Sheep Registration

While many of you are reading this site because you might just be starting out raising a few sheep, you may want to seriously consider registering your sheep this year.  

Why Register Your Sheep?

The best answer for that is akin to registering a car. You need to know its make and model so that you can get more parts when you need them. In the case of Barbados Blackbelly, this breed was almost lost by because so many breeders were making crosses with other sheep breeds that there were almost none remaining of the pure Barbados Blackbelly breed. Today we scarcely have 400 - 500 purebreds remaining in the US but those numbers are on the rise because of people who work with one another through these registries to avoid inbreeding.

By registering your sheep you can have access to tracking bloodlines of other breeders throughout the country so that inbreeding problems can be avoided and you can be assured that a new ram or ewe arriving to your flock will not be from the same bloodline as your own.
 

Another excellent reason for registration; money. Registered animals command a higher market value because most people assign a higher value to animals with a clean pedigree. The registration process ensures that the animal meets breed standards and has been examined by qualified individuals who know the breed. And the cost of registration is very inexpensive, primarily paying to support the registries missions.