News and Blog Posts

By Mistelle Jack I grew up on the outskirts of town, and by that I mean town was on one side and paddocks were over the back fence! My parents came from two different parts of the country; Dad grew…

Plans for the 2024 World Congress of Coloured Sheep, to be held in New Zealand in November 2024, are well underway, despite the challenges of planning with any detail due to the continuing COVID pandemic. Currently the plan is that…

Please note that the dates for the BCSBA's 2023 conference have been changed, to avoid a clash with  Creative Fibre New Zealand's national festival. The new dates will now be 19-23 April 2023, a week earlier than originally planned. The…

The Manawatu Branch warmly invites all members of the BCSBA to join us at “our place”, 19-23 April 2023. We look forward to welcoming you. The conference will be held at the Distinction Hotel & Conference Centre, Cuba St Palmerston…

Each year, at the annual conference and AGM, the BCSBA runs competitions for its members. There are five sections: National Fleece; Handcraft Fleece; Photographs; Handcraft; and Sheepskin. Within each section there are different categories/classes, chosen by the branch hosting the…

By Wendy Allison, Wairarapa In the last article in our series about genetics, readers were invited to submit any questions they might have about genetics.  Lovato Sara, an Italian breeder of Brogna Sheep, an endangered breed native to Veneto emailed…

By Wendy Allison, Wairarapa. In the previous article we looked at why some colours are quite rare - because it’s unlikely for a lamb to receive full pairs of recessive alleles on all three loci. But there are a few…

By Wendy Allison, Wairarapa. In the last article, we looked at the Brown locus – the second of the three main determiners of colour in sheep, and the one that decides whether your sheep’s skin will be black or brown.…

By Georgie Fairless My pet sheep is named Brownie as she is a moorit coloured Corriedale/Merino cross. She thinks differently to her three Romney sheep companions, does not like having her photo taken. Brownie is now five years old and…

The annual Black and Coloured Sheep Sale run by the BCSBA will be held on Saturday 5 February, followed by an open day for members of the public. The sale itself will be held at at the A&P showgrounds in…