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At Kaizen Ridge Farm, we are part of a very unique breeding program whose goal is to bring Valais Blacknose Sheep into the U.S.
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In this program, you begin with 'Foundation' sheep, which for us are Scottish Blackface sheep seen here.
Our foundation ewes are bred to a purebred
Valais Blacknose ram either naturally, through
artificial insemination, or by embryo transfer.
When a Scottish Blackface ewe is bred to a
purebred Valais Blacknose ram, the resulting lamb is 50% Valais Blacknose and 50% Scottish Blackface, known as an F1. That offspring can then be bred back to a purebred Valais Blacknose again, continuing the grading-up process through F2, F3, F4, and F5. By F5, the sheep is generally considered purebred for registry purposes, depending on the breed association’s rules.
In the case of embryo transfer, if the embryo comes from two purebred Valais Blacknose parents, the lamb is genetically purebred regardless of the surrogate ewe carrying it.
(This is our breeding Ram, Lenny)
(Scottish Black Face Mom Sarah with her two F1 babies, Monet and Mona Lisa)
It's because of this complicated breeding process that Valais Blacknose Sheep are so expensive and sought after. But it is an investment with, by farming standards, a fast rate of return. In our case, we paid back our initial cost of purchasing the sheep in One lambing season, and now after subtracting food cost's it's only profit. Please contact for any questions regarding starting breeding Valais Black Nose Sheep, or to inquire about sheep to purchase.
(Our Sheep herd, mix of foundation sheep, F1-F3's, and 3 pure bred Valais)
All our sheep will be available to visit at our Farm events May-October! Compared to our goats, they are a bit skittish, but their a beautiful site to see grazing on our rolling hills.