Hi Rick, It is understood in the hair sheep world that Dorper are not a pure hair breed. Indeed, the description on the OK site says, "The Dorper is an easy care breed which requires a minimum of labor. Its skin covering which is a mixture of hair and wool, will drop off if not shorn to keep it tidy." Most of the Dorper breeders I know shear their Dorpers, and the Dorper breed standard goes into great detail about the mixture of hair and wool (http://www.dorperamerica.org/Breed-Standards.htm). Dorper breeders do not want an entirely coarse hair fiber on their sheep, and they believe that the wool covering along the back prevents sunburn.
Analysis of the fiber indicates that it is not a hollow hair fiber. This statement is based on information I received from Bill Hoag who developed the Royal White hair sheep from selective crossing of St. Croix and Dorper. No, I've not tasted American Blackbelly. I raise Barbados Blackbelly. I believe the taste of American Blackbelly will depend on 1) its diet; 2) how it was slaughtered; and 3) the prevalence of wool sheep breeds in its genetics. Frankly, these criteria apply to Barbados Blackbelly and other hair sheep breeds as well. My understanding is that American Blackbelly that have been bred for excellence across several generations taste marvelous. I'm not sure what you mean by "pure blackbelly" but if you plan to go back to breeding "pure Barbados Blackbelly" then be aware that there aren't very many of them around that will breed true to standard because there are a lot of people raising what they call Barbados Blackbelly who, in fact, have a cross-breed situation on their hands. For a list of breeders raising what I believe to be the purest genetics in the U.S., see http://www.consortium.blackbellysheep.info/membermap.htm . Carol At 10:16 PM 10/8/2006 -0700, you wrote: >Hi Carol, >You refered to the Dorper as a non-hair sheep breed so I copied the OK >State info here which says that they are a hair breed, as are the St. >Croix. How come you were thinking differently? And have you really not >tasted the American Blackbelly? If what my friend is telling me is the >truth, I will go back to pure blackbelly. Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz T-shirts, mugs, caps, and more at the Barbados Blackbelly Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/blackbellysheep _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
