Mr Harper,
I'm really tired of your drivel. You continually state that sheep with horns are not
Blackbelly
Barbados. You have been doing so for months, even after Ms. Elkins conducted her
informal poll
and said the subject was closed. I find this behaviour extremely offensive.
Some facts about my flock.
-I bought my first ewes at a BBB conference.
-I used a stud ram from a former BBSAI officer.
-My breeding stock has the proper markings & conformation.
-They are easy keepers.
-They are prolific.
-They don't need their tails docked.
-They are parasite resistant.
-They meet the requirments of the breed standard. Otherwise they get culled.
I think of them as a decent flock of BBB sheep.
Yet you state that, because my rams have horns, they aren't Blackbelly Barbados. And
imply that
they are some sort of unworthy scrub sheep.
Pardon me, but who gave you the authority to change the breed standard? Who gave you
the
authority to exclude my sheep from the breed? And how many other breeders are you
excluding?
And when, by fiat, you've excluded a significant portion of the BBB flock because they
have
horns, how viable with the breed be then?
Nobody gave you that authority. You don't have said authority.
You have gotten the notion that BBB must be polled. I don't know where you got that
idea.
Currently the sheep in the island of Barbados are polled, but what about when they
were first
imported 1904? You have absolutely no way of knowing if those sheep, nor any that
stayed
behind, had polled genetics or not. Between 1904 and now, the breeders may have begun
selecting
for polled stock, but we really don't know. Not to mention that there were only 5 of
them
imported into America, not much of a gene pool. And were the sheep coming from Africa
to
Barbados in the 1600s polled or not? Again, no way for you to know.
Perhaps the OSU sheep breed page? First off Blackbelly Barbados sheep aren't listed
at all.
Barbado are listed, with the last update being in 1996. Barbados Blackbelly are
listed, with
the last update being in 1997. If you read the disclaimer, OSU says that the breed
listing
continues to grow as they get new information. Not much new for us BBB breeders.
Most telling
to me was under the Barbados Blackbelly section, where they said that yellow ewes had
WHITE
abdomens. So the OSU page says that a Barbados Blackbelly can have a white belly.
Sorry, but
I'll discount the OSU page as being not completely reliable. After all, they are
mostly
compiling information from other sources and not conducting new research.
So where did the idea that BBB must be polled for them to be 'true' BBB come from? I
don't know
and I don't really care. If that's the way you want to take your flock, that's your
business.
But for you to tell a new BBB owner that she really has Barbado, not 'true' BBB is
wrong.
Especially when your signature block lists your position within BBBSAI, implying that
you speak
for the breed organization. You do not speak for the breed organization.
It is also wrong for you to tell more experienced breeders, that their sheep are no
longer BBB.
Just because you decided that they shouldn't have horns, and none of the other work
towards
improving their flock matters because they now have barbado sheep, not BBB. Once
again, you do
not speak for the breed organization.
Lest my message be confused, I am angry with you, Mr. Harper.
I think you are spouting your opinions and your whims, as facts and requirements for
all
breeders to follow.
I think you are misleading new BBB owners, making them think they have less than the
have.
I think that if you wish to state your opinion about how the breed should go, you
should remove
the BBBSAI director part from your signature, lest you imply BBBSAI sanction of your
words.
I also think you should realize that 5 sheep do not constitute enough of a genetic
base to try
to get back to some 'true' bloodline.
I think that your efforts to create a division between horned and polled BBB sheep
only damages
the breed in the long term. It promotes confusion amongst newcomers to the breed and
makes
current breeders think about moving to a more settled breed, like Kathadin.
Let me make one last thing perfectly clear. I raise Blackbelly Barbados sheep. Mine
have
horns. I do NOT raise barbado sheep. I will continue to raise BBB sheep, with
horns,
regardless of your posturing. I will continue to improve my flock to try to match the
breed
standard. And I will advertise breeding stock for sale as Blackbelly Barbados sheep.
Preston Buck
Buck's Run Farm - Pastured Poultry & Blackbelly Barbados Sheep
Waxahachie, Texas
Message: 7
From: "James Harper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: [blackbelly] livestock guardian dogs
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 19:02:54 -0400
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_031E_01C47343.28EA18D0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Rhonda,
Welcome to the list. I know I am interested and I am assuming others on the
list are also interested in knowing (briefly) what is the best way to bond a
puppy guard dog with your sheep. Also when would the owner know that a
puppy is not suitable for guarding.
Also just for your information Barbado are sheep that have horns or horn
genetics. The Barbado ewe is polled but genetically have horn genetics.
Both sexes of a true Barbados Blackbelly sheep are polled and their genetics
do not have any horns. I hope this makes sense.
James Harper
Virginia Regional Director
and BBSAI Newsletter Editor
Blackbelly Barbados Sheep Association International
(804) 732-2626
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
===============================================
This message is from the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep mailing list
(http://www.awrittenword.com/listserv/index.html).
To respond to this message, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To unsubscribe or change your membership options, go to
http://lists.coyotenet.net/mailman/listinfo/blackbelly
To search the archives, go to http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
