History of the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep
The breed was originally developed in the West Indies island of Barbados from hair sheep brought in by African slave traders during the 1600s. The USDA imported four ewes and a ram in 1904. The offspring, over the years, plus imported sheep from Latin America established additional colonies across the United States. Because the Barbados Blackbelly is a small-framed sheep they were crossed with Rambouillet and the European Mouflon to develop a larger meat sheep. These sheep do not need to be sheared as they are hair sheep. They are disease resistant as well as parasite tolerant. The main difference between the Barbados Blackbelly sheep and the American Blackbelly sheep is the rams sport a magnificent set of horns.
Several years ago, a number of Barbados Blackbelly breeders began to selectively breed the Barbados Blackbelly to purge the characteristics of the two crosses and to return the breed to its original color conformation and characteristics.*
*Information obtained from the Barbados Blackbelly Association International