Black Welsh Mountain

The Black Welsh Mountain is the only entirely black sheep breed in Britain. It came from black lambs that turned up in the white Welsh Mountain breed. About a hundred years ago Welsh shepherds started breeding those blacks together and selecting for a finer fleece and better conformation. In Welsh it is Defaid Mynydd Duon. The breed society formed in 1922.

Thomas Wyman of Easton, Maryland brought the first ones to North America in 1972. A US registry opened in 1990 and adopted the British standard outright.

Ewes weigh about 100 pounds and rams 132 to 143. Rams carry horns that curl back around the ears, and ewes are polled. The skin is gray. They forage well and mother well, and will raise lambs on pasture that would not support much else.

One rule to know before you buy: the standard requires the long tail and forbids docking. The tail covers and protects the udder, and a docked sheep falls outside the standard.

They do not flock tightly, which changes how you handle them. Breeders describe them as intelligent and willing.