Zwartbles Sheep
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The Zwartbles is a
breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...
of
domestic sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to ...
originating in the
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
region of the north
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. There it was primarily used for the production of
sheep milk Sheep milk is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products, such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), pecorino romano (Italy), Roquefort (France) and Manchego (Spain). ...
as well as
lamb and mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...
. They were often kept alongside dairy cattle herds.


Breed characteristics

The Zwartbles has a striking appearance: a black/brown fleece, a white blaze on the face, 2 - 4 white socks, and a white tail tip (which is traditionally left un
dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...
ed). Both rams and ewes are polled. The Zwartbles are relatively large sheep: ewes weigh an average of , and rams . The dense fleece ranges from black to brown with sun bleached tips, some silvering may be present in older animals. The wool is medium to fine with excellent crimp and fibre length, a Bradford count of 54-56 and a micron count of 27 making it popular for spinning and felting. Zwartbles are known for being docile, friendly, easy lambing, prolific, milky and being excellent mothers. Also they are good in showing.


History

Traditionally used for both milk and meat in the Netherlands, they declined significantly in use until listed as critically rare by the Dutch Rare Breed Survival trust in the mid-1970s. The first Zwartbles were imported to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s. The UK Zwartbles Sheep Association was formed in 1995.


In the UK

Zwartbles are now mainly used to produce breeding stock, meat and wool. Being from a cold, wet, windy area of the Netherlands, the breed has easily adapted to the UK climate and can thrive at various altitudes. They are increasingly popular with both smallholders and commercial farmers. As of June 2011 there are over 750 Zwartbles flocks registered with the UK breed society plus many unregistered flocks in the UK. In the UK, Zwartbles rams are also crossed with ewes of other breeds to produce butchers lambs. Lambs from these crosses are always black but sometimes will have a little white on the head. Zwartbles rams and ewes cross well with other breeds. Many UK agricultural shows now hold classes for Zwartbles. The wool of these show animals is often trimmed to remove the sunbleached (brown) wool tips revealing a tight black fleece.


See also

* Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep, an unrelated breed with a similar colour pattern.


References

* * *


External links


Zwartbles Sheep Association
UK Zwartbles Sheep Association
Nederlands Zwartbles Schapenstamboek
Dutch Zwartbles flockbook Sheep breeds originating in the Netherlands Sheep breeds {{sheep-stub