News Via Barbados
(Please scroll down)
Just for fun, and to put us in an "Island" kind of mood, I decided to lighten things up
with a little "island" kind of music. Enjoy and be happy!
Wesley Bradshaw, from Saint Philip Parish in Barbados, contacted me, after surfing the net
looking for websites that had information on them about inbreeding, line breeding and out
crossing. Since then, Wesley and I have become acquainted through sending over fifty emails.
He has sent us pictures of his sheep, actually, we have exchanged pictures of our sheep and
even recipes of what we feed our Blackbellies. You can see Wesley's photos on our "What's
New" page and "Photos From Barbados" page. We are grateful to Wesley for contacting us.
The information he has shared has broadened our aspirations regarding the Barbados Blackbelly.
Wesley's good friend, Dr. Leroy McLean, whose doctorate is in biology, wrote his thesis about
Barbados Blackbelly genetics. If you have not already seen his creative and informative website
at www.blackbellyonline.com, I highly recommend that you take a look at it, especially the genetics
chart for Blackbellies comparing them with other hair sheep breeds.
_______________________
Now, to introduce you to Haroon Kara. After I met Wesley Bradshaw online, he happened to be
visiting with "Roon" and told him about our website, so Roon wrote to me to tell me he would
consider it s a privilige to be able to send pictures to me of his sheep, pictures of other breeder's
sheep and pictures from their annual show if I was interested. Little did he know, I am the one
who considers it a privilege to have received the photos.
These two pictures of Roon's
sheep were a little hard to pull
up because they were taken
inside a covered shed. The sun
is so intense in Barbados, they
keep the sheep in sheds before a
show, so that the sun won't dry
the coats.
On to the 2011 annual show. In Barbados,
sheep are categorized by the number of
broad teeth they have in the front. "No
teeth" is less than a year. "Two teeth" is
between one year and one and a half
years. And the "four teeth" category is any
sheep over the age of 18 months.
Below is the "no teeth" class, while
entrants in the second photo below, are
being judged in the "two teeth" class.
Below: No Teeth Category
****************************************
Above: Two Teeth Category
The photos below were kindly sent by Haroon Kara of shots that were taken behind the
scenes at the 2011 show.
Top Left: This photo shows a four teeth Wiltshire and a two teeth Blackbelly.
Top Right: There are two Wiltshires in the pen.
Second Left: Roon tells me this is a ewe over a year and a half that is "in kid".
Second Right: I don't have a description for second right, but from the looks of her, I think she is in the same class (and condition) as second left.
Third Left: This photo will surprise you. Roon tells me she is a pregnant four teeth ewe,
over a year and a half. Interesting part is that he says her tail indicates she is
not 100% Blackbelly. Look closely, her tail is not straight, it has kinks in it.
Third Right: I think we have another pregnant four teeth entrant in this picture.
Bottom Left: The cross bred sheep, under one year, are a mixture of an old British breed
crossed with local Blackbelly and Wiltshire sheep. These are mostly used
for meat, but they produce more fat than Blackbellies.
Just for fun, and to put us in an "Island" kind of mood, I decided to lighten things up
with a little "island" kind of music. Enjoy and be happy!
Wesley Bradshaw, from Saint Philip Parish in Barbados, contacted me, after surfing the net
looking for websites that had information on them about inbreeding, line breeding and out
crossing. Since then, Wesley and I have become acquainted through sending over fifty emails.
He has sent us pictures of his sheep, actually, we have exchanged pictures of our sheep and
even recipes of what we feed our Blackbellies. You can see Wesley's photos on our "What's
New" page and "Photos From Barbados" page. We are grateful to Wesley for contacting us.
The information he has shared has broadened our aspirations regarding the Barbados Blackbelly.
Wesley's good friend, Dr. Leroy McLean, whose doctorate is in biology, wrote his thesis about
Barbados Blackbelly genetics. If you have not already seen his creative and informative website
at www.blackbellyonline.com, I highly recommend that you take a look at it, especially the genetics
chart for Blackbellies comparing them with other hair sheep breeds.
_______________________
Now, to introduce you to Haroon Kara. After I met Wesley Bradshaw online, he happened to be
visiting with "Roon" and told him about our website, so Roon wrote to me to tell me he would
consider it s a privilige to be able to send pictures to me of his sheep, pictures of other breeder's
sheep and pictures from their annual show if I was interested. Little did he know, I am the one
who considers it a privilege to have received the photos.
These two pictures of Roon'ssheep were a little hard to pull
up because they were taken
inside a covered shed. The sun
is so intense in Barbados, they
keep the sheep in sheds before a
show, so that the sun won't dry
the coats.
On to the 2011 annual show. In Barbados,
sheep are categorized by the number of
broad teeth they have in the front. "No
teeth" is less than a year. "Two teeth" is
between one year and one and a half
years. And the "four teeth" category is any
sheep over the age of 18 months.
Below is the "no teeth" class, while
entrants in the second photo below, are
being judged in the "two teeth" class.
Below: No Teeth Category
****************************************
Above: Two Teeth Category
The photos below were kindly sent by Haroon Kara of shots that were taken behind the
scenes at the 2011 show.
Top Left: This photo shows a four teeth Wiltshire and a two teeth Blackbelly.
Top Right: There are two Wiltshires in the pen.
Second Left: Roon tells me this is a ewe over a year and a half that is "in kid".
Second Right: I don't have a description for second right, but from the looks of her, I think she is in the same class (and condition) as second left.
Third Left: This photo will surprise you. Roon tells me she is a pregnant four teeth ewe,
over a year and a half. Interesting part is that he says her tail indicates she is
not 100% Blackbelly. Look closely, her tail is not straight, it has kinks in it.
Third Right: I think we have another pregnant four teeth entrant in this picture.
Bottom Left: The cross bred sheep, under one year, are a mixture of an old British breed
crossed with local Blackbelly and Wiltshire sheep. These are mostly used
for meat, but they produce more fat than Blackbellies.
********************************************
These next photos are sheep that belong to Haroon's close friend, Roy Jack, from St. John
Parish in Barbados. They were purchased from the Barbados Blackbelly Research Project
to see how they would grow and to use for breeding. The red-looking animals again, are
called Wiltshires in Barbados. They are a cross between Blackbelly and West African sheep.
All of these lambs are about 8 1/2 months old.
These next photos are sheep that belong to Haroon's close friend, Roy Jack, from St. John
Parish in Barbados. They were purchased from the Barbados Blackbelly Research Project
to see how they would grow and to use for breeding. The red-looking animals again, are
called Wiltshires in Barbados. They are a cross between Blackbelly and West African sheep.
All of these lambs are about 8 1/2 months old.
*********************************************************
The next four photos are Leslie's sheep. The Blackbelly in the pictures won the 2 teeth
category. This category is for rams between 1 year and 1 year and 6 months. The other
sheep in the pen is a Wiltshire and is 11 months old. The rams in the fourth picture are
all around l0 months of age.
Please note the Roman nose on the Blackbelly above. It certainly has crank. The Wiltshires
tend to grow faster than the Blackbellies, but these sheep are huge. What are you feeding
them, Leslie?
The next four photos are Leslie's sheep. The Blackbelly in the pictures won the 2 teeth
category. This category is for rams between 1 year and 1 year and 6 months. The other
sheep in the pen is a Wiltshire and is 11 months old. The rams in the fourth picture are
all around l0 months of age.
Please note the Roman nose on the Blackbelly above. It certainly has crank. The Wiltshires
tend to grow faster than the Blackbellies, but these sheep are huge. What are you feeding
them, Leslie?
Lone Star Farm | Barbados Blackbelly