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Articles about Raising Blackbelly Sheep
We believe that there is simply no good resource for blackbelly
breeders who want to learn more about their sheep and how to raise them.
We've written a lot of articles to help give you reliable information.
- From the Brink of Extinction describes the successful efforts of the Consortium for Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Breeders to restore the population of rare Barbados Blackbelly sheep in the U.S.
- Accelerated
Breeding Chart provides a convenient timetable to schedule your
breedings so that ewes can produce two litters in 12 months.
- Raising Bummer
Lambs on a Bottle provides emergency information to help keep
a rejected lamb alive.
- Delivery Date
Chart gives you the corresponding lambing date for any day you
breed your ewes. PDF 246KB
- Blackbellies—Why
and Why Not? Article published in the November 2007 issue of The
Shepherd Magazine and also presented to the North American Hair
Sheep Symposium at San Angelo, TX, to introduce blackbellies to new
breeders and to explain the pros and cons of the two breeds. PDF 3.6MB
(big file because it is full of great pictures)
- Conservation Breeding—How
to Grow Your Flock with Only One Ram describes in lay terms the
complicated breeding program designed by the American Livestock Breeding
Conservancy (ALBC) to help rare breeds increase their population and
genetic diversity. HTML with option to download PDF 105 KB
- History
and Preservation of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep slide show that
puts into perspective as much information as is currently known about
how the breed began and how American Blackbelly sheep were derived
from it. Great photos, big PDF 1.6MB
- Getting Started in Blackbelly Sheep Article published in Backwoods Home Magazine November/December 2014. Good overview of buying sheep, getting set up for them, and what to do with 'em once you get 'em
- Using a Stanchion to Feed a Rejected Lamb Article published in Countryside Magazine March/April 2015 describes how to build an inexpensive stanchion out of scrap materials and how to use it to help convince a ewe to reclaim her lamb
- Barn Setup
illustrating how a small pole barn can contain both a handling chute
as well as lambing jugs, a stanchion, and a feeding area.
- A Short Pencil
Is Better than a Long Memory discusses the importance of recordkeeping
and tagging with clear instructions on how to do both. PDF 312KB
- Garry Vroegh on Hair
Sheep provides some good wisdom about selecting and raising hair
sheep.
- Barbados Blackbelly Stewards Needed
Article published in the Sept/Oct 2007 American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
newsletter concerning the need for more people becoming involved in
the conservation of the breed.
- Linda Sakiewitz
shares her views on Barbados Blackbelly sheep. She and her husband,
Claude Hughes, purchased North Carolina State University's purebred
research flock descended from the sheep originally imported from Barbados
in 1904.
- Genetics
of Scrapie is a brief introduction that gives you the basics of
the disease.
- 8 Easy Steps
for Complying with the Federal Scrapie Eradication Program is
the best info available in an easy-to-understand format. PDF 521KB
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