Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
St. Croix
The St. Croix is a hair breed, with a long breeding season, that developed in
the hot island climate of the Virgin Islands. Like the Gulf Coast Native, years
of selection in a tropical climate have provided the St. Croix with a strong
tolerance for internal parasites and good heat tolerance. The breed will typi-
cally breed back within 40 days after lambing.
The St. Croix is a medium-sized breed that was fi rst imported to North
America in the 1960s by Michael Piel, the developer of the Katahdin breed.
But a second importation by Utah State University in 1975 provided the foun-
dation for the North American fl ock of St. Croix. The sheep are quite doc-
ile, and because they lack predators and have scanty forage on their native
islands, they require good predator control. The ewes breed throughout the
year and regularly produce twins and triplets. Sheep dairies are using them
because they produce abundant milk.
Suffolk
The Suffolk is the most common breed in the United States, and the breed is
very popular for kids participating in 4-H, Future Farmers of America, and
other youth shows. It is a handsome sheep with black face, ears, and legs that
all are free of wool.
The ewes are prolifi c and good milkers. Lambs grow rapidly; they have
more edible meat and less fat than many other breeds.
Suffolks are active grazers and are able to rustle for feed on dry range. When
raised on high-quality feeds, they have one of the fastest growth rates of any
breed and are considered to have excellent feed-conversion characteristics.
Another English contribution, the Suffolks were developed by crossing
Southdown sheep with old Norfolk sheep. This latter breed had a black face
and horns, was hardy and prolifi c, and produced meat of superior texture, but
its conformation was poor. The resulting breed combined the best character-
istics of its parents and became popular for use both in purebred fl ocks and
in crossbreeding.
