WASHINGTON, Mo. (AP)--Counting sheep isn't Carla Alley's idea of a peaceful way to drift off to slumber. In her world, two sheep plus two sheep adds up to 25.

How? Alley has asked herself that same question.

"Sheep are like rabbits and multiply quickly," she jokes. "At least when you continue to buy them."

And if you buy them when they're pregnant, the number multiplies much quicker. Two of Alley's ewes had triplets and another had twins--"all healthy, beautiful and good size babies."

People who know something about sheep might wonder why Alley has been drawn to it as a hobby. The animals don't have very good reputations with farmers, Alley admits.

"They call them range maggots," she said. "They eat everything, and I mean everything. They'll eat the grass down to nothing."

In general, sheep are known for being more trouble than they're worth, said Alley, noting often they're plagued with disease and parasites. And then there's the shearing, she said--an added expense.

Alley doesn't have any of those problems with her sheep. They're Katahdins--a breed known as "hair" sheep or shearless.

"They're not rare, but they're definitely unusual, especially in this area," said Alley. "There is only a handful of us who raise them seriously."

Along with being shearless, other advantages of Katahdins are that they are "more docile" and "more parasite resistant," Alley said. "And the quality of the meat is tops. It has a mild taste, good texture and there's not as much carcass weight."

Comparing one of her Katahdin sheep with another breed of the same age, Alley said her sheep produced 58 pounds of meat while the other breed produced 35.

According to the Midwest Katahdin Hair Sheep Association, the breed is "hardy, adaptable and low maintenance" and "produces superior lamb chops and lean, meaty carcasses." They are a medium size and efficient, bred for utility and for production.

Katahdin ewes have exceptional mothering ability and "lamb easily." The breed is easily handled and tolerates heat and humidity well.

Katahdins are adaptable to various climates and regions. They perform well in places of varying food resources.

They are a "practical option" for producers who are "primarily interested in raising a meat animal," according to the breeders organization Katahdin Hair Sheep International.

The origin of the Katahdin traces back to breeds that originated in the Caribbean and British Islands.

Michael Piel imported a small number of hair sheep from the Caribbean in the late 1950s to add to his farm in Maine, where he had several thousand wool sheep already. Piel's goal was to combine the hair coat, prolificacy and hardiness of the imported sheep with the meat conformation and growth rate of the wool breeds.

He experimented with crosses of hair sheep and other breeds. After almost 20 years he eventually collected a flock of ewes he called Katahdin, named after Mount Katahdin in Maine.

During the mid-1970s, the Wiltshire Horn (a shedding breed of sheep from England) was incorporated into the Katahdin breed to add size and improve carcass quality.

Over the years, new breeders have expanded the number of Katahdins in North America and around the world. In 1986 the Katahdin Hair Sheep International was formed.

Today the group helps breeders register individual Katahdins and record performance, assists them in marketing and promoting the breed and encourages research and development related to the breed.

The Alleys--Carla, her husband Mike and daughter Elisabeth--have only recently ventured into the sheep business, and that happened quite by accident, Carla said with a smile.

It all began not too long ago with the realization that the older of their two horses, Pug, wouldn't last much longer. Fearing the other horse, Paris, would be left alone in the barn, the family began looking for a companion, a "barn buddy."

The family already had a number of animals roaming their 13 acres in Villa Ridge. They have four dogs--one Chesapeake Bay retriever, one Aussie mix and two Border collies.

Of the Border collies, one is a couch potato (a rescue from the Missouri Border Collie Rescue organization which the Alleys operated for a while) and the other is "as keen as they come, unbelievably talented at herding, no training at all, except, she cannot get the concept that the goal is not to stop and hold the sheep captive all the time."

On top of their four dogs, the Alleys also have a cat and several chickens. Yet despite this numerous variety of animals, the family was eager to find a "barn buddy" for Paris.

"The thought of her being alone was unbearable for my family," said Alley.

Carla decided a sheep would be the perfect match for her horse, and "innocently" placed an ad on the Internet. A call from a woman with sheep for sale led Carla to a farm where she discovered, "I like the sheep a lot, I decide, 'How fun to have a baby sheep."'

The woman sold Carla one sheep to be Paris' "barn buddy," and another older sheep who was due to lamb in a month.

She brought them home and fell in love with them even more. So did Kit, the herding Border collie.

Alley bought a couple more sheep--also due to lamb. In no time, Alley realizes she has enough sheep to herd, and begins to practice. Her first lesson--Kit may be a natural herder, but the sheep need to be "dog broke."

Yet with that accomplished, Alley isn't any closer to herding her sheep, but she doesn't mind. That isn't the point any more.

"I love my sheep," she said. "All 25 of them."

Of the Alleys' 25 sheep, there are 13 ewes (10 are pregnant), one ram and 11 babies (mostly rams, which Alley learned to castrate herself).

Each of the sheep and lambs has a name, and Carla and Elisabeth can quickly pick them out from the crowd. There is Spice and her baby, Norman; mamas Cosmo and Polly (or cosmopolitan), whose babies are Star and Polly Ester and Polly Pocket; Marga and Rita, Ginger and Ale, Sugar and Spice, Babbs (whose rump looks like a baboon's butt), and Queenie, whose babies are called Disco and Diva.

The triplets are named Inky, Dinky and Moe and Hughy, Dewey and Louise. Another baby, Friday, was named simply for the day on which she was born.

The Alleys are close to their sheep and in many ways treat them more like pets than livestock.

"They all have their own personality," Elisabeth said of the sheep. "You would think they were dogs the way they behave sometimes."

Date: 9/22/05

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