For information on our Spring of 2023 lambs CLICK HERE.
Looking to jumpstart your involvement in the North American Valais breed up program? Contact us to reserve that special lamb (or lambs) NOW!
We are looking forward to F3 and F2 ewe lambs. We might also have male lambs available - they will be neutered and make for the best pets and lawn ornaments you could hope for.
CLICK HERE to see our 2023 ewes and the sires they were bred to
We have been partners in the Valais Blacknose breeding program since 2018. Currently we do not have pure-breed sheep but we are expecting our 2nd and 3rd-generation lambs from our participation in the Valais Blacknose Sheep breed up program in March of 2023
What’s a Breed Up Program??
When a particular sheep breed, for whatever reason (disease, economics, etc.), cannot be imported into the US, the way we "create" it here is to pick a breed with similar characteristics to the one we want. Then we import the desired breed's semen and inseminate a "stock" ewe.The first generation is genetically 50% of the desired breed and 50% of the "stock" breed. The next year the 50/50 ewes are “bred” to a purebred ram of the species you want to create and so on until the desired breed's genes predominate, and the sheep can now be considered the breed you are trying to create. That's up breeding.
Scottish Blackface sheep are the first preference for use in the US up breeding program as they were one of the breeds used originally to develop the Valais Blacknose. Since animals can’t be imported to the US, semen from Blacknose sheep in other countries (Europe) is used on US Scottish Blackface ewes to produce a hybrid. After 5 generations the resulting sheep are 97% Valais Blacknose.
F1 (50% Valais)
F2 (75% Valais)
F3 (88% Valais)
F4 (94% Valais)
F5 (97% Valais)
The Valais Blacknose Sheep a coarse wooled breed of sheep kept for both meat and wool. The breed originates from the Valais region of Switzerland.They were first mentioned around the year 1400, but they were not recognized as a breed until 1962. Valais Blacknose sheep should have black noses, ears, eye rims, knees, and ankles. Both male and female should have spiral horns.
For hundreds of years the Valais Blacknose was only found in the areas surrounding the Valais region of Switzerland. However, in 2014 the breed was imported to the United Kingdom. Additionally, in 2016 the United States began importing semen as part of an "upbreeding program."
