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Uses Other Than Culinary for Blackbelly Sheep

Originally hailing from Barbados, the wool-free blackbelly sheep has been transplanted to the United States developing into a distinct breed in its own right. While the lean meat is prized for its taste, the blackbelly can also be used for unlikely tasks, such as clearing nuisance trees and contributing to the bloodlines of other sheep.

Trophy Animals
- In certain parts of the United States like Texas, blackbelly sheep are prized for their carcasses and large horns, the latter which are not typical of Barbados sheep. Breeders sell more rams than ewes, according to sheep owner Charles Beam, who states that breeding rams can be quite profitable if a young ram is kept for about three years and sold as a trophy animal. The American blackbelly ram can have large horns, a result of the original Barbadian blackbelly being crossed with the European breeds Mouflon and Rambouillet.
Crossbreeding and Research
- Given some desirable traits in the breed, blackbellies have been the subject of ongoing research, as well as experiments in improving the characteristics of other breeds. The University of Illinois and Virginia Tech University found that crossbred hair breed ewes like the blackbelly are more fertile than their wooled crossbred counterparts, the University of Maryland Extension reports. The first ewes' lambing season is shorter and their lambs have higher survival rates. More recent research is focused on preserving the purity of the original breed, creating a breed of hair sheep as well as improving the stock of other sheep breeds, such as the Dorset Horn and Suffolk.
Cedar Depopulation
- Where cedar trees are a nuisance in parts of the United States like the Southwest, blackbelly sheep can be called in to clear underbrush and gradually work on the cedars until they die and break off, the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International reports. The blackbellies do this by eating the greenery off the tree, then gnawing on the bark until it dies. After the tree dies, the sheep continues to rub against the tree until it is broken off from under the ground.
Dog Testing
- Blackbellies have also been used in the testing of sheep dogs. Because agility and endurance are important for these trials, the blackbelly was singled out to "run with the dogs." The blackbellies, which aren't the most even-tempered or manageable animals, test a dog's skill, the University of Maryland Extension states.

Animals & Science