A good ewe will lamb as frequently as every 6 months, and most will lamb about every 8 months. Ewes will breed back before their lambs are weaned. Ram lambs can breed as young as 4 months, but most become fertile at 6 months. Blackbelly lambs are small; singles weigh up to about 8 lb and most twins weigh 4 to 5 lb.
Ewes rarely require assistance during lambing, are excellent mothers, and quickly bond to their lambs. The mothers isolate their babies from the flock on their own, finding shelter from cold winds and heavy rains, and bond during the first 24 hours. Blackbellies are hair sheep and need no shearing. They grow a long winter coat of hair with a very fine undercoat of wool of varying thickness. The undercoat sheds first and is held by the long guard hairs until the sheep rubs both fibers off in clumps.
The colder the climate the heavier the coat; it adapts to the tropics as well as northern Canada. The tails do not require docking because the hair does not retain manure or debris. The Blackbelly is a shearless wonder! Blackbellies do well on many kinds of feed, including whole grains, crushed corn, rolled oats, sweet feeds, and mixed rations. Many breeders feed only alfalfa hay with no grain at all. The Blackbelly requires less feed than larger wool breeds and, if necessary, will maintain condition when offered poorer hays.
We recommend that you always offer mineral supplements. Be very careful to select feed and minerals appropriate for sheep in your area. The day after birth, I tag my lambs with the small brass tags that Premier sells.
The tags are easy to apply. Place the tag so that half of it hangs off the ear to allow for growth. The second tags is the plastic scrapie tag. I use Premier's 2X tag because it rips out less frequently than any other tag I've tried. I apply the tag either when the lamb leaves my property which is federal law or reaches 1 year of age the adult ear is big enough to handle the plastic tag.
Q: How do I register my sheep? Is there a breed registry? Q: What kind of records do I need to keep for my sheep? Q: What kind of pasture grass should I plant for my sheep? Q: What kind of vaccination schedule should I use for my Barbados Blackbellies? Q: What kind of worming schedule should I use for my Barbados Blackbellies?
With proper pasture rotation and careful management, you should not need to deworm your sheep. And if you must, then ask yourself why you want to raise them in an area of the country that prevents you from raising them naturally.
NOTE: Your geographic location, your pasture type and size, and your flock size are only a few of the factors that affect your flock's worm load. A very reputable breeder recently lost a lamb to worms as a result of the hurricane storms in the East. In order to avoid the weather, the flock hung around the barn area more and their worm count increased to a fatal level. Q: I know I don't need to dock my Blackbelly's tail. But why not? Family Bovidae, the cow and gazelle family.
Conservation Status Common Range Worldwide. Habitat Extremely versatile they exist in a wide variety of habitats worldwide, ranging from temperate mountain forests to desert conditions. This breed thrive in the hot, humid environments that are challenging for most sheep but also do well in colder climates.
Color: All shades of brown, tan or yellow, all are highlighted with contrasting black underparts with contrasting black underparts extending down the inside of the legs. Black points on the nose, forehead, and inside of the ears are black. Rams have a neckpiece of thick hair which extends down the neck to the brisket, some may cover to the shoulder. Head: Medium in size and well in conformation to the neck and body.
There is a slight tendency to a roman nose, especially in the ram. Ears point forward from the side, they should not droop. Horns: Both sexes of the Barbados Blackbelly are polled.
Neck: Medium in length, slender in conformation to body size. Rams are heavier and well set to the shoulder. Body: Fairly deep with well-sprung ribs. There is a fair width of back and loin, but a very deficient hindquarter similar to a goat's. The rump is quite steep from the hips to the pin bones and the tail is set very low. Legs: "Leggy", and generally are quite well set. In general appearance at a distance these sheep resemble small deer or antelope. They are very active and lively.
They are alert at all times. Compared to the more recognized "mutton type", Barbados Blackbelly sheep are less "squatty" and are slower growing. Fat over the ribeye muscle longissimus dorsi at the twelfth rib averages 1. Kidney and kidney fat as a percentage of carcass weight is 0. Marbling in the rib-eye muscle and feathering between the ribs intramuscular fat is less evident than in regular wooled market lambs.
Since USDA grade is strongly influenced by feathering, Barbados Blackbelly tend to grade medium to high good, rather than choice. Muscling is less well developed than in "improved'' meat breeds of sheep, but rib-eye areas per 50 pounds carcass weight of the longissimus dorsi at the twelfth rib are above those of the average market lamb.
These measure 2. Part of this advantage is due to small carcass weight, commonly 30 to 40 pounds, and to lower percentage of fat in the carcass. Crossbreeding These hair sheep are fully fertile in crosses with other breeds. A History of the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep.
0コメント