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Barbados Blackbelly

Barbados Sheep are reddish brown with black markings on chest, belly and around tail area. Rams sport beautiful manes. Both rams and ewes are polled (no horns) and are hair sheep.  Ancestors of these sheep are originally from Africa and were brought from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean area by Spanish, Portuguese, and British Merchants in the 1500's.  These sheep mixed with the European wool sheep which had been imported along with hair sheep from Africa in previous and concurrent importations.  By the late 1600's the wool sheep could not be found and what was left were the Barbados or Barbados Blackbelly sheep.

As explorers, adventurers, and merchants traveled, so did the sheep and these hair sheep eventually made their way into North America.  Officially, records show a small importation of Barbados sheep in 1904.  Several Universities also received the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep and experimented with crossing them with domestic breeds in an attempt to improve lambing numbers.  Samuel Goode at the North Carolina University experimented in the early 70's with the Barbados Sheep and domestic wool breeds.

Some of the experiments by accident and also design at various places, specifically  those crossing the Barbados Blackbelly with Mouflon Sheep, lead to the American Blackbelly hybrid which is now recognized as a breed.

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photo courtesy of

Five Turkeys Farm

Mouflons are a wild sheep usually found in somewhat harsh regions and some consider them to be one of the two ancestors of all sheep. They are found on islands such as Corsica and Cyprus but may have originated in SouthWest Asia.  Mouflon Rams are mostly reddish brown with black markings on chest and back and bright white saddle patches with full colors on display during the winter months, while ewes are very similar to a deer in coloring and are overall reddish brown.  Both rams and ewes have light colored bellies and areas around the tail. These sheep grow a "wooly" undercoat in the Winter and shed it completely during the Spring/Summer.  Mouflon Rams are magnificent creatures with tremendous supracervical (heart shaped) horns.  Ewes are usually polled.  

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between pure Mouflons and hybrids EXCEPT for the extremely short tail of pure Mouflons (3 - 4 inches or shorter) and single births.  Mouflon ewes are hardy but usually produce only single lambs each lambing. Several  Breeders in the United States have pure Mouflons out of Zoo Stock from original imports from Cyprus and Sardinia.  Zoos released some pure Mouflons to ranches in the 1930's - 1960's.  The Mouflon Sheep started being crossed with various domestic breeds (sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident) on these ranches leading to the Corsican Sheep. (American Blackbelly, Black Hawaiian, Painted Desert & Texas Dall).

The hardy Mouflon Sheep are also being used in the development of the New Mexico Dahl Sheep.

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Corsican Sheep

Any Mouflon Cross with rams having horns and manes

Corsican Ram Lamb

Corsican Ewe

photos - Rafter SB

Corsicans are actually the result of initial crosses decades ago between the shedding Mouflon Sheep with a wide range of more well known "wool" breeds of sheep including: Rambouillet, Churro, Merino,  and Jacob, etc.  Sometimes other hair or shedding sheep were used too such as the Barbados Blackbelly.

Corsican Sheep have a variety of coloring patterns as a result of the various domestic sheep used in crosses with the Mouflon.  Based on the color patterns, Corsican Shep have evolved into several different breeds: Those still referred to as Corsicans, American Blackbelly Sheep, Painted Desert Sheep, Texas Dall Sheep and Black Hawaiian Sheep.

The sheep referred to as "Corsicans" do not fall in to the other breeds or divisions of the Corsican FAMILY of sheep.  These sheep are not all white (Texas Dall), or all black (Black Hawaiian), or display the color white (Painted Desert), or have the Blackbelly markings (American Blackbelly) and probably have a mixture of the other divisions/breeds in their background.

All of these sheep are shedding sheep and will shed an undercoat of wool.  Rams are horned.  Usually Ewes are polled but a horned ewe is a plus!  Rams will have manes.

Click on links below for more detailed information about Corsican Sheep

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A Corsican Sheep whose coloring resembles Barbados Blackbelly Sheep

The Rams have horns

American Blackbelly, Texas Blackbelly, or simply Blackbellies, are Corsican Sheep. These were originally crosses between Mouflon Sheep and usually the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep with sometimes the Rambouillet (Merino) Sheep added to the mix. 

Keeping the reddish brown body with black markings on chest, belly, and around tail, the Barbados Blackbelly sheep were continually bred back to the Mouflon Sheep and horned domestic sheep until the rams displayed beautiful horns. However, the ewes are polled just like the Barbados Blackbelly.

Sometimes the difference between the American Blackbelly and the Barbados Blackbelly is best described and shown by the rams.  If it is a horned Blackbelly, it is an American Blackbelly. And if the ram is polled (no horns), it is a Barbados Blackbelly.

See Also Corsican Sheep, Mouflon, &  Barbados Blackbelly on this Page.

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An all black Corsican Sheep which has developed into a recognized and unique breed.

a young Black Hawaiian Ram

Photo - Rafter SB

Black Hawaiian Sheep are sometimes a little mysterious.  There is a great debate between folks that these sheep are a result of crossing Mouflon Sheep with a Black Hair Sheep found in the Hawaiian Islands while some folks insist Black Hawaiians are simply Black Corsican Sheep.  Most of the consensus, backed by research, is that Black Hawaiian Sheep are all black Corsican (Mouflon crossed with a domestic breed) Sheep. 

Black Hawaiians are beautiful sheep with the velvety black hair.  On mature, older, Black Hawaiians, sometimes a gray muzzle is noted. These sheep will shed their undercoat of wool and the rams will display horns.  Ewes are usually polled, but if horned that is a plus.

At times, when the spotted Corsicans (which have developed in to their own unique breed called the Painted Desert) are paired, solid black sheep can be produced.  Some breeders and other folks, more interested in what the sheep looks like instead of genetics or what progeny may look like down the line, call these solid black offspring Black Hawaiians.  These sheep may be more apt to develop the gray muzzle before aging. 

We recognize the efforts of those who are developing these solid black Corsicans into a recognized and unique breed, hence at Rafter SB, as breeders who want consistency in progeny, we consider solid black Mouflon crosses with known recent potential to produce spotted sheep as unregistered Painted Desert Sheep and only sheep with no known recent potential to produce spotted coloring as Black Hawaiian Sheep. 

The solid all black Mouflon hybrid is sought after by breeders who are interested in offering Black Hawaiian or Hawaiian Blacks or Black Corsicans which will produce the same - solid black.

Click on links below for more detailed information about Black Hawaiian Sheep

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A spotted Corsican sheep which has developed into a recognized and unique breed

4 color Painted Desert Ewe

8 days old, photo Rafter SB

Painted Desert Ram

photo Rafter SB

Painted Desert Sheep Society Logo

Painted Desert Sheep are spotted sheep, sometimes minimally like Rafter SB Miss Dot (all white with one black spot) and some very brightly colored like our quad-colored  Rafter SB Carmen's Pixie.  These are Corsican Sheep (Mouflon crosses) that have been bred to produce bi-, tri- and even quad-colored sheep.  However, even the best breeding programs can occasionally produce solid white or solid black sheep. 

While some consider the all white sheep produced by Painted Desert Sheep as Texas Dalls and the all black sheep produced by Painted Desert Sheep as Black Hawaiians, we recognize the efforts of those who are developing the solid black Corsicans into a recognized and unique breed and the solid white Corsicans into a separate breed.

Therefore, at Rafter SB, as breeders of these wonderful creatures, we consider solid colored sheep with known recent potential to produce spotted sheep as unregistered Painted Desert Sheep and only solid sheep with no known recent potential to produce spotted coloring as Texas Dall sheep or Black Hawaiian Sheep. If both parents of the solid lamb are registered Painted Desert Sheep, then the solid lamb may be granted a Hardship Registration as a Painted Desert Sheep.

Painted Desert rams have horns and manes.  Some ewes have horns but most are polled.  Some ewes may even have a small mane.  In 1997, these sheep were recognized as a breed when Anita Garza, taxidermist and long time admirer of these sheep, started the Painted Desert Sheep Society.

Click on links below for more detailed information about Painted Desert Sheep

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An all white Corsican Sheep which has developed into a recognized and unique breed. 

photo - Rafter SB

Texas Dall Sheep are all white Corsican (Mouflon cross) Sheep.  These Mouflon crosses would probably not have ANY Blackbelly ancestry and tend to have more Rambouillet in their history.  In fact, it was at the YO Ranch in Texas when some Merino or Rambouillet rams got out of their pen and crossed with the YO Ranch Mouflon ewes.  Solid White sheep were produced and these were eventually named Texas Dall Sheep.

These sheep also appear to have retained the Supracervical (heart shaped) horns of the Mouflon more than the all black crosses (Black Hawaiian) and the spotted crosses (Painted Desert).  Rams are horned and have manes.  Ewes may have horns or be polled but both rams and ewes are true hair sheep and shed their winter "coats". 

These sheep are NOT related to the Alaskan Dall Sheep.  The only similarity is their coloring and magnificent horns on the rams.

At Rafter SB we consider solid white Mouflon crosses with known recent potential to produce spotted sheep as unregistered Painted Desert Sheep and only sheep with no known recent potential to produce spotted coloring as Texas Dall Sheep because the solid, all white, non-spot producing Mouflon hybrid is sought after by breeders.

Click on links below for more detailed information about Texas Dall Sheep

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A Polled, Meaty, Shedding Sheep

Katahdin sheep are colored and sometimes resemble the color patterns found on the Painted Desert Sheep.  However, these are not Mouflon crosses (Corsican Sheep).  The two most notable physical differences between Corsican & Katahdin sheep is that both the rams and ewes are polled (no horns) and the Katahdin Sheep are a larger framed breed than the Corsican Family. Katahdin Sheep are not Painted Desert Sheep and sheep with Katahdin bloodlines should not be registered as Painted Desert Sheep. These sheep were developed by Michael Piel in Maine during the 1950 - 1970's.  Katahdins were produced during this time by crossing St Croix (Hair Sheep found in the Virgin Islands), and some British breeds including the Suffolk. Finally the Wiltshire Horned Sheep was imported from England and added to the mix to make improvements.  Katahdin Sheep were named after Mount Katahdin in Maine and are a hair sheep with good meat characteristics and are polled (no horns) with some rams exhibiting the scurve horn gene.

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A hybrid in the later stages of development at Terra Patre Farm and here at Rafter SB which is sure to become a unique and recognized breed

A Horned, Meaty, Shedding Sheep

photo - Rafter SB

NM Dahl Sheep can trace their ancestry in some of the bloodlines to the hair sheep brought to the Kingdom of New Mexico (all of the US Southwest except California) in 1598 by the Onate Spanish Colonists.  Some of these sheep have been crossed with Mouflon Sheep and/or Wiltshire Horn Sheep (with roots traced to the Roman Empire) as well as other breeds. This unique hybrid is not being limited to breeding within the Corsican Sheep family (Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian, and Painted Desert Mouflon crosses), breeding is based solely on a focus on improving horn and meat qualities as well as maintaining the shedding ability. 

Rams have nice horns and it is not uncommon for the ewes to have horns also.  Manes are not a requirement.

While some bloodlines have incorporated Texas Dall Sheep, the NM Dahl Sheep are becoming a unique breed and are otherwise unrelated to the Alaskan Dall and the Texas Dall.  To further assist in distinguishing between NM Dahl, Texas Dall & Alaskan Dall Sheep, NM Dahl is spelled with one "l" and one "h" instead of the two "ll"s.  "Dahl" and "Dall" are pronounced the same. 

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A Polled, Shedding, Meat Sheep developed in Great Britain and very popular within Britain and elsewhere

In 1965, Richard "Iolo" Owen started working on producing a sheep that would be a medium sized, shedding, meaty sheep which would indeed be easy to care for and would achieve as close to 200% lambing as possible.

Wiltshire Horn Sheep from his father's well known Gedwydd flock were crossed with Welsh Mountain sheep.  Selective breeding of animals through the years, eventually led to a quality foundation flock of truly "Easy Care" Sheep and sales began in 1985.

In 2003 the Easy Care Sheep Society was formed and interest in the breed continues to grow.

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A Polled, Shedding, Meat Sheep in Germany

The Nolana Sheep is a combination of accessible native Wool Breeds with hair or shedding sheep.  The best of both worlds without the necessary chore of shearing, these sheep are being developed and improved in Germany and Europe.

Two types of Nolana Sheep are being developed:  a Meaty Sheep and a smaller framed sheep used for intensive grazing operations and landscape conservation.  The goal is produce a polled, shedding sheep and to continually work on improvements.

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A Horned, Meaty, Shedding Sheep from Britain

Yearling Wiltshire Horn Ewe

photo - Rafter SB

The Wiltshire Horn Sheep's exact beginnings are unknown.  Some believe they are descendents of sheep taken to Britain by the Romans with origins beginning with some of the wild European Sheep.  Whatever the exact beginnings are, the Wiltshire Horn Sheep has become very popular for a variety of reasons.  One of the main uses of the Wiltshire Horn Sheep is using it to crossbreed with other sheep to create a hybrid, and ultimately at times a new breed of sheep, with an increase in hardiness and meat characteristics.  Documentation exists that show the popularity of these sheep since the 1700's in Britain.  In 1923 the Wiltshire or Western Sheep Breeders Association was formed and standards of the sheep, including the natural shedding of a winter wool coat in the summer were set. In 1931 the association became the Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society. 

While some may debate whether or not the Wiltshire Horn Sheep is a hair sheep which sheds like the Corsican Sheep (Painted Desert, American Blackbelly, Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian) do in the Summer, according to Richard Ling, Chair of the Council of the Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society in correspondence dated 02-02-07, the Wiltshire Horn Sheep  "is a hair sheep or shedding sheep".

The Wiltshire Horn Sheep have been used to create several popular breeds in Great Britain, the United States and Europe: the Katahdin Sheep Breed, the Easy Care Sheep Breed and the Nolana Sheep Breed and is now being used in creation of the New Mexico Dahl Breed.  In Australia, these sheep are crossed with Merino to produce prime lamb with less external parasite problems.

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For More Information See the following Links to Other Websites

Painted Desert - United States 

 *Chart showing Horn, Ear, Mane & Face types       *General Characteristics    *Chart showing Color Patterns, Color Mixes, and Colors courtesy Painted Desert Sheep Society

*Painted Desert Sheep Colors                   *Painted Desert Sheep Color Patterns               *PDS Ear Types   *PDS Lambing        *PDS Temperment         *PDS Unique Markings courtesy Lazy JV Ranch  

Texas Dall, Black Hawaiian & Corsican - United States

*Types of Horns courtesy Lazy JV Ranch    *How To Measure Ram Horns courtesy Lazy JV Ranch

  Email Anita Garza, long time taxidermist and sheep breeder, & PDSS Registrar at: cascabel@consolidated.net

Wiltshire Horn Sheep - Great Britain, Australia, Global

   History of the Wiltshire Horn Sheep      The Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society

About the Wiltshire Horn Breed           Wiltshire Horn Breed Standards

The Wiltshire Horn Breeders Association of Australia

Nolana Sheep - Germany and Other International Hair Sheep Breeding Efforts

Nolana Network for All Hair Sheep - Germany              Nolana Network for All Hair Sheep - Europe

Easy Care Sheep - Great Britain

The Easy Care Sheep Society

New Mexico Dahl Sheep - United States

Terra Patre Farms

rehtaf1@lycos.com or terrapatrefarms@yahoo.com  

General Information about Hair Sheep

 *Sheep Predators courtesy Cheyenne Farms

*Bottle Feeding Baby Animals courtesy Pegasus Valley