Zwartbles

The breed descends from the Schoonebeker, a large sheep that grazed the heathlands of the north east Netherlands, and Dutch farmers in Friesland developed the Zwartbles from it with some influence from the Friesian milk sheep and the Texel. It was milked, and it produced lamb and mutton alongside the milk.

It then very nearly went. The breed declined far enough that the Dutch rare breed body listed it as critically rare in the mid-1970s.

Britain is where the numbers recovered. The first Zwartbles arrived in the United Kingdom in 1986, the Zwartbles Sheep Association formed in 1995, and by 2014 the association had around 700 registered flocks across the United Kingdom and Ireland holding 12,500 registered animals.

Rams average 220 lb and ewes 187 lb. They are tall sheep with a long neck and an upright stance, and both sexes are polled.

The fleece is dense, black to brown, often with sun-bleached tips, and it silvers with age. It runs about 27 microns at a Bradford count of 54 to 56, which is a genuine medium wool with good crimp and length, and handspinners and felters buy it for the natural color.

The markings are specified closely. The blaze should be unbroken and reasonably straight from the crown down, there should be two to four white socks with at least two on the hind legs, and the tail carries a white tip over no more than half its length. The tail is traditionally left undocked.

The breed is described as docile and friendly, and it lambs easily.

Meat and crossing carry the breed commercially. Zwartbles ewes crossed to a Texel ram is the standard arrangement for market lambs.

The maternal side is the real argument for them. They are prolific, milky and good mothers, which is the inheritance of a dairy sheep, and it is why they are used as a crossing ewe rather than only as a terminal sire's mate.

The black fleece sells on its own into the handspinning trade.

Ordinary lowland sheep management. These are not a hill breed and were not selected on hard ground.

Plan the shearing around the fleece being the saleable part. Sun bleaching at the tips is normal and does not hurt the fleece, but a Zwartbles sold on the color of its wool is worth keeping clean.

There is no dedicated Zwartbles registry in the United States. The flock book is the Zwartbles Sheep Association in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and North American animals are generally registered through a body that takes any dairy-purpose breed, or not registered at all. Establish in writing what pedigree, if any, comes with the animal.

The American population came in as imported embryos rather than as live sheep, so it is small and closely related. Ask how the animal traces back and expect to think about that before you breed.

Check the markings against the standard if you intend to register or show. A broken blaze, a missing sock or a white tail tip running more than half the tail are all faults, and they are much easier to see on the animal than in a photograph.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.