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History and Description of Barbados
Blackbelly Sheep:
The Barbados
Blackbelly breed originally developed on the West Indies island of Barbados
from hair sheep brought in by African slave traders during the 1600s. In
1904, the USDA imported four ewes and a ram to Bethesda, Maryland. Offspring
from those sheep, as well as BB sheep making their way into the U.S. from
imports into South America and Mexico, established several “colonies” of BB
sheep in the U.S. Some of these BB sheep were crossed in the southwest
United States with horned Ramboulliet and Mouflan to create a horned version
known informally as "barbado" and now officially known as American
Blackbelly. The original polled (hornless) sheep as they appeared on
the Island of Barbados are known as Barbados Blackbelly. Today a small group
of dedicated breeders are committed to the preservation of this rare breed
of original Barbados Blackbelly sheep. Barbados Blackbelly sheep are
known for their excellent tender and mild meat quality, their ease of care,
their resistence to disease and parasites, and their prolific all-season
breeding and lambing.
Barbados Blackbelly Sheep at Bellwether
Farm:
At Bellwether Farm, we have been raising purebred polled Barbados Blackbelly sheep since 2002. We pride ourselves on raising some of the
finest registered polled Barbados Blackbelly stock in the United States.
Our flock is extremely healthy, of good carcass size, and has an excellent
smooth hair coat with perfect markings. At the present time we have 40
breeding ewes and 12 breeding rams, divided into 6 distinct bloodlines.
These 6 distinct bloodlines make it possible for a buyer to purchase a ram
and unrelated ewes to form a starter flock with wide genetic diversity. All stock is registered with the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep
Association International, and all breeding stock lambs will be sold with
registration papers and a multi-generational pedigree.
We raise our sheep as naturally as possible. Our
pastures are native (unimproved) pastures, and the flock grazes on this
alone during 8 months out of the year (April through November). During
December through March the flock is fed a grass hay with a small amount of
alfalfa, and they also receive a small amount of soy hull pellets or corn combined
with all-stock
grain feed (1/4 lb. per
head) during the coldest winter weather. Pregnant and lactating ewes
also receive a daily grain supplement, from late pregnancy into the first 6
weeks of nursing. We provide fresh water, salt,
and a sheep mineral block at all times of the year. We vaccinate lambs
with CD/T vaccine (for Overeating Disease and Tetnus) at 2 weeks and 4
weeks, and with Bo-Se (a Vitamin E and Selenium supplement) as the soil and
pastures in this area are low in selenium, a necessary supplement. We do not vaccinate adults. We worm with standard oral
drench wormers between 2 and 4 times per year. We trim feet once or
twice per year.
95% of our sheep sales are for breeding stock. We also
sell yearling market lambs for slaughter by request. Additionally, we
occasionally sell dog-broke herding sheep when enough are available. We
will be happy to take your requests for lambs in any of these categories.
2010 Prices and Terms:
Our registered lambs for breeding stock sell for $175.00
each, plus the cost of any needed health papers (currently the veterinary
health inspection cost is $85.00 for any sized group going to a single
out-of-state destination) and plus any applicable
shipping costs. A 50% deposit plus the health inspection cost is required to reserve sheep, and we ask
that you pay the balance and pick up your stock within 30 days.
To purchase breeding stock, contact Bellwether Farm at (618) 893-4568 or
e-mail to
mswindel@siu.edu.
Stock sold for slaughter are priced individually, based on
weight. Please contact us for details, at Bellwether Farm, (618)
893-4568 or e-mail to mswindel@siu.edu.
Stock sold for herding purposes are also priced individually,
based on age and level to which stock is dog-broke. Again, please
contact us for details at (618) 893-4568 or e-mail to
mswindel@siu.edu.
Want to look at the stock? Need directions to
Bellwether Farm? Click here:
Directions to Bellwether
Farm.pdf
Need to find a motel near Bellwether Farm? Click here:
Motels Near Bellwether
Farm.pdf
Bloodlines:
Let me tell you about the bloodlines of our sheep at
Bellwether Farm. We are preserving six bloodlines, known here by the
following names:
1. Teddy - based on descendents of the Charles Beam
ram, Teddy, and a select group of ewes, also purchased from Mr. Beam.
2. Ulysses - based on descendents of the Carol Elkins
ram Ulysses, and a select group of ewes from the Charles Beam group.
3. St. Lucy VSU - based on descendents of the Virginia
State University ram St. Lucy VSU (from James Harper) and a select set of
original Virginia State University ewes and their daughters (also from James
Harper).
4. Hatley - based on descendents of two half-brother
rams, Amram (from Mike and Becky Lannon) and Moose (from Elaine Haas).
Both rams are sons of the Hatley Farm ram Calvin #13 and two different
Hatley Farm ewes. A select set of ewes descended from the Virginia
State University ewe group has been used to provide the maternal ewes to
further this line.
5. St. Michael VSU - based on descendents of two
sons/grandsons of JoAnne Hamsher's St. Michael VSU ram: Revelry (from
JoAnne Hamsher) and Vincenzo (from Elaine Haas). A combination group
of VSU ewes, descended from the St. Lucy, St. Michael, and St. Phillip
lines, has been used to provide the maternal ewe group to further this line.
6. St. Phillip VSU - an attempt to reconstruct a
bloodline for the long-deceased ram St. Phillip VSU, based on using the ram,
Xebec (maternal grandson of St. Phillip). The ewes in this line are
the four daughters of St. Phillip VSU and two of his granddaughters.
For each of these 6 bloodline groups, we are using a
combination of linebreeding and outcrossing (out to one of the other 5
lines), in order to preserve the essential genetics of each bloodline
intact, and still provide the necessary genetic breadth to maintain the
vigor of each line. As our guide for this breeding process, we rely on
the "Conservation Breeding Plan" as outlined and detailed in two American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) reference books, A Conservation
Breeding Handbook by Carolyn Christman and D. Phillip Sponenberg, and
Managing Breeds for a Secure Future by Phil Sponenberg and Donald
Bixby. You can get a copy of these books by going to the ALBC web site
at http://albc-usa.org/
 | Rams Our twelve breeding rams provide the six paternal
bloodlines for our flock. They are all either foundation animals
or the selected ram descendents from our original foundation rams. See their photos on the
Photo Gallery page.
Teddy's Bloodline
 | Teddy - Teddy was purchased from Charles Beam, former
President of the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International
(BBSAI). Teddy is well-marked and of large size. He has
small 1/2" scurs. Teddy has a light colored coat, a
beautiful clear face, and a sweet disposition. Teddy was sold
to breeder Tom Schechinger in November 2009. |
| Bartholomew - Son of Teddy, and out of foundation ewe
Effie. Bartholomew is well marked, and is larger than his
father and is perfectly smooth headed. We used Bartholomew for
Spring 2008 breeding in place of his father. We will use
Bartholomew again with the Teddy group of ewes in Fall 2010 for a
Spring 2011 crop of lambs. |
| Arizona - Son of Teddy, and out of Noelle from the
foundation ewe Flossie line. Arizona has the same clear,
beautiful face as his father, is smooth polled like Bartholomew, and
is attaining good size. We will use Arizona in a future
breeding cycle to further this line. |
Ulysses' Bloodline
| Ulysses - Ulysses was purchased from Carol Elkins of
Pueblo, Colorado. He is sired by Carol Elkins' Zane, out of
her dam Noel. Ulysses is also well-marked and of large size.
He has a perfectly smooth head (no scurs). Ulysses has a clear
face and a distinctive ram-like personality. Ulysses was sold
to breeder Tom Schechinger in November 2009. |
| Ishmael - Son of Ulysses, out of ewe Jacqueline from the
foundation ewe Flossie line, Ishmael is the spitting image of his
father. He is light in color, smooth polled, and has the same
face as Ulysses. We will be using Ishmael to further the
Ulysses line by putting him with the Ulysses group of ewes in Fall
2010 for a Spring 2011 crop of lambs. |
| Quinton - Son of Ulysses, out of dam Lilah from the
foundation ewe Effie line, Quinton is of excellent size and
conformation, and is an exceptionally dark color for the Ulysses
bloodline. He also has inherited Ulysses' perfectly smooth
polled head. Since this lambing was the last crop sired by
Ulysses himself, we were delighted that he left such a wonderful
offspring. Quinton will be used in future lambing cycles to
further these attributes of the Ulysses line. |
St. Lucy VSU's Bloodline
| St. Lucy VSU - St. Lucy was acquired from James Harper
of Prince George, Virginia. He is descended from the Virginia
State University research flock, and is well-marked, a chocolate
brown, and has a perfectly smooth head (no scurs). |
| Levi - Son of St. Lucy, out of Gertrude from the
foundation ewe Perturb VSU line, Levi is a duplicate of his father,
only much larger. He is smooth headed, a lovely chocolate
brown, and is the largest ram at Bellwether Farm -- a visible
success story! He has been put with the St. Lucy group of ewes
during Spring 2010 for a September 2010 crop of lambs. |
Hatley Bloodline
| Amram - Amram was purchased from Mike and Becky Lannon of
Lone Star Farm in Hockley, Texas. Amram is the son of Calvin
#13 and is out of Hope, both from the Hatley Farm in Arkansas.
Amram was the half brother to Moose, and by careful breeding we have
started a Hatley bloodline from careful linebreeding using these two
paternal animals, Moose and Amram, as the basis beginning in Fall
2008. We have decided to use three selected VSU ewes as the
maternal component to reconstruct and further this Hatley bloodline.
Amram bred these three VSU ewes during Summer 2008 and
produced three daughters and one son in November and December 2008.
Those three ewe lambs, when mature, were bred to Moose to further
this Hatley bloodline. The son will be a replacement for Amram.
Due to an unfortunate series of accidents on the winter ice, Amram
dislocated his hip twice within one month in January 2009. The
second time it could not be put back in place by the veterinary
emergency team, and sadly, he had to be put down. We will miss
his sweet face and gentle disposition, and we feel blessed that he
managed to make his contribution so nicely before his time on earth
was over. |
| Moose - Moose was purchased from Elaine Haas at Sunny
Slope Farm in Hillsboro, Missouri. Moose is the linebred son
of Calvin #13 and Gloria #20 from the Hatley Farm in Arkansas, and
is the half brother to Amram. In Spring 2009 we bred Moose to
the same three VSU ewes previously bred by Amram, and he produced
two sets of twins in September 2009 to further the Hatley line.
We have kept the ewe lambs and sold the ram lambs. Moose of of large size, is
well-marked and perfectly smooth headed. |
| Ian - Ian is the son of Amram, born in November 2008.
He is of large size, medium dark, and is smooth-headed. In
Spring 2010 we have put him in with the same group of Hatley ewes to
produce a September 2010 Hatley line group of lambs. |
St. Michael's Bloodline
| Revelry - Revelry was purchased from JoAnne Hamsher at
Lazy Lamb Farm in Royse City, Texas. Revelry is the son of St.
Michael VSU (dam is Violet VSU). He is smooth polled, medium
dark, and of good size. We used Revelry in Fall 2009 on the
selected St. Michael group of ewes for a January 2010 lamb crop. |
| Vincenzo - Vincenzo was purchased from Elaine Haas at
Sunny Slope Farm in Hillsboro, Missouri. He is the son of
Zakia and grandson of St. Michael VSU (dam is Virginia VSU).
He is smooth polled, of good size and medium color. We used
Vincenzo as the cleanup ram in late Fall 2009 on the selected St.
Michael group of ewes for a March 2010 lamb crop. |
| Pastor - Son of Revelry, born in January 2010 to dam
Christmas Angel, Pastor shows the excellent size, color and
conformation that we hoped to achieve in the St. Michael bloodline.
Pastor will be used in future breeding cycles to distribute
Christmas Angel's large size and excellent conformation throughout
the St. Michael bloodline. |
St. Phillip's Bloodline
| Xebec - Maternal grandson of St. Phillip, Xebec was born
in March 2009 to dam Francesca, daughter of St. Phillip VSU.
Xebec is being mated to four daughters and two granddaughters of St.
Phillip VSU in an attempt to reconstruct the bloodline for the
long-deceased St. Phillip. A fair amount of line breeding will
probably need to be done in order to reconstruct this line, and at
best it will not be a huge percentage St. Phillip. But in the
interested of preserving every known VSU ram's genetics, the effort
seems to be well worth it. Xebec has been put with the St.
Phillip group of ewes in Spring 2010 for a lamb crop in September
2010. |
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| Ewes Many of our breeding ewes are descended from
an original 5 bred foundation ewes (3 acquired from
Charles Beam, and 2 acquired from James Harper). These 5 foundation ewes
each had daughters containing other ram blood, so there are actually 12
foundation ewe bloodlines represented by those first 5 foundation ewes
and their 7 original female offspring. Later, we also acquired 3
additional foundation ewes from Elaine Haas, Mike and Becky Lannon,
and JoAnne Hamsher. These 3 additional ewes gives us a total of
15 foundation ewe bloodlines.
We are currently keeping
a flock of 35 breeding ewes, including these 15 original foundation girls and/or
their descendents. See photos of the foundation ewes
on the Photo Gallery page. The 8
original foundation ewes and their
7 original female offspring are as follows:
| Dora - Foundation ewe from Charles Beam. |
| Effie - Foundation ewe from Charles Beam. |
| Flossie - Foundation ewe from Charles Beam. |
| Nuisance VSU - Foundation ewe from James Harper. |
| Perturb VSU - Foundation ewe from James Harper. |
| Sunny Slope Christmas Angel - Foundation ewe from Elaine
Haas. |
| Lone Star Bequias - Foundation ewe from Mike and Becky
Lannon. |
| Lazy Lamb Fiona - Foundation ewe from JoAnne Hamsher. |
| Noelle (F), Ginny (D), and Heidi (E) - first generation offspring from
bred foundation ewes Dora, Effie and Flossie. |
| Francesca (P), Gertrude (P), Hannah (N), and Roxy (N) - first generation
offspring from bred foundation ewes Nuisance VSU and Perturb VSU. |
Our 35 breeding ewes are divided into 6 breeding groups, named in
accordance with one of the 6 ram bloodlines (the Teddy group, the
Ulysses group, etc. as listed above in the "Rams" section). Each
ewe is always in the same breeding group, and is always mated to a ram
from that bloodline group (except when an "outcross" breeding is
necessitated by bringing in a different ram in order to "freshen" the
genetics of each bloodline group, in accordance with the ALBC's
conservation breeding plan, as mentioned above in the "Bloodlines"
section). |
| Lambs for Sale -
New Spring 2010
Lambs Available! Ram Lambs - We have many new
polled ram lambs on the ground, born between January 26, 2010 and
March 16, 2010. See the lamb lists on the
What's New
page for details!
Ewe Lambs - We also have many new polled ewe lambs, born between
January 26, 2010 and March 16, 2010. See the lamb lists on the
What's New page for details!
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