• NO SHEARING!  That's right.  With Hair or Shedding Sheep there is no shearing of the wool - the sheep will naturally shed the wooly undercoat in the warmer weather!  Less labor for the owner! It is becoming harder to find and hire professional shearers in some areas of the United States for the owners who do not know how to shear or are unable to shear.  Plus the price of wool is at times less than what the shearer may charge.  Also, with natural shedding and the animal sporting a slick hair coat in the Summer, external parasites are usually not a concern.

While not done by any means on even a noted small scale here in the United States, interestingly, in some countries, the wooly undercoat of that country's native shedding sheep is still clipped, brushed, or gently pulled from the sheep and used to make clothing, crafts or other articles.

 

• NO TAIL DOCKING:  Tail docking is NOT required on Black Hawaiian, Texas Dall, Painted Desert, American Blackbelly, or Corsican Sheep so that is one less item to be done to the sheep!  In fact, tail docking makes it harder to ensure that the sheep you are looking at is indeed a member of the Corsican Family of Sheep.  Tails are of varying length but are not tremendously long.  They are also NOT cylindrical like other hair sheep's tails.

• BEAUTY: The Corsican Family of Sheep, especially the spotted Painted Desert Sheep, are beautiful animals.  The ewes are feminine in appearance and the rams are awesome creatures.  The patterns and colors that the Painted Desert Sheep produce are always unique and sometimes very unexpected.  One never knows what combination will produce what color or pattern of color.  Even the same Painted Desert ram and ewe could produce different colors or patterns from year to year.  Just like snowflakes, Painted Deserts can each look different!  And nothing can hardly compare to the snowy white of the Texas Dalls or the deep velvety black of the Black Hawaiians! Just imagine these beautiful creatures adding color to your pasture or big lawn!

• FUN:  These sheep can be fun to raise.  Between their playful antics with each other and sometimes with you - especially by former bottle raised ewes, and the beautiful colors and color patterns of the Painted Desert, these sheep can give hours of entertainment!  Check out our page of a few Funny & Silly Sheep Pictures!

• HARDINESS: Testing on various hair breeds have shown that Hair Breeds have more resistance to worms and other sheep illnesses.  This does not mean that they may not have health issues, it just means that they are more hardy than some of the more familiar wool breeds.  Keep in mind that some individual sheep may be more hardy or less hardy within any breed.

• ATHLETES:  The Corsican Sheep Family are athletic animals.  While some individual sheep prefer to keep all four on the ground and older sheep will gladly keep all fours on the ground, these type of sheep love to run, jump, and play.  In fact, these sheep can actually seem to fly as they jump, tucking in legs and hooves!  This enables them to thrive on various terrains, including steep, rocky hill sides.

• SIZE: The Corsican Family of Sheep come in various sizes.  This enables you to choose what size of sheep you are working with.  Some of these sheep, based on their bloodlines, are vary small with mature ewes at 60 lbs while others are on the larger end of the scales with mature ewes weighing some 120 + pounds.  This way if you like working with smaller livestock or need smaller livestock because of limited space, you can choose bloodlines which will generally give you the smaller framed sheep.  On the other hand, if you prefer larger sheep, through careful selection and management you can have the larger bodied sheep.  However, one must be careful to not use other breeds to make the Corsican Family of Sheep larger.  Once you cross these sheep with a "meat breed" (specifically polled breeds such as Katahdin or Dorper) you do not have a Painted Desert, Texas Dall, or a Black Hawaiian Sheep.  Plus, you run the risk of ruining those beautiful horns of the rams (and horned ewes).

• NATURAL LAWN MOWERS:  Have a fence line that needs to be cleaned up?  Have a big yard to mow but no time to mow?  Have an area of woods and brush that has become overgrown?  These sheep will clean it up for you!  While you will need to be aware of any poisonous plants in your areas (check with your county extension officer, your local vet, or other sheep breeders in your area), the Corsican Family of Sheep love to clear the way for you!  They seem, at times, to prefer brush and weeds instead of straight green grass.

• REGISTRY:  For the Painted Desert Sheep there is a registry, started in 1997 by Anita Garza, which is currently "open" meaning that Painted Desert Sheep who are out of unregistered stock can, at this time, still be registered.  One can also use any of the other Corsican Family Sheep Breeds (ie Texas Dall) to make a Painted Desert and develop new bloodlines. Nationally, there are not many breeders who take the time and energy to register their beautiful Painted Desert Sheep.  The Painted Desert Sheep Society and the Registry gives you the opportunity to participate with registered animals and to actually help build the foundational genetic pool and create a bright future for this breed as well as introducing more people to these awesome sheep.

• BREEDING: Some Corsican Sheep Family owners raise their sheep to be sold to other breeders.  While seemingly plentiful in some areas, over all when compared with the numbers of other sheep breeds, these sheep are still rare and unique and as such, the true Painted Desert, Texas Dall, Black Hawaiians and Corsicans are in demand.  Demand is high especially for breeders with ethical standards and honesty about their flock.

• PETS:   Bottle raised ewes, if cared for properly, can make great pets.  Raising the sheep can be beneficial in teaching youngsters responsibility.

• SHOW TIME:  These sheep are new to the show scene and yet in open Hair Sheep Shows do great and bring home ribbons.  Sometimes Judges are not sure about what they are looking at, but professional Judges who research and learn about the leaner and more trim Painted Desert, Texas Dall, and Black Hawaiian can really be helpful in critiquing your sheep and helping you learn how best to show off your beautiful and unique sheep!  Remember to always be careful around intact, mature rams during showing and preparation and at all times!

• HERDING PRACTICE: For the Herding Dog owner who monitors and is attuned to not only their dog's health and needs but the needs and health of their practice flock, the Corsican Family of Sheep offers a unique opportunity.  These sheep can flock easily when disturbed and will usually follow a flock leader, however, they are athletes and can easily jump over obstacles and give a herding dog a good practice run.  Always ensure the safety and health of both your herding dog and your sheep.  While some sheep breeders will not sell for Herding Practice, several breeders have sold to caring, conscientious folks for this purpose and the Herding Dog owners have had positive feedback.  It all depends on the Herding Dog owner and the experience of the Herding Dog.

• HORNS, PELTS, & MEAT: If you like raising your own meat, the excess rams, or even that ram whose horns are not doing very well, make lean freezer meat without having to grain them excessively.  With an adult ram giving just enough for smaller freezers, these sheep are perfect for the typical family meal plans. The meat of hair sheep is leaner and healthier than wool sheep.  It also has less of the mutton flavor that many people find distasteful.  A recent taste test here at Rafter SB showed that Texas Dall Sheep meat tasted like Beef!  The carcass was much more leaner than when compared to a wool market sheep and had a brighter red color.  It resembled the carcass of a lean goat.

The horns of Texas Dall, Painted Desert & Black Hawaiian Sheep are sought after for crafts such as buttons made from the horns and decorations, plus ethnic crafts such as the Shofar.  The horns are also sought as trophy mounts. 

You can also have beautiful pelts made out of the skins for area rugs, wall hanging displays, or throws. Maybe even use several pieces of different colored pelts to make those and other items!  Leather from Hair Sheep is another avenue which is just getting started. 

For the business oriented person these are just some of the markets available for the Corsican Sheep.  Some of these markets are relatively new and sometimes can offer many opportunities.

ALL PHOTOS (other than Painted Desert Sheep Society Logo) ARE FROM RAFTER SB UNLESS SO STATED AND ARE COPYRIGHTED RAFTER SB. See below for further copyright information.