The Royal White Difference

All of these years, sheep have been a very big part of our lives. This new breed, Royal White, has been a source of amazement and joy.

As everyone knows, sheep have their drawbacks, as well as, their good points. These sheep remove many of the drawbacks.

Sheep are normally considered "Flight " animals. However, these sheep have demonstrated the "Fight" and "Stand your Ground" tendencies.

As an example

Our #14 was an orphan. She is very friendly, loving and apparantly, she can be quite defensive. We brought a Border Collie here to dog proof some sheep for a working seminar. # 14 was one of the 5 sheep we chose for this task. Well seeing the dog as a threat,she immediately placed herself between me and the dog and charged the dog!!! We laughed and laughed. She seriously FAILED the dog proofing and retired to my side to watch.

We have never seen such confidence.This is just a funny story we are sharing with you. Of course dogs are still a danger. This confidence, alertness, and what is called "The Smart Gene" is very evident in this breed. They are tremendous mothers. They DO NOT leave their lambs like other sheep. They actually stand to face questionable circumstances, rather than running. They are heavy milk producers. They keep good body weight while caring for their young. These ewes can be bred at 8 months and lamb at 13 months. They mature early and live long. They are polled so they have no horns to get caught in fences. They flock well and do not leave the herd when lambing.

First lambs are usually singles or twins. Second lambs range from 1 to 4. Our first lamb crop was 187 % for 2006, 201 % in 2007.

The survival rate was Amazing. This a a HUGE reason that we are so sold on this breed

Lambs

The glycemic index of this breed has been shown to be higher at birth. These lambs are robust, hearty and energetic. They stand and nurse immediately leading to better survival rates. The lambs actually OUT GROW Boar goats on similar feeding schedules. This attracts many goat producers. The body mass is truely unbelievable. The weight gain is superb. The lambs are naturally very curious and friendly. Meat production is outstanding. Because these sheep are so much cleaner than wool sheep, they do not have the strong odor that wool sheep have. The flavor of the meat is mild and has a sweetness to it. Our local locker plant loves the meat and regularly comments on the quality. These qualities will help the Royal Whites' success as a meat sheep.

Hair vs. Wool

Another great reason to run breed is their lack of wool. They are a true HAIR sheep. With no wool,there is no shearing, less heat stress and no debris collection.

Cockleburs and spear grass do not mat in hair sheep. No shearing is a real asset since wool has little value and shearers are hard to find, expensive and often rough on the sheep leaving cuts and bruises. Therefore, the lack of wool lowers the maintenance costs and stress on the sheep.

Another cost cutter is no tagging of ewes or docking of the tails of the lambs. The ideal tail is a short wide at the top.

Again, no tagging, no shearing, no docking, less maintenance. At this time ,due to the youth of this breed,not much has been done with the hides .However, the leather from the hides has been tested and was rated as the finest garmet quality leather. The hides with hair on are lovely and quite desireable. Without wool, very little damage is done to the hide of the sheep. cockleburs, spear grass and careless shearers are not a problem. Debris does not build up in hair as it does in wool.

Texas Heat

A great problem with sheep in Texas is heat stress. Wool sheep suffer greatly. Heat stress costs many dollars of lost profit in this business. These sheep actually shed their hair.

These sheep have wide muzzles for better breathing and white hair to reflect the sun. They are a cross between the St. Croix (a tropical hair sheep) and theDorper/ White Dorper(a desert, arid wool-hair sheep). They are bred to be heat resistant. They are very hardy, disease resitant and very adaptable to regions of the U.S.

All in all the Royal Whites are just great...!!

We'd love for you to come see ours.

Saundra & Taunya