock includes red, tan, brown, white and spotted ewes.

It makes for a colorful pasture scene. Shown in this photo are purebred Katahdin lambs on the left, and three sets of Dorper/Katahdin crosses.

I'm watching on the lambs grow and develop over the summer.