Re: [blackbelly] erroneous photo on Sheep 101 site

[Carol J. Elkins]

Nancy Cox Starkey's comments are pretty much accurate. The photo she 
submitted, and that is now erroneously used to portray an American 
Blackbelly ram at the Sheep 101 site, really can be considered nothing 
other than a barbado sheep (although he is a really nice looking, well 
proportioned ram). He's not colored enough to be a Painted Desert; the 
white on him disqualifies him from being an American Blackbelly. The 
barbado sheep really isn't a breed. It is what is left over when you 
subtract out the Barbados Blackbelly and probably the Painted Desert as 
well. There is no standard for a barbado, and if you read the description 
at http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/barbado/ you will see that all 
that defines a barbado is the presence of horns. It doesn't have to have a 
black belly or facial barbs.

I've written to Susan Shoenian at Sheep 101 and provided her with an 
accurate photo of an American Blackbelly sheep. I've also asked her to 
remove the parenthetical reference to "barbado" underneath the American 
Blackbelly breed name. The American Blackbelly is not a barbado.

Carol

At 09:36 PM 9/2/2005 -0500, you wrote:
I responded to the site and asked about the sheep called a barbado sheep and
this is the response that I received back. Thought others might like to know
what they call a barbado sheep.

Hello,

   Thank you for the information, and I did check out your website for more
information about Painted Desert sheep.  I also checked the Painted Desert
Sheep Society pages, and it seems that the Painted Desert is not necessarily
a "breed", rather a color designation for sheep of varying ancestry.
Regarding my photo on the Sheep101 website, I submitted the photo as an
example of a "Barbado" sheep (not to be confused with a Barbados Blackbelly
sheep, which he definitely is not).  I have never heard of an American
Blackbelly until now, but apparently the owner of the Sheep101 website has.
>From my knowledge of the ancestry of this ram, there is no Mouflon or
Corsican breeding in him (the background of most Painted Desert Sheep).
This ram has many generations of generic Barbados sheep behind him, and his
coloration is actually a more pronounced version of the roan pattern often
seen in Pelibuey sheep.  I would agree with you that Barbados Blackbelly
sheep do not have any white on them, but since this ram is not a Barbados
Blackbelly, that is not pertinent in this case.  It states on the PDSS
website that "spotting has occurred in Barbados sheep", and that is exactly
the case with this ram.  While I imagine that this ram could probably be
registered as a Painted Desert sheep, I feel this would be a
misrepresentation of his genetic makeup and unethical, as well.

Thank you again for your information,
nancy
Nancy Cox Starkey
Trial & Error Acres
Mt. Airy, Maryland
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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