Quality Wool from Black Wool Sheep

By Randy Kidd and D.V.M.
Published on March 1, 1983
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It takes many breeds of sheep, both black and white, to create a top-quality line of black wool-bearers. Here's a part of the Jones flock at chow time.
It takes many breeds of sheep, both black and white, to create a top-quality line of black wool-bearers. Here's a part of the Jones flock at chow time.
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Gary displays a fine specimen.
Gary displays a fine specimen.

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags
full.
One for my master, one for my dame,
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.

For 15 years now, Gary Jones of Peabody, Kansas and his wife Marilyn have worked hard to develop a strain of sheep that consistently produce high-quality black wool — a product that’s usually discarded by commercial buyers because it can’t be dyed (in fact, a fleece with even a few strands of black is generally classed as less than desirable). Good-quality dark fleece is highly esteemed, however, by handspinners: crafts people who can turn naturally shaded brown, gray, and black wool into beautiful fabric or yarn creations.

Furthermore, in the eyes of these fiber artists, the key to value in wool of any color is its quality, and the production of top-grade fleece has been the primary objective of the Jones farm. In order to achieve this goal, Gary has incorporated as many as 25 different strains of sheep into his flock, crossbreeding to produce a lamb crop that’s consistently 90-95% black.

There’s no easy formula for success in such an undertaking, either. After all, different sheep have varying genetic capabilities for color: Some, like the blackfaced Hampshires and Suffolks, can be bred to produce all-black young after only one generation. Others, such as the fine-wooled Merinos, rarely do. Unfortunately, those breeds that most easily revert to black also tend to produce poorer quality wool. Therefore, a stringent program of selective crossbreeding must be established to develop high-quality, all-black fleece.

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