Barbados Black Belly sheep in just 2 more weeks!

[carolinagirl]

Less than a week to go. Can you believe I am actually a little nervous? I hope the temporary pens I have set up are good enough. The two pens are 32' x 12'. I hope to have the barn and paddock area done in a couple of weeks. Then in early June I'll go pick up my ram and another bred ewe. That will bring my flock to 2 adult ewes (bred), four young ewes and a ram. Pretty good start I think!

 

[rockdoveranch]

I can't wait for you to have your babies too!

 

[Royd Wood]

Oh yep thats a good start - we got 4 preg ewes and now have 19 live and 7 gone to freezer - doesnt take long

 

[carolinagirl]

Got 'em!! These things are just beautiful! The ewe is 3 year old, the babies are 2 1/2 to 3 months old. The cream colored one is not a Barbados Blackbelly....he is a wether that will (gulp) end up in the freezer. I think I may have a problem when the time comes....he is really cute! The adult ewe is very suspicious of me. The lambs though...I think they will tame down fast. I sat on the ground next to the feed bucket and they all came up next to me to eat. The sweetest thing is how motherly this ewe is to all the lambs. One of them is hers, the rest belong to her half sisters and a dorper ewe. Yet they all gather around her and when they go into the shed, she stays in the door keeping watch. My goats were never that nice to kids that didn't belong to them. I am really surprised!

 

[rockdoveranch]

They are just beautiful! And they look VERY healthy! Enjoy!

I noticed the zip-ties on the temporary pens! Love it! We have done that too. Just keep an eye on them because the weather will slowly break the plastic down. I know from experience. Love the stock panels. I wish we hand 100s of them!

We have "Texas" Barbado; a breed that is not recognized. Some are Blackbellies, most are not. The rams have horns. Do Barbado Blackbelly rams have horns? I am thinking the American Blackbelly does, but I get confused. I need to look through my old links.

This is our first White Dorper / "Texas" Barbado mix, Newman. He looks very much like your new little wether. We were surprised when he started growing horns. His mom, April, our second bottle baby (April 2009) does not have a black belly.

Enjoy!

 

[carolinagirl]

He is adorable!! My wether has teeny horns and his mom has small scurs, so she is not pure dorper.

Barbados Blackbelly are naturally polled, although once in a while a sheep will have horns or scurs....those are unregisterable and should be culled. the Americal Blackbelly or Texas Barbado do have horns.

the zip tie pen is not permanent. I did that to make this temporary pen smaller so I can tame these girls down a bit. Hopefully by mid June I'll have the paddock and shed done and I can move these sheep out, take out the temporary divider and then use this pen to house my new ram (who I will pick up in June).

 

[rockdoveranch]

I have never known anyone with Barbado Blackbelly sheep. Too Cool!

I be honest with you, we got our sheep in 2004 to keep the ag discount on one track of land, and eventually add it to the other 2 tracks. It was at that time I first learned about hair sheep. Most folk out in our neck of the woods have mutt hair sheep, what we Texans proudly call Texas Barbado.

It was not until 2009 when we had our first "flashy" lamb, lots of white with brown and black, that I started googling around to understand the origin of our flock. Our original sheep did not have black bellies, but by that time we had quite a few.

When I was googling back then I saw pictures of flashy lambs just like ours and found a Painted Desert Hair Sheep group and a registry. They have since split into another registry for just Hair Sheep.

You have peeked my interest. I have pulled up the Barbado Blackbelly Sheep Asscociation website and will have to read through it again. I did read where they were defining Barbado Blackbelly, American Blackbelly and Barbado.

Do the Barbado Blackbelly rams become dangerous like the American and Texas Barbado? Is the breed, by nature, a tamer breed?

Lastly . . . zip-ties! What a great invention. I could play with them all day. Zip-ties and wire fold-up dog crates . . . I wish I had been the one to invent both of them!

 

[carolinagirl]

I think Barbados Blackbelly sheep are probably a little tamer than the American Blackbelly because they dont have Mouflon in them. Mouflon are wild sheep and have a wild animal type temperment. I know Barbados blackbelly sheep are never going to be in "in your face" cuddly lamb, but are probably calmer than the American blackbelly or barbado sheep. The rams are still to be respected though. With no horns they are not nearly as dangerous as a horned ram, but they do suggest not making pets out of them.

Oh yeah.....zip ties are a wonderful invention!! I have koi ponds. The valve that separates the bottom drain from the filters is a big expensive knife valve. A few weeks ago I closed a valve to clean a filter and when I did, the whole end of the valve came off and the pond started to drain. I crammed the end back on and zip-tied it to keep it from coming off. It still dripped, but at least it held until I could come up with a more permanent solution. Changing the valve isn't an option because I'd have to drain the pond to do it. so my permanent fix was BIG zip ties!! lol! I put two very large strong zip ties on each of the drain valves to prevent failure. I don't know how I would function without zip ties.

 

[theawesomefowl]

Wow-beautiful! I should be getting my lambs and goat in less than a week.

 

[eweinHiscare]

Carolinagirl,
I am seeing your post about your Barbados Blackbelly sheep for the first time, I see you posted it last year.
How are your sheep doing now?
Were you able to tame down the ewes ?

How many lambs did you have born this Spring 2012 ?

Your sheep are so beautiful !!