Who Am I?
My name is David Victor and I've moved about the country a few times these past 10 years. I was born and raised in Huntington Beach, CA (Surf city USA) and moved to Rochester, NY (Home of Kodak) in 2001. In 2004 my family and I relocated here to Houston, TX (Home of inexpensive gas and lots of cows) and for the time being I'm slowly adapting to the incredibly hot and humid summers as well as exploring a great past time with my Blackbelly sheep.
I manage a small chemical business and for the company's size it sits on a rather large property (10 acres) with a few usable acres that were left wild and heavily overgrown. As a couple years passed I grew tired of hacking down the enormous vines and weeds from the building. As an example, the thicket was so dense along the building that it took me a few weeks to cut simple a path around the acre for the fence.
I started this project because I saw that a majority of the local chemical companies along the port area were raising a variety of animals for weed control which lead me to think that I might easily do the same and cut back on the unproductive work maintaining the exterior. I loved the expression being used the native Houstonians who referred to these animals as "slow mowers" and as I become more and more curious about the types of animals being used I made every excuse I could to drive around these facilities where the steroidal chemical engineers mixed with a little rural country life.
It was very plain to see that in spite of the claims being made by environmentalists about pollution and the toxic effects of these places that the animals around these very same refineries looked perfectly healthy and happy among the so-called "Polluted" habitats.
Mixed in and about the storage tanks are horses (Arabians and others), goats (Boers mainly), sheep (any kinds that can survive the heat), and cattle (Angus, Brahma, etc. . .). Every one of them seemed healthy and abundant in the heart of a giant steel maze. The evidence for pollution just isn't compelling. It also surprised me that while on a trip to NASA space center with my family we learned that they also donate land around the center to local schools for use in their agricultural departments.
My initial thoughts about the type of animal to choose lead me to boer goats. Reasoning that they 
were inexpensive, would eat everything in sight, and since I don't have a lot of time to spend in upkeep, I figured that goats were fairly self sufficient. But when I discovered that these critters are just a tad too smart for most fences, well, plainly speaking, (using my best acquired Texan) "Sheep ain't smart" I made my decision against the use of goats.
Having made good friends through my church who manage and own an 80-100 acre ranch a little North of Houston, they convinced and sold me my first two Blackbelly. I had admired their small herd and was poking my nose in their business when they started to educated me about the breed; the sheep seemed to be exactly suit what I was looking for. American Blackbelly CAN take care of themselves, tolerate the local heat and humidity, don't need a very attentive caretaker, multiply almost as fast as rabbits, and intestinal bugs don't do very well in them unlike other sheep and goats. Besides that, they taste good.
Today I pay a lot more attention to my flock than I should and it's become a small hobby that the owner of the business "tolerates" as he turns a blind eye to it (But my customers get a kick out of it). I also joined and am now a board member of BBSAI as the acting secretary.
It's nice to have a small distraction.
David Victor
Victor's Pasture