Single asterisk (*): Standalone articles
Two asterisks (**): Articles linked from another website
No asterisk: Articles linked from a BBSAI newsletter. Use the newsletter’s Table of Contents to locate these articles.
For more useful sheep info and resources, check out these BBSAI pages:
Books
How-To Videos & Webinars
Websites and Pages for Shepherds
Scientific Articles and Books
Disclaimer: Broken links to third-party websites occasionally occur on this list, and they are addressed through regular page updates. Links referenced inside articles, newsletters, etc. are not updatable and thus may be permanently broken.
Articles by Subject
Breeding
- Lambing Date Calculator*
- Demonstration of the Laparoscopic Artificial Insemination Procedure*
- How to Group Sheep to Create Starter Flocks
- Performance of Blackbelly Crossbred Ewes in Different Breeding Seasons*
- Ram Shields
- Rescue and Conservation Breeding*
- Using Coefficient of Inbreeding Calculations to Make Breeding Decisions
- What Is Conservation Breeding?
Buying
- Health Check for Newly Purchased Sheep
- How to Be a Good Sheep Buyer
- Blackbelly Sheep – Why…or Why Not*
Care
- Are You Feeding Your Sheep Enough Protein?
- Ear Tagging Revisited, 2025*
- Growth Performance of Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep on Forage-Based Diets*
- Hydroponic Fodder as a Feed for Sheep and Goats
- Make Your Own Sheep Treats
- Telling the Age of a Sheep*
- Trimming Blackbelly Hooves
Genetics
- American Blackbelly Breed Characteristics
- Getting Started with Rare Breeds
- History of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep
- History and Preservation of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep, PPT Presentation*
- Monorchism/Monorchidism in Sheep
- Scurs in Purebred Barbados Blackbelly Rams
Health and Disease
Scrapie
- USDA Required Record Keeping in the USA for Scrapie Eradication** ( USDA Scrapie Page)
- Scrapie Genetic Testing—What Is It and Why Should I Bother? (Jan. 2016 BBSAI Newsletter)
- Eradicating Scrapie FAQs (Aug. 2024)** (American Sheep Industry Association)
- National Scrapie Eradication Program Fiscal Year 2023 Report (March 2024)** (USDA Scrapie Page)
Health/Disease, Other
- Cataracts in Sheep
- Copper Toxicity in Sheep
- Late Summer Deworming
- Resistance to Internal Parasites in Lambs of Hair Sheep Composite Breeds*
- Simplified Treatment for Hoof Rot
- Sheep Dewormer Chart, Nov. 2024** (American Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control)
- Sore Mouth (Orf) in Our Flock
- White Muscle Disease (WMD)—Stiff Lamb Disease—Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy*
Import/Export
Lambing and Pregnancy
- Abortions in Sheep—Causes, Control, and Prevention
- Bringing Your New American Blackbelly Lambs Home—Basic Needs and More
- How to Administer Emergency Fluids for a Dehydrated Lamb
- Is Cow Colostrum a Suitable Substitute
- Lamb Pens for Blackbelly Sheep*
- Lambing Jugs
- Lambing Date Calculator*
- Lambing—Supplies, Practices & Births on Our British Columbia Sheep Farm
- Pregnancy Toxemia in Ewes
- Raising Bummer Lambs on a Bottle*
- Tubing Lambs and Kids*
- Saving a Newborn Lamb
- Using a Baby Monitor and Breast Pump for Lambs
- Using a Stanchion to Feed a Rejected Lamb
Management
- Apps for Sheep and Goats Producers, A-Z** (Maryland Small Ruminant Page) Also lists software and spreadsheets.)
- Choosing between Livestock Guard Dogs, Llamas, and Donkeys
- Finding and Choosing Hay
- Using Barbados Blackbelly Sheep for Cedar Eradication*
- Using Blackbelly Sheep to Clear Salt Cedar (Tamarisk)
- What to Do with Cull Sheep
Marketing
- Ethnic Holiday Calendar** (Maryland Small Ruminant Page)
- Flavor of Lamb
- Lamb Cuts and How to Cook Them
- Nutritional Analysis of Blackbelly Lamb*
- Organic Sheep Production
- Producing and Selling Sheep to the Ethnic/Religious Meat Markets** (Maryland Small Ruminant Page)
- Producing Lambs Organically*
- Selling Blackbelly Sheep for Meat
- Setting Up a Farm Web Site
- Turn Your Farm into a Trophy Ranch!
Post Mortem, Sheep
- Composting Dead Sheep** (Maryland Small Ruminant Page)
- How to Do a Great Field Necropsy, and What You Need to Do One** (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International [CABI] Digital Library)
Recordkeeping
- USDA Required Record Keeping in the USA for Scrapie Eradication** (USDA Scrapie Page)
- Six Cool Things You Can Do in BBSAI’s Registry
- Coefficient of Inbreeding Calculations – BBSAI Online Tool
- Flock Record Sheet*
- Hair Sheep Record Keeping Software (free)** (Oklahoma State University Extension)
- How to Take Good Sheep Photos
- More on Taking Sheep Photos
- Using a Spreadsheet for Flock Recordkeeping
Reference
- Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Status Changed from Watch to Threatened (2025)** (The Livestock Conservancy)
- American Blackbelly Horn Types
- Barbados Blackbelly Sheep at Virginia State University*
- Barbados Blackbelly Sheep in the Caribbean*
- Blackbelly Sheep Are NOT Exotic or Wild Animals*
- From the Brink of Extinction** (Countryside Magazine)
- History and Preservation of Barbados Blackbelly Sheep*
- Sheep Gestation Table
Registry/Registration
- Required Record Keeping and Tagging in the United States for Scrapie**
- Adding Value by Registering Your Sheep
- BBSAI’s Online Book of Registry
- How to Transfer Sheep Ownership (by Mail)
- How to Transfer Sheep Ownership Online*
- Measuring American Blackbelly Horns
- More Thoughts about Closing the American Blackbelly Registry
- Understanding the BBSAI Registration Number