Say it with me - Barbados Blackbelly

Just saying the name makes me think of far off places! But in this case I am definitely talking sheep. That's right - our flock has now increased by 6 Barbados Blackbelly ewes and their 10 lambs, all between the ages of 1 and 3 months. They were bred to a pure Blackbelly ram so the kids are all 100% and I have a feeling that all the ewes have been bred back as they were running with the ram and my ram has shown no interest in them at all - which would definitely not be the case if any of them were open.

Travelled to Bridge Lake on Saturday to pick up the trailer load from Karen & Rusty - really nice family. Chased them around a bit until we were tired enough to think clearly about how to load them. Once we got them penned up, loading went smooth and they travelled home in style.

We have kept them in a separate pen - another couple days and we will open the gate. We've been letting the two groups get to know each other over the fence. We also weren't sure how they would respond to rooming with llamas. So the extra time let's us make sure they are healthy and gives them time to get to know one another and figure out what the rhythm of our ranch is like.

So far I am really impressed with their mothering - the lambs are all doing well. Nice and solid. The kids are about 60/40 split on ram lambs and ewe lambs, so that gives us something to work with. Anyway, a picture says a thousand words, so here's a few pictures of these really nice sheep. PS: I will be bringing some of these for showing at the Earth & Agriculture event on May 6th.