01/26/2026
Barbados Blackbelly vs American Blackbelly, what is the difference?
The Barbados Blackbelly sheep breed can be traced back 300 years on the Caribbean Island of Barbados where they were a random mixture of African hair sheep and European wool breeds. Barbados Blackbelly were brought to the USA in 1904 by the USDA, where they were crossed with Mouflon and Rambouillet to create an exotic looking breed with a large set of horns for game ranches out west. This cross bred has been now distinguished as the American Blackbelly with dramatic horns vs the more rare Barbados Blackbelly with no horns. The Barbados Blackbelly is in need of conservation in the US and around the world, even on the island of Barbados itself. For a fuller story see:
https://livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/heritage-breeds-list/barbados-blackbelly-sheep/
