About Our Livestock
At Rainy Knob Ranch, we raise South Poll Cattle, Katahdin Hair Sheep, and Spanish Goats because they work in a natural, grass-based, low-input environment. We have breeding stock available throughout the year. Follow the links for livestock sale information.
South Poll cattle
South Poll cattle are known as the “Southern Mama Cow Breed” which was developed in 1989 by Teddy Gentry of Bent Tree Farm near Fort Payne, Alabama. A composite breed that combines Red Angus, Hereford, Barzona, and Senepol cattle, South Poll cows are a slick-haired, red-hided, heat and insect tolerant breed, weighing around 800-1100 pounds. Other important traits include that they are adapted to fescue grass, are gentle and long-lived, and are fertile with great mothering instincts. South Poll Cattle, although moderate in frame size, produce calves with sufficient growth rate. These are low maintenance cows that are very deep and thick, have large gut capacity, and are highly productive. Learn more…
Katahdin Sheep
Katahdin Hair Sheep were developed by Michael Piel of Maine in the late 1950s for meat quality rather than for wool. Virgin Island “hair” sheep were crossed with British wool breeds over a period of 20 years, selecting the offspring with the desired traits. Today’s Katahdin breed has exceptional carcass qualities, maternal instincts, worm tolerance, hardiness, and reproductive efficiency. Learn more…
Spanish Goats
Spanish Goats originated in 1500s Spain during the days of natural sustainable agriculture, arriving in North America in the 16th century. Only the hardiest survived to breed and raise their kids. Over the centuries, they spread from coast to coast, primarily in the southern regions of the United States. Because they were not considered an important livestock breed like cattle or sheep, they were not intensively bred or managed and, left on their own, they adapted to the region that they inhabited. Through natural selection, a highly adapted survivor was produced.
Today’s pure Spanish Goats retain their ancestor’s basic characteristics, being hardy, worm resistant, maternal, and prolific. Because of the influx of other goat breeds, such as Boers in the 20th century, relatively few purebred Spanish Goats are left in the United States.
In addition, the Mediterranean type goat that was common in Spain in the 1500s and the ancestor of the Spanish Goats no longer exists. Therefore, it is important to preserve Spanish Goat genetics by continuing to raise these goats. The Spanish Goat is a Landrace and varies in appearance depending upon the locale in which it is bred. Feral groups, as well as those bred on individual ranches, have their own characteristics within the Spanish Goat breed. At Rainy Knob Ranch, we have chosen to breed the Devils River line of Spanish Goats. Started by Marvin Shurley in the 1990s, this line has some of the fewest individuals. Our conservation goal is to maintain Shurley’s characteristics of structural soundness, having a large frame, and being heavy-boned, hardy, worm tolerant, and a natural forager. Learn More…