Swiss Valais Blacknose Sheep Breed

We  started our flock in 2021 using  registered Scottish Blackface Sheep breed as our foundation sheep to begin our breed - up program.  We have one remaining Scottish Blackface ewe ( Florence ) that we have retired from breeding and she lives on our farm currently as a pet. We continue to give the highest quality care  and attention to all of the sheep on our farm regardless of breed.   They are loved and pampered while on our farm. 

We are currently members of the Indiana Sheep Association ( ISA ), Valais Blacknose Sheep Society ( VBSS ) , Valais Blacknose Sheep Association of North America ( VBSANA) & Valais Blacknose International Sheep Breeders Association & Registry 

 ( VBISBAR ). We remain very active & involved in these groups by communicating on a regular basis with members from the the 3 valais groups above.  By remaining involved with these groups and forming friendships within the group of breeders from the US and international this gives us the knowledge and education we need to constantly strive to give the best care to our sheep. 

In 2022 we were given the opportunity to visit the UK with other US breeders where we would visit the farm of Jamie Woods , Prendwick  Farm Northumberland. It is here we were greeted with kindness , friendship and laughter from Jamie and his family as we were guided and taught the correct way to wash the Valais Blacknose Sheep . We attended the Blacknose Beauties in Carlise, England to further our education while meeting other breeders of this lovely breed. 

2024 would take us Sweden , including the farm of Marita Tauni DVM  , Swiss trained grader & judge  who has been certified . Marita and her husband Kåre owned and managed a very large flock of Valais Blacknose sheep  in Sweden when we visited.  We had the honor of staying at their farm where  I had the opportunity to take an educational course at Marita’s farm with other US breeders on the introduction to grading and judging the Valais Blacknose Breed. 

In 2025 my husband and I visited Switzerland,  including the lovely Canton of Valais where the Valais Blacknose originate from and still graze the gornergat mountains today in the Swiss Alps.  While there we stayed in various locations throughout Switzerland but the areas most known for the Valais Blacknose are Zermatt and Vispterminen & Visp, where we also had the privilege of visiting. It was in Zermatt that we would meet Paul Julen and his son Marc Paul Julen while staying at the traditional Julen hotel. Paul Julen owns one of the largest flocks of Valais Blacknose Sheep in the area and we were honored to visit his flock while there as well as meet and visit with him and his son. We then made our way to the small village of Vispterminen where we would meet up with the rest of our US group as well as Marita & Kåre , Emma Collison from the UK ( another Swiss trained grader and Judge ) Along with Sue Zimmerman who lives in Visperterminen. It is here we would experience the life of a Swiss shepard as they gathered in their village slaughterhouse to wash their sheep for the upcoming well known ram market called Widdermarkt.  Our time in this region was spent with 2 course days following and learning from the experts of Oberwalliser Schwarznasen Schafzuchtverband . It was on the 3rd day that I would follow the experts as they graded over 300 Valais Blacknose Rams. I received my certification from the experts for the course taken over the 3 day period . 

The Valais Blacknose Breed is a unique breed of sheep and the Swiss highly value these sheep . It is important in our opinion that these sheep be bred , raised and shown to the Swiss standards  as to respect the Swiss for allowing a few of their sheep to be exported from their country . These sheep need to remain unique and we intend to follow the Swiss standards regarding this unique & rare breed. 

2021 We started our breed up program  with  genetics from Valais Blacknose New Zealand , using Valais Blacknose frozen semen straws. 

We decided in 2022 that we would implant frozen Valais Blacknose embryos using genetics from Super Sire LTD. 

In the spring 2023 the first Valais Blacknose Sheep were born here on our farm. A ram we named Kipply and a ewe we named Klover .We sold Kipply and Klover remains on our farm today . Kipply was a handsome ram that graded -2 off maximum points at the National Valais Show In Iowa. 

For 2023  we implanted frozen embryos using genetics from Parkdale Valais New Zealand & Black Oak Valais Blacknose New Zealand 

In April 2024 we had our second purebred Valais Blacknose Ram born on our farm and we named him Langley. Langley remains on our farm today as well. 

In November 2024 we had  6 lambs born  ( 3 sets of twins) giving us an additional 2 purebred rams from Parkdale Elvis . We also have 3 F2 ewe lambs with one having spitti coloration along with  an F2 wether. The two rams Lancelot and Leandor remain on our farm today as well. Along with the 3 F2 ewe lambs . 

2024 November we implanted 4 more frozen embryos from Highland Flock ( Raymond Irving’s genetics from the UK ) 

2025 we were blessed we 4 purebred ewes. Miracle and Mystery remain on our farm today . We sold the other 2 to a local shepardess who is taking great care of them . 

2025 I would spend 6 months on the Valais Blacknose Sheep Society ( VBSS ) one of the largest sheep registries in the US,  where I was nominated and elected by the board of directors to fill a vacant seat as the Vice President. This short time on the board was a true learning experience. 

2025 November we had an unlucky fall season as we attempted IVF our first time . Our ewes provided us with a whopping 18 oocytes ( eggs ) but none of these fertilized into viable embryos. We also lost one of our favorite recip ewes when her bladder was ruptured during a Lap AI . This was our first ever loss and it was traumatic for us. 

All of the genetics we use are from very high quality rams and ewes. The frozen embryos are grade 1 which is the highest quality . These frozen semen straws and purebred embryos have been  handled with the utmost care while being shipped in liquid nitrogen containers to the US.  They are handled only by professionals and stored at Reproduction Speciality Group, Inc located in Lebanon, IN.  The procedure is done at the RSG facility  by experienced  & licensed Veterinarians while the ewe is sedated for comfort. We transport our ewes to the facility the day of the procedure , wait with them and transport them back to our farm . Following the procedures the ewes are  cared for at our farm with the greatest attention to love for the animal . Our animals are considered pets and are treated as such while spending a lot of quality time with them. 

The first Generation ( F1 ) 50%  lambs are from  registered  Scottish Blackface  dams (mothers ) and the Sires (fathers )  are from 100% Valais Blacknose Rams Strathedeen Alexander.  We currently have 3 F1 generation sheep , 1 ewe & 2 wethers ( sold 2026 ) 

The second Generation ( F2 ) 75 % lambs are from our F1 ewes and bred with High quality frozen semen from Parkdale genetics in NZ.  3 ewes ( one spitti colored ) 1 wether ( sold 2026 ) 

FUN FACTS : 

Kipply as well as some of our other sheep are featured in a book written by Randal Ford  that was published in fall 2024 called   “Farm Life.” Randal is an award winning commercial photographer . He has written two other  books called  “The  Animal Kingdom and Good dog.” Randal contacted us and flew with an assistant  from Texas to  Indiana where we are located and set up his studio in our barn. These sheep are some of the cutest sheep in the world and even had Randal traveling from Texas to get some pictures of these rare sheep. 

FUN FACTS: 

Spitti colored sheep are the reverse coloration of the Valais Blacknose and are often times black with white spots . They are considered good luck in Switzerland . 

WHY DO WE LOVE THESE SHEEP SO MUCH: 

WHY ARE THEY SO DIFFERENT: 

They are a beautiful stout and strong animal with amazing fleece quailities.  Their fleece is considered a course fleece which is great for rug making .  The color markings are so adorable and unique . The purebreds are rare to the US at this time with only a small number of quality purebreds available . Estimating at maybe only 1000 or less currently in the US at this time. 

They are very docile in nature . 

They are very loving , curious and love to be around people . 

They make wonderful pets due to their unique character , disposition and loving nature.  They love attention and are very gentle . 

We have experienced first hand the loving and docile nature of the Valais  Blacknose Breed 

TAKING DEPOSITS NOW FOR SPRING 2026 Purebred Valais Blacknose LAMBS :  

Contact Us now to hold your purebred 

We do NOT sell crossbred or percentage rams. 

We do not use crossbred or percentage rams for our breed up program . 

Contact us for pricing 

Serious inquires only