We have one little registered ewe whose pedigree isn't very long. I suspect as more blank spaces show up on the family tree, there's more likelihood that they could be filled with the tag numbers of commercial woolies. She fits the visual bill for registration in the BBSAI, but she grows a thick, lingering coat of wool in winter that she sheds about the time she needs to grow a new one. And she's just a little different body-wise.
She's had one very nice ram lamb, which we harvested this summer. He was also visually standards compliant, but his winter coat was thick and slow to shed. He "hung" at a very decent weight of about 58 pounds at about 14 months (another accident of timing). While the flavor of the meat was very good, it was fat. Ugh. Fat blackbelly! We get accustomed to a nice lean cut of meat that's just running with juices, but not fat! I have to put a plug in for registration. I am guessing that the more we select for classic Barbados type, the more we'll move away from the fat-riddled wooly carcass to the leaner characteristics of that breed, and a nice lengthy pedigree helps a breeder establish that at least in some way, the parent stock has been selected from hair stock without an influx of wool blood. This is the only ewe in our small flock that has produced a fat lamb. It must be genetic. Speaking of genetics, the beef breeders are big on tenderness genetics these days...that is, the grass-finishing beef breeders. A lot of us think that corn produces tender meat. There are a lot of factors that produce tenderness, but corn isn't one of them. Genetics apparently play a huge part, with a large percentage of "choice" beef unable to attain a high mark in the tenderness category, despite being cornfed in feedlots. And look what we've got here...a little hair sheep that with a bit of conscientious management in the finishing phase that is fork tender!!! How do we capitalize on this trait? With the enormous growing market for locally grown and "artisanal" meats, it will sure pay for us to "pay attention" to which of our animals are producing these extraordinary results and promote (and document through registration) their bloodlines! I am sure looking forward to next harvest, armed with some new insights into finishing the lambs, as well as some hard lessons learned this lambing season. The hardest lesson I've learned this year, I think, is that experience is the best teacher. Just when you think you know everything, Nature whops you upside the head and keeps you humble. Someday we'll be expert at this craft of raising blackbelly sheep, but we'll never stop learning! Regards, Barb Lee Blacklocust Farm Registered American Blackbelly Sheep http://www.blacklocustfarm.net _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
