What are St. Croix Sheep?

St. Croix sheep are a moderate sized, polled, white sheep. They have a smooth hair coat in summer. During the winter in colder climates they produce a heavy winter coat of mixed hair and downy undercoat, which is shed in the spring. Mature rams have a lion-like mane. St. Croix Hair sheep are prolific and breed throughout the year and thus are of interest to the commercial sheep industry.

Where did they originate?

St. Croix sheep are a hair breed of sheep developed on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. They are descended from a strain of African haired sheep imported to the island in the 1500’s.

What are the number of St. Croix sheep in BC, United States? Worldwide?

Hair sheep comprise approximately ten percent of the world sheep population. They are located primarily in the tropical regions of Africa, South America and the Caribbean. Currently, the St. Croix is still a fairly rare breed in Canada and the United States, but it is gaining in popularity.

What are their breed advantages/characteristics?

St. Croix sheep possess many traits that are highly desirable to the modern sheep industry. Primarily of interest is their reproductive characteristics that include: early puberty, year round breeding, ability to breed back soon after lambing, and a high lambing rate.

Other traits that have increased interest in this breed include the fact that they require no shearing as their hair is shed in the spring, they are parasitic resistant, hoof rot resistant and heat & cold tolerant. In addition, they have good milking ability, good temperament, and are very good mothers.

What would attract market lamb producers to the St. Croix breed?

Hair sheep have been bred for meat, not wool. Lamb birth weights average 7 lbs. A mature ram can weigh 200 lbs, and a ewe can weigh 150 lbs. They are easy to handle, and show no tendency to be wild. The ewes can breed back one month after lambing and ewes can produce two lamb crops per year, usually producing twins.

In colder climates, these sheep grow a winter coat that is shed in the spring, so shearing is not necessary. With no shearing costs, parasite resistance, no fly strike, high lamb survivability, and good mothering instincts, the St. Croix Sheep have a lot of appeal, especially for smaller flocks.

St. Croix meat is mild tasting, fine-grained, and naturally lean.