registering your sheep

The BBSAI's book of registry is "open book," meaning that a sheep may be registered even if its dam and sire are not registered as long as it meets the breed standards for the American Blackbelly or Barbados Blackbelly.

Registration fee: $5.00 per sheep

Here Are Some Reasons You Should Register Your Sheep

Genetics: Breed registries provide a place to pool genetic data across many breeders. These data are important when making informed decisions regarding a breeding plan. Let's say you want to purchase a ram from a breeder in Oklahoma and you already have several ewes from a different breeder also located in Oklahoma. You need a way to determine if your ewes are related to that ram. The breed registry provides that information. The breed registry is an important tool that breeders can use to ensure genetic diversity in the breed.

Value: Eventually, as breeders eliminate less desirable traits and strengthen the traits so valued in BB sheep, registered animals will command a higher resale price than non-registered animals. In addition, there are many breeders who will not purchase an animal if it has not already been registered or if there is not some guarantee of registerability in place at the time of sale of an unregistered animal. The registration warantees that the animal meets the breed's standards.

Credibility: Being able to demonstrate several generations of breeding records always increases your animal's marketability. If those records are supported by registration documents, then that is one more thing that supports your reputation as a credible breeder.

Traceability: A breed association maintains a permanent record of the breed and protects the standards of excellence that breeders seek when buying pedigreed sheep. By registering your stock, you provide traceability of that animal's pedigree.

Endangered breed: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) counts the number of registered animals when it determines that breed's degree of endangeredness. Nonregistered animals are not counted, thus making a breed appear more endangered than it really is. The Barbados Blackbelly sheep is a "watched" breed meaning that there are fewer than 25,000 of these sheep in the world. There are an alarmingly low number of Barbados Blackbelly sheep in the U.S, probably less than 200. We really don't have an accurate count of how many are in the U.S. because so few people register their sheep that the breed registries don't reflect actual numbers. [Note that the ALBC only counts Barbados Blackbelly sheep (polled) not the American Blackbelly sheep (horned).]

Marketing tool: Registering your sheep usually allows your name to appear in that registry's Breeders list. This is often the first place prospective buyers look to find a breeder.

How to Register Your Sheep

To register your sheep, download the registration form here.  Note: You will need the free Adobe Reader to view the PDF.   

The form is designed to record up to eight sheep. Complete the form using the instructions printed on page 2 of the PDF.

To ensure that your registration form is processed, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY!

Mail the form with the required registration fee to the address indicated on the form. Include a photo of each sheep you are registering or email the photo(s) to secretary@blackbellysheep.org. All photos become BBSAI’s property and may be used in BBSAI publications without attribution.

What Makes a Good Registration Photo?

• The photo must clearly show the face, body, and tail of the sheep and must be taken sufficiently close to the sheep so that markings are visible.
• The photo must not be blurry or out of focus.
• Write the sheep ID (name and/or tag number) and date photo was taken on back of each photo.
• If submitting digital photos, include the sheep’s name and number in the file name (e.g., 0782.Rocky.jpg).
• The photo must clearly distinguish the sheep being registered from any other sheep in the photo.
• Both digital and hardcopy photos should be cropped so that the sheep being registered is predominant.
• If using a digital camera, we prefer photos taken at high resolution (best quality) and set to include the date of the photo. See your camera’s instruction manual for details.

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