Swiss Valais Blacknose Breed Standard

Origin ~ Distribution

The Blacknose Sheep is a frugal landrace that is well adapted to the harsh conditions of the mountains. This unique breed is located in the Upper Valais, which is the German-speaking part of the canton of Valais. There is evidence that this breed has existed since the 15th century. Today there are 13,700 herd book animals. The reproduction rate is 1.6 lambs per year.

Typical Breed Characteristics

The black nose extending up to the middle of the head gives the Blacknose Sheep its name. The black color continues without interruption up to the eyes. Also the ears are black up to the head. In addition, we find black spots on the back of hocks and on the front of knees. Furthermore, the legs have short black "boots". The female animals have a tail spot. Also typical of the Blacknose Sheep are the helical or spiral horns. The wool plays an important role, meaning that the whole body, head and legs should be evenly well-covered.

General Appearance

The Valais Blacknose Sheep is a mountain sheep breed that is evenly-covered with wool all over the body. The appearance of the horns and color characteristics distinguish the unique appearance of Valais Blacknose Sheep. Valais Blacknose Sheep have a harmonious, robust and large-framed body type.

1. Type

Colors Features:

⁘ Nose to the middle of the head is black
⁘ Black eye borders continuous with black color on nose
⁘ Black ears
⁘ Black, horizontal coloring of fetlocks [i.e., like short, black "cuffs" on the black "boots"]
⁘ Symmetric black spots on the back of hocks and on the front of knees
⁘ In females, a tail spot is desired, but this may not be too big and must be interrupted [by the white coloring of tail].
⁘ In the male animals no tail spotting is tolerated.
⁘ For females with absence of a [color] feature, depending on the type and format, a point deduction may be made.

[Notes:
• Males may also have black pigmentation of scrotal area, but black color should not extend up into fleece.
• Purebred Valais Blacknose may occasionally have "reverse" coloring — the so-called Spitti (a.k.a. "Splitti") color. (These are local slang terms — which may vary according to local village — meaning "black and white".) Sheep of this color may not be registered as breeding stock in Swiss Studbook, as color does not comply with Swiss Breed Standard. However, in the UK (which has a much smaller gene pool), the Spitti color is currently allowed for ewes and wethers only. Spitti-colored sheep often produce correctly-marked offspring.]

Head and neck:

⁘ Short, compact head [i.e., short (Roman) nose]
⁘ Wide muzzle, broad forehead and Roman nose
⁘ Ears medium-long
⁘ Pronounced head shape in males [Mature rams often develop protuberance behind horn base.]
⁘ Short, well-muscled neck

Horns:

⁘ Spiral, well set-off in horizontal direction from the cheeks
⁘ Occasional black stripes are tolerated [Horns are otherwise typically light in color (often beige or light buff-colored).]
[Note: The horns themselves are somewhat flattened in contour, allowing them to twist upon themselves in addition to spiralling outward in the hornizontal plane.]

2. Conformation

Limbs:

⁘ Strong and well placed [i.e., comes out of each "corner" of the body squarely]
⁘ Not cow-hocked and not "o-legged" [i.e., not bow-legged]
⁘ Straight front legs with wide stance (not "x-legged") [i.e, not knock-kneed]

3. Wool

⁘ Fineness 5 -4 [Swiss grade; approximately equal to 28-38 microns depending on age and gender (with fiber diameter generally finest with lambs and coarsest with adult males]
⁘ Staple length over 10 cm with half year of growth [i.e, over 10 cm (over about 4 inches) growth per 6 months, or over 20 cm (over about 8 inches)/year. Valais Blacknose are usually shorn 2x/year.]

Exclusion Criteria

Anatomy:

⁘ Jaw: shortened lower jaw or uneven jaw length
⁘ Teeth: [Incisor] teeth not in contact or apposition with the dental pad (up to 18 months, both male and female) [i.e., underbite or overbite]
⁘ Weak and/or fallen pasterns [i.e., lax and malaligned (in any direction). "Fallen" pasterns means pastern angles significantly less than normal 45-degree angle to the ground]
⁘ Dwarfism
⁘ Monorchidism [i.e., Single Testicle or Cryptorchidism]
⁘ Scrotal hernia

Colors Features:

⁘ In male animals, body spots within the fleece boundary (above the abdominal line), tail spots, and lack of a color feature

Swiss Valais Blacknose Grading Scheme