What's in a Name?

Just before my kids were born my wife and I stressed over thousands of baby names. I'm a strong believer that your name closely relates to your personality in some ways. You might see how I felt it was really important to pick the right name.

I know you must be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with sheep?" Well, it matters what you call your sheep because even though ou might feel it's not all that important others may come up to you one day and ask, "What kind of 'Goat' are you raising?"

(No kidding, 'Goat '. It happens more times than I can count).

I don't mean to suggest we should all be searching for names that match the personality of our sheep. It's fun when you name animals on the ranch things like Rib-eye, Lamb chop, Brisket, or Stew.  This is especially funny and adds to the comedy when visitors come have a "look-see" at the flock.

The real question is:         "What TYPE of sheep do you own?"

 
Confused with by all of these names? Yes? I more than sympathize. I'm not going to delve into the many many hair sheep around today that all look simliar, but there are several sheep that have some genetics in common that are being calling by many of the wrong names.
 
I've asked a few people, who know more than I do to send a few pictures to help us correctly identify the sheep we own. By knowing the name that might help start us in the right direction toward breed standards and breeders associations we can attach ourselves to.
 

The reason this name is so strongly stressed is that the name "Barbados" was, and still is to some degree, being misused to describe American Blackbelly which are a horned version of this color and shape of sheep. Barbados Blackbelly DO NOT have horns and are therefore called "Polled" (Hornless).   (Picture Courtesy of Carol Elkins, Critterhaven, Pueblo, CO)

Because of a nearly tragic early history relating to this breed being mislabeled, today the distinction of breed names has been highly stressed by the breeders of American Blackbelly and Barbados Blackbelly alike. The Barbados Blackbelly sheep (BB) were of interest because it had many desirable characteristics in its gene pool. Breeders desired to crossbreed BB with other European and wild sheep trying to create a more hearty breed. But even though there was success in the cross breed people continued calling the crossbreed a "Barbado" (or some other derivative) and the true purebred became LOST in the shuffle. This almost resulted in the true pureblood polled Barbados Blackbelly sheep being completely lost as they were diluted with other breeds.

It's believed that the Barbados Blackbelly found in Barbados arrived to the island via traders colonizing the islands in the very early 1600's. There they attempted to raise wool sheep which were very unsuccessful on this 1,660 square mile island. The records are unclear as to the cause of their wooled sheep poor health issues although their was the suspicion that the heat was a leading cause. From their writing we see that they noted that in spite of their poor health, these sheep were prolific breeders having mainly twins during lambing. These breeders also also described another breed of hair sheep on the island, possible two breeds, as being introduced into the island colony at the same period; these were described as looking more like goat than sheep. It's strongly suggested that the breeds may have eventually crossbred into what we see today. Through natural selection arising from the harsh parasitic nature of the land, the poor grazing, poisonous plants, and the heat and humidity of a tropical island these factors may have encouraged the desirable traits present in these early crossbreeds into what we see today as being the polled Barbados Blackbelly.

We've com eto acknowledge that the desirable traits of Barbados Blackbelly are what you might suspect from the mix being described in those historical writings:  1) They are prolific breeders, lambing up to three times in 18 months. 2) They are known to have multiple lambs at birth averaging 1.5 - 2.3 lambs. 3) They are parasitic resistant having only 10% of the parasites that would be found in other breeds under similar conditions and are equally able to carry a much heavier number of parasites without showing signs of problem (High worm burden). 4) Being a hair sheep, not producing wool, the waxy oil we find in wool sheep which gives it that typical lamb flavor (Lanoline), is not present. That makes this meat much more pallatable than typical lamb even if they are older Blackbelly. 5) These sheep seem to manage on land that other sheep can't seem to forage on. They're able to thrive on poor vegetation and are considered more desirable to small farms as they're able to clear out rough underbrush and open areas to cattle that would otherwise avoid it. 6) Because they have coarse hair that sheds often, this breed tends to do well in the heat and humidity of tropical and sub-tropical climates while other sheep breeds fertility and vigor declines.

What a gold mine of a sheep!
 
Blackbelly taste good, breed often, don't get sick, eat anything, great in the heat and cold. . . . One might want to proclaim, "We've got to breed this with bigger sheep!" And that is exactly the thought that nearly killed off the breed entirely as people confused breed names. Barbados Blackbelly were nearly lost because people still applied its name to the new crossbreeds (American Blackbelly); the horned version of the same sheep. (Here in Texas most still refer to American Blackbelly as Barbados).
 
Yes, the Barbados Blackbelly did breed well with other sheep, and as people crossbred it with several other varieties to add fanciful horns like those of the Wild Mouflon, the species nearly disappeared as the introduction of new DNA began. Today there are only an estimated 400 - 500 purebred Barbados Blackbelly remaining in the United States. These flocks currently resides with approximately two dozen dedicated breeders, a research flock owned by Virginia State University, and the former flock of North Carolina State University which is now in the hands of an independent breeder.
 

Ref:  Barbados Blackbelly Sheep, R.K. Rastogi, H.E. Williams, and F.C. Youssef

American Blackbelly (Texas Blackbelly)-

American Blackbelly are NOT Barbados (or Barbado).
 
While these look very similar to Barbados Blackbelly, and were derived from that bloodline, they are a crossbreed with other domesticated horned sheep such as Mouflon, Rambouillet, Dorset, Suffolk, and other European breeds in order to develop outstanding horns, increase their size, change meat characteristics, or to develop a better pelt. More recently AB breeders are attempting to increase body mass by introducing of a more modern breed (Katahdin).
 
The market for American Blackbelly today seems to be predominantly geared toward servicing the hunting and game industry who have influenced the breed standards toward a larger animal with unique trophy horns. Even though the breed standards are faily loose as various breeders attempt to produce profitable stock, the primary characteristics of these sheep still need to resemble the Barbados Blackbelly visible characteristic appearances. 

There is a growing drive today for uniformity within the breed as this type of sheep grows in popularity among smaller ranches and farms for both its meat and ease of care. Current standards can be viewed at the following registries:

North American Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Registry - American Blackbelly Standard
 
Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International - American Blackbelly Standard

The Blackbelly Barbado
& The American Barbado -
The best way to describe these breeds is to say, I'm sorry, they don't exist. This is a jumbled mix of words that people, including myself, have used and spread over the years.
 
Personally speaking, being an American doesn't include terms like Chinese Americans, African Americans, or Mexican Americans (Although we can argue Native American as an exception). If we are citizens then we are ALL Americans and I don't need to apologize for saying it like this. When people ask me "What are you?", I say American -- you probably should too.
 
The same is true for the sheep we're all admiring. An American Blackbelly is an American Blackbelly, and a Barbados Blackbelly is a Barbados Blackbelly. We can say American Blackbelly, because the breed was first created here, but there is no such thing as an American Barbados or American Barbado -- we didn't create the breed.

As for saying Blackbelly Barbado, what other kind of Barbados Sheep are there? Frankly, just say it correctly and we'll all be happy.        That being . . . . .Barbados Blackbelly.

 
I'm sure I've probably just upset someone talking like this, but if we want to be honest and true to the terminology then we need to begin using the breed names correctly and stick to a common nomenclature (way of naming things), if not, then we'll all start arguing with each other when in reality we're really saying the same thing. It seems to be the right thing to do since we almost lost an entire breed of sheep by misidentifying it (Like forgetting where you parked your car). 
 

  (Pictures Courtesy of Buffalo Creek Farm, Germanton, NC) 

Hawaiian Blacks have recently been gaining in their notoriety as a result of their increased popularity among game hunters and a few tall tales. The Hawaiian Black has not yet been fully recognized as a breed on it's own (I'm sure they will) but their marvelous pelt beauty and classic Corsican type of horns has quickly taken the attention of the hunting industry. 

These sheep are attractive and distinct from the American Blackbelly as they have been carefully selected to consistently produce the animals you see in the pictures above. Hawaiians are a medium sized sheep with rams typically weighing in at 130 - 140 Lb range, are slightly larger than Barbados Blackbelly, and whose horns can grow up to 35 - 40 inches when reaching full maturity. Many of the characteristics of the Hawaiian Black, including build, hair type, and parasitic resistance are similar to those of the Barbados Blackbelly parents. 

The Hawaiian origin is believed to result from the diverse color variation found in the American Blackbelly which normally very light tan but can also range into the dark mahogany. Every so often a throwback from the crossbred AB will generate a black lamb due in part to the Corsican-Mouflon influence. Breeders who were interested in the attractiveness of the black coat and Corsican horns singled these traits out for breeding into what we now see as the Hawaiian Black. Some of evidence of the Corsican influence remain and is seen through the tolerable appearance of a white muzzle and/or white tipped tail. 
 
For more information please view and read the Buffalo Creek Farm website linked above. There are two stories about their origin on this site, ( I believe the later )

Painted Desert -   

Yellow Belly (Blonde)-

Personally speaking, researching this breed name revealed a rather funny story. The only thing I could find was an antiquated definition of a sheep whose belly turned yellow as it ran across a wild mustard field in bloom. As the sheep turned and ran from trouble the pollen stuck to their underbellies turning them yellow. Hence, the term is now applied to people who run away when trouble comes -- 

       A Yellow belly

In every appearance but color this sheep is an American Blackbelly. Its hair may be completely tan to almost white with black hoofs, not white. Looking closely, careful examination, some black-ish highlights may be seen on the legs, belly, neck, inside ears and/or face but the well defined color of the American Blackbelly is missing. It is certainly a hair sheep with all of the physical build of an American Blackbelly, but it simply doesn't meet the breed standard.

Well OK, you're all thinking it, I'll just say it -- It's a mutt, a throwback, and one day you may call it either a pet, or simply . . . . . . . freezer lamb.