Hi Cheryl,
My name is Erin, I have had hair sheep for the past 10 years. I love meeting people that love blackbellies. How long have you had blackbellies? How many do you have?

Hi Erin: I have about 45 sheep right now - 19 lambs this spring! Our main focus is on the horses we raise, but I love these sheep. I could watch the babies play for hours! I've been raising them for about 3 or 4 years. Where are you located?

I am near Springfield, MO. Blackbellies are so pretty I love their markings! They almost look painted. Do you have any tame ones? I have bottle raised quite a few myself and got them eating out of my hand. I even got an older ram to eat out of my hand. They have so much Character!

Cheryl,

Hi, I am new here... just discovered this site... and I have an absolutely gorgeous blackbelly/barbados ram. We call him Little Dude (because he was so small when we got him at 4 mos old) but he's anything but little now. His dam was blackbelly and his sire was Barbados, and Little Dude has his father's beautiful horns developing while he has his mothers blackbelly markings. He is really sweet, although a little shy.

Right now I have two Barbados ewes, and a bunch of Katahdins, Shetlands and some mixed barbs - probably about 50 sheep in all. However, I have toyed with the idea of getting a few blackbelly ewes, as I have heard that they are more tame than the Barbs.

The really cool thing is that our place, Wild Rose Meadows, is in Luna, NM and we have another place in Tucson, Arizona. I pass through Wilcox several times a month on my sojourns back and forth. It would be real easy for me to stop by sometime and take a look at your flock of blackbellys. BTW, how much are you asking for your ewe lambs?

Hi - Just let me know when you want to stop by - we're almost always home! My sheep are what the BBSAI now classifies as "American Blackbelly" (rams have horns) as opposed to the original "Barbados blackbelly" which came from Barbados and are polled (no horns). visit www.blackbellysheep.org to read about the breed classifications. My sheep are not tame. The only way I've found to tame them is to raise a bottle baby! Most of the ewes and both rams are registered with BBSAI so the lambs can be as well, if you are looking to go with the purebreds. The ewe lambs are $125, but I will discount for purchases of more than one. The ram lambs are $85. I have 19 lambs this spring most of which can be weaned now. Looking forward to meeting you if you decide to come by!
Cheryl McLaughlin
McLaughlin Appaloosas &
Quarter Horses
Willcox, AZ

Awesome. I guess Little Dude could be classified as American Blackbelly then. We're just about ready to take off for a week long vacation/visit my Mom trip. Then I shall get back with you on getting directions to your place in Wilcox so we can come visit.

I did promise myself that I wouldn't buy more sheep until I sold a few... so I guess I'd better get busy. I would like to have a couple of American Blackbelly ewes to add to my group.

Do you find that you sell more lambs for market or more lambs for breeders? My hope was to establish a nice flock of market lambs for our clients... while my main love is my Shetland flock (since I spin and weave). Still... I am not sure registered is important or if I might want to show them in the Pima County Fair someday.

Rena

Hi Rena: I mostly sell lambs for breeding. If I were closer to Tucson I'd probably be able to sell more for meat and then I would consider some crossing with Dorper for bigger size. I think these sheep are getting more popular, and there should be some at the Cochise Co. Fair this year, which will be cool! Registering is probably not that important, I just like that there is the option. What color is the wool of your Shetlands? Do you sell it? My neighbor spins & weaves, too, and I'd been toying with the idea of seeing if she'd make a saddle blanket. I look forward to hearing from you
Cheryl McLaughlin
McLaughlin Appaloosas &
Quarter Horses
Willcox, AZ

Cheryl,

Sorry I took so long to get back to you... It's been awhile since I've checkecd this site.

Yes, I do sell fleeces and I have a wide range of colors. I've everything from true blacks, shaela, grays, moorits, browns, a little bit of moigets (honey browns), a little white. Mostly I use my merino X for my white.

The going rate is $10-$15/lb for raw wool. I usually process my own fleeces... but I'm not set up right now to process large quantities.

Hate to wreck a sale, but do really want it for a horse blanket? My sweetie (who raised horses) says that Shetland fleece is awfully fine for a horse blanket - unless you want it purely for decoration.

- Rena