By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Henrietta Reed of Comanche holds a 4-day-old female Royal White Hair sheep that was born as a triplet and whose mother would not take care of her. Reed keeps this baby in a separate pin near the house and says she is becoming attached to this one.  Photo by Mindy Poehl

March 9, 2006 - It might sound too good to “baaaah” true. Royal White Hair sheep are the first new sheep breed in the United States in 20 years. Royal White sheep were developed for easy care and they produce high quality lamb meat and superior garment quality leather. Producers also say the sheep will out gain goats in feed-to-gain conversion, yield more meat that is more tender, and they have a greater natural resistance to disease and parasites, making them more adaptable to all regions.

Cordell and Henrietta Reed of Comanche began breeding Royal White sheep five years ago.

“We had sheep in the early 50’s and we decided to raise them again,” explained Henrietta. “I wanted something we could do together. I didn’t like the Barbado - they jumped higher than my head and they were wild. I also always thought that sheep are supposed to be white.”

So, the Reeds got online one day and noticed that Bill Hoage, the founder of the sheep in the United States, was having a special Royal White Hair sheep sale in Lampasas.

“We ended up buying three rams and we crossed them with Barbado,” Cordell explained. “We liked the way they looked, so we went back and bought a registered ewe.”

“They are gentle, docile, easy to handle and intelligent,” Henrietta added.

Several miles away from their home in Comanche, the Reeds have many more Royal White Hair sheep located in pens in Sidney, Texas. Above, ewes and their lambs become excited when the Reeds approach, because they know they will get fed. Photo by Mindy Poehl

Royal White Hair sheep are a cross between a St. Croix sheep and the White Dorper. They are primarily raised for meat.

“They are high producers,” Cordell explained. “The first time they lamb, they will raise more than 100 percent lamb crop. After that, they’ll raise 175 percent  lamb crop. They will do that three times in two years.”

Many people eat leg of lamb (which is a young sheep) and the choice cut is the loin area, Henrietta said. The meat is lean and tender. Mutton is the meat of a sheep that is over a year old.

Each sheep produces meat according to their size at which they were butchered.

“I believe the lamb study performed at San Angelo said the meat cut out is 57 - 60 percent,” Henrietta said. “A lot of sheep are butchered small, at three months and older, which would be around 30 to 90 pounds.”

Cordell added, “But a lot of sheep are 140 pounds and might be more than a year old when they are butchered.”

The Reeds have 150 Royal White ewes. And they have 50 sheep in a commercial herd, which are mixed. 

“We let them breed naturally, but we do select the sires,” Cordell said. “We haven’t sold any lambs this year off of the registered herd. Our market lambs bring in $100 each on average, and the breeding stock are higher.”Most of the sheep become pregnant at around 8 months old, and the gestation period is five months, which means they give birth at around 13 months.

The Reed’s sheep are pasture fed.

“He farms for them,” Henrietta said. “He grows a pasture of Coastal bermuda grass.”

Once they lamb, the sheep are put on oats.

As for pasture space, the Extension service told Cordell that he can run six ewes where he could run one calf.

The market for the Reed’s sheep is in Hamilton and Goldthwait. Goldthwait has a sheep auction every Friday and Hamilton has an auction every Monday.

“We sell market lambs at 80 pounds, so for $1.25 per pound, they do cost around $100,” Cordell said.

The sheep are not only hearty meat producers, but they also have thick skins. Their leather is soft, very elastic and is warm. 

“The North American Hair Sheep Association was given a grant to study the leather production and marketing of the leather of the sheep,” Henrietta said. “It’s soft, supple leather that is thick enough to separate into suede and a top grain.”

While farming and raising animals is just a part of life for Cordell, who says, “I like raising the sheep alright,” Henrietta really likes raising the sheep.

“I really enjoy them,” she said. “They are easy to care for. They mature early. They grow off early.”

Henrietta even has an orphan who was born as a triplet and the mother will no longer care for her.

“I think she’ll steal my heart,” Henrietta said. “But eventually, all of our lambs have to grow up to be sheep.”