Sheep - American Black Bellied  and Suffolk

                     American Blackbellied Sheep                                 Suffolk sheep

 

The American Blackbelly sheep is a hair sheep, originally developed by crossbreeding programs involving primarily Mouflon and Barbados Blackbelly. Resulting hybrids produced poor horn growth that interfered with the animals' faces. Repeated back crossing on the Mouflon improved horn growth to the extent that the hybrid attracted the attention of trophy hunters. Eventually, a strain of exotic looking animals with massive horns evolved and came to be referred to as "Corsican" in reference to the origin of the Mouflon ancestors. The original cross has subsequently been developed into several distinctive breeds of hair sheep. The American Blackbelly is a breed of Corsican descent that is readily identifiable by a very well-defined coat pattern and is registered by the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International. Rams generally display spectacular horns, while ewes generally are polled (hornless.) The sheep sport a distinctive hair coat in a range of tan to brown to red, with dramatic black markings.

The American Blackbelly is a thrifty, energetic, small- to medium-sized sheep with a strong flocking instinct. It is well adapted to a broad range of environments, breeding goals, and management styles. On the farm, it is desired for its productivity and thriftiness, great prolificacy, and fairly low maintenance. Mature ewes generally have two to three or more lambs in any season, and depending on management, are capable of three litters every year and a half or so. They are very good mothers. Because of their fecundity and out-of-season breeding, ewes are suited to an accelerated lambing program.

 

 

We have a small herd of sheep of both Suffolk wool sheep and  Black-bellied hair sheep.  We shear our wool sheep every Spring but not the haired sheep.  There is not anything much cuter than a baby sheep or goat.  We usually have bottle babies during summer Science Camp for camper to hold and feed.

More information on wool Sheep                             Information on Barbados sheep