Monday 9 April 2012

Tod walk 7 : Black sheep


The path continued to twist and turn its way through the woodland until suddenly, we were out into open fields.


The windmilling tails would suggest that these two lambs were enjoying their mid afternoon snack!


We were fascinated by the markings; night black fleece with the white blaze being more horse-like than sheep!

I had no idea what they might be, so I Googled and found a photo which led me to this:

The Balwen sheep has a base color of black, brown, or dark grey. It has a white blaze on the face, four distinct white feet, and a half to two-thirds white tail. All males must have horns. Horns are not allowed on females. The Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep is a small, very hardy breed. They are easy to manage, having very few health problems associated with many of the larger breeds.    Link 

Apparently, they come from the Tywi Valley and the Welsh word Balwen means 'white blaze (which rather makes sense).


I hope they survived this weeks snow!

In 1947, the breed was nearly wiped out. Only one ram remained! No wonder I've not come across them before.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for the lesson! I've never seen black sheep before, but I have seen our big horn sheep, native to Colorado. Your photos, as always, are stunning. The skeleton trees in the first picture are fascinating. I think I'll stop there and have lunch, then I'd like to climb the one with moss growing on its arm.
    Tina @ Life is Good
    Co-Host of the April A to Z Challenge
    Twitter: @AprilA2Z #atozchallenge

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  2. I have never heard of them either, but how lovely they are - do hope the breed is thriving now.

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  3. I hope they survived the bad weather too, they are delightful:)

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  4. Lovely photos. There's a heard of those sheep near Youlgreave who were very friendly last time we saw them, they came over and ate grass from my hand!

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  5. whoops, I meant herd, of course!

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  6. Hope they can save the breed, looks so beautiful ! Have never seen such a sheep !

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  7. I have been enjoying your walk but I had to comment today about the sheep. How lovely they are, I love the black and white markings. They looks so sweet just enjoying the sun. I hope they survived that bad weather you had last week.

    cheers, parsnip

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  8. Thank you for sharing these beautiful images. What a gorgeous walk you had. I have always heard about black sheep, but had never seen one. Now I can say I have. They are wonderful!

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  9. I have just caught up with the parts of this walk I have missed over the last few days. Wonderful piece of Blogging. You make me want to go to Tod - an achievement of the highest order.

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  10. It's a good-news story that they were not wiped out!

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  11. They look so unique! After watching Spring lambs frolic on a field in Northern Ireland I have never been able to eat lamb again.

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  12. Isn't it good that folks are taking steps to save these rare breeds. They are pretty lambs - more like kittens by their markings!

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  13. That statement re: horns is hysterical. Males MUST; females MUST NOT. Who's making sure this doesn't go terribly wrong in the gene pool?

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