Barbados Black Belly Sheep Breed – Everything You Need to Know

The Barbados Black Belly sheep breed is a gentle docile breed that is active and alert. They are one of the best foragers and love to do foliage management. They produce a high-quality mild-flavored meat that is said to be very tender.

They are also very beautiful sheep that do not really have a huge heavy fleece but rather a shorter smoother one. They are also very prolific breeders that can produce one to two lambs up to twice a year as they can breed out of season.

BARBADOS BLACK BELLY SHEEP QUICK PROFILE OVERVIEW
The Barbados Black Belly sheep is known for its mild flavored tender high-quality lamb
Country of Origin:	Caribbean
Other Names:	Black Belly or Barbados Barriga Nigra
Breed Size:	Medium
Main Purpose:	Meat
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Can be used for	Breed, Meat, **LSC (Landscape Management)
Temperament:	Docile and alert
Ideal Climate:	Most climates
Conservation Status:	Yes Listed by the *ALC Recovering/Watch
Health Issues?	No known health issues
Good Starter Sheep?	They are a novice to intermediate sheep farmer friendly breed
Sheep Associations:	The International Registry for Barbados Blackbelly And American Blackbelly Sheep
Sheep Clubs:	Please check with The International Registry for Barbados Blackbelly And American Blackbelly sheep for up-to-date breeder listings
Note: ALC stands for American Livestock Conservancy * LSC stands for Landscape Management – the animal is used for controlling various vegetation growth

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

They are docile alert with a triangular shaped head and Roman nose. The Ram has a more masculine head that the female. They have slender forelegs and muscular hindquarters. Their bodies are deep, wide, with well sprung ribs and should be large in relation to the animal’s size.

Color(s):

Yellow, tan and different shades of brown

SHEEP ⇒	EWE	RAM
Breed Weight:	39 to 45 kgs	49 to 59 kgs
Breed Height:	24 to 28 inches at withers	30 to 32 inches at withers
Hair:	***Hair sheep breed with a smooth coarse coat of hair – they may grow a heavier undercoat for the winter, but it is completely shed by summer months.	***Hair sheep breed with a smooth coarse coat of hair – they may grow a heavier undercoat for the winter, but it is completely shed by summer months.
Ears:	Pointed and stick out from the side of their head when an alert	Pointed and stick out from the side of their head when an alert
Horns:	Polled – no horns	Polled – no horns
Matures at age:	10 weeks/15 months or 15 years	10 weeks to 15 months
Puberty Age:	5 to 12 months	5 to 7 months
Breeding Age:	18 months	1 year
Breeding Traits:	See Ewe Breeding & Milking Info.	Cover 5 to 10 Ewes in 1 season
Note: ***Hair Sheep are sheep breeds that produce hair rather than wool!

EWE BREEDING & MILKING INFORMATION

They are not usually used for their milk. They can be bred twice a year in 8 to 9-month intervals. They can also carry their pregnancy through hot humid heat.
Breeding Period/cycle:	Usually lasts 24 to 36 hours
Estrous cycle:	Ave. 17 days/15 to 20 days
Gestation Period:	Usually, around 149 to 155 days but most gestation is 152 days
No. Lambs/Litter:	2 (twins) or 3 (triplets)
Lactation Period:	Usually, around 150 to 240 day but most are milked for 180 days
Milking From:	4 to 6 weeks after lambing
Milk Quality:	Good
Milk Ideal for:	Feeding their lambs
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SHEEP MEAT PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Good, known for mild flavored, tender meat

Meat Production:

Yes, Quality: Good

SHEEP ⇒	LAMB	HOGGET/MUTTON
Approx. Maturity Weight:	41 to 54 kgs	41 to 54 kgs
Approx. Maturity Age:

GOOD TO KNOW ABOUT THE BARBADOS BLACK BELLY SHEEP

Some interesting information to know about the Barbados Black Belly sheep breed
Child-Friendly?	They are quite large and can be a bit skittish if not raised correctly. They are not suited around children
Landscape Management?	They do love to graze and are top notch foragers.
Where to buy them?	Please see the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International breeders directory for an up to date list of breeders in or around your area.
General Information	The Barbados Black Belly Sheep has a 300-degree field of vision and as such does not have to turn its head to behind it. They, as all sheep do, have excellent hearing. They can be used to control unwanted, rough vegetation and noxious weeds. Barbados Blackbelly sheep can withstand very humid dry conditions and still thrive.

HISTORY

The Barbados Blackbelly sheep breed was a breed that was developed on the Island of Barbados in the Caribbean.
They are a result of the cross breeding of various European wool sheep breeds and African hair sheep breeds that were brought to the Island around the mid-sixteen-hundreds.

The first Barbados Blackbelly sheep to be imported to America was in 1904 when the sheep caught a lot of interest from Texas. The Blackbelly were loosely managed in Texas and often crossed with Mouflon which is a feral horned sheep as well as Rombouillet sheep breed. They were crossed as such to create a game animal with large horns.

Through selective breeding programs, the sheep were carefully chosen to produce a breed with horn growth, shedding ability and various color characteristics. This breeding created a separate breed altogether called the American Blackbelly sheep breed.

Dr Lemmuel Goode a resident of North Carolina and a member of the North Carolina State University imported a small number of pure-bred Barbados Blackbelly sheep directly from Barbados in the 1970’s.
It is from this herd that all the pure-bred Barbados Blackbelly sheep in the USA originate.

They are listed as watch/recovering by the American Livestock Conservancy because as of 2010 there were less than 600 Barbados Blackbelly sheep listed throughout North America.
The original breed stock from the North Carolina State University was sold to a private breeder in 1996.

Realizing the dire state, the breeds numbers were in America a group of private breeders goat together to form a co-operative to help save the breed. The breeds numbers are currently on the rise with the Barbados Blackbelly registration having risen each year as reported by the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International or the BBSAI.