Barbados Blackbelly
The Barbados Blackbelly or Barbados Black Belly (short: Barbados or Barb ) is a breed of sheep that is named after the island of Barbados , its first occurrence in the Caribbean .
As a small hair sheep , the Barbados Blackbelly brings it to a height at the withers of 75 to 81 cm (buck) or 60–70 cm (mother) and a weight of 50 to 70 kg (buck) or 35–45 kg (mother). The coat color is light to reddish brown, but black on the lower jaw, the underside of the neck and trunk and legs. Usually also the inside of the ears and a strip from the corner of the mouth to the forehead. Ewes are polled, and the bucks mostly too (except in the USA). The sheep have a medium-length tail and medium-length ears. The sheep breed is tolerant of many endoparasites ; it is considered spirited and undemanding.
The sheep are mainly used in meat production, 53% of which is slaughtered. But this breed of sheep is also used in the field of landscape maintenance.
The Barbados Blackbelly has ancestors in West Africa . By 1700 at the latest, the hair sheep were brought from there to Barbados . The sheep , which are well adapted to the tropics , were brought to other Caribbean islands from the 19th century. Herd books exist in some European countries . In the USA , the Barbados Blackbelly were crossed with Rambouillets and European mouflons , creating a new breed called Barbado . Today the range of the Barbados Blackbelly lies in the Caribbean, tropical and subtropical countries of America and in many European countries.
literature
- Hans Hinrich Sambraus: color atlas rare farm animals. 240 endangered breeds from around the world , Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-8001-5865-2 , p. 86
