Valais Blacknose Sheep Breed Standards & Judging Guidelines

With this new breed of sheep coming into the show rings across America, we are providing a guideline for the Swiss judges. The sheep originated in Switzerland, and it is very important to the Swiss heritage of this breed to maintain the characteristics they were originally bred for. This is primarily a wool breed.

Please take these breed standards into consideration when these sheep enter the ring. If you would like more information about the breed, please contact the breed association.

Full horns, full wool and tails are important. Sheep can be washed but not fitted/clipped/blocked for shows. Ideally, wool should be 5-6”, but can be shown in less.

Logo for the Valais Blacknose Sheep Society, featuring a detailed illustration of a Valais Blacknose sheep with a black nose and white, curly wool.
Five people standing in a line holding sheep with black faces and white wool, each adorned with a green ribbon in a sheep show setting.

Traditional Breed Characteristics

The characteristics of the Blacknose sheep fall into three areas:

General Appearance
Foundation
Wool

Click to download a printable PDF copy of this information:

Breed Standards

General Appearance

A fluffy Valais Blacknose sheep with a black face and knee spots, wearing a green ribbon rosette and a purple, yellow, and white grand champion ribbon, being awarded at a show.

Color Features:

  • No brown or grayish color.

  • Blacknose to the center of the head.

  • Black encompassing the eye area connecting with the black of the nose, no gap.

  • Black ears - black should meet the white of the head.

  • Black hooves and ankle area (' black socks’) Black spots on knees and hocks (spots can be nonsymmetrical).

  • Knee spots need a white line of separation between knee spots and ankle area. Presence is important, not the size.

  • Females are to have a black spot under the tail. There must be at least a pencil-width gap of white on the visual side of the tail.

  • Missing a marking feature (i.e. knee spot) would receive a deduction.

  • Males must not have a black spot under their tail.

  • Males scrotum may be black, but the black must not spread upward above the scrotum. Belly can be black, just not above the “Skirt or Belly Line”

Close-up portrait of a Valais Blacknose sheep with woolly white fleece and a black face.

Head & Neck:

  • Well proportioned, compact head.

  • Roman nose, wide mouth, broad forehead.

  • Pronounced, regal head shape in ram.

  • Mature rams often develop protuberance behind horn base.

  • Short, straight well-muscled neck

Horns:

  • Spiral outward from head, horizontally away from cheeks. (You should always be able to fit a flat hand comfortably between the horn and cheek.)

  • Black stripe in the horns are acceptable. Just no black wool at base.

  • Male horns are thicker, spiral forward, down, and then curl out to the side.

  • Female horns are thinner, spiral slightly down, and then curl out to the side

A Valais Blacknose Ram with curly white wool, black face, and large curved horns.
Close-up of a Valais Blacknose sheep with woolly white coat and black face, looking directly at the camera.

Chest, Shoulder, & Withers:

  • Wide, deep, chest area.

  • Shoulders line naturally with neck and chest.

  • Well-spaced, wide withers.

  • Rib cage curvature is well proportioned and round.

Back & Loin:

  • Long, straight top line.

  • Wide back and loin.

Pelvis, Abdomen & Hindquarters:

  • Medium sized belly with small belly hollows/pits.

  • Wide and medium-length pelvis.

  • Well-muscled hindquarters

Close-up of a the tail and hock spots of a Valais Blacknose Sheep, showing correct tail length.

Withers (from two years):

  • Female: 23.3-30.7in

  • Males: 29.5-32.7in

  • Malnourished sheep will be much smaller in frame for the age.

Weight (over two years):

  • Females: 150-200lb

  • Males: 175- 275lb

Foundation

Limbs:

  • Strong, sure footed.

  • Solid hoof development.

  • Legs are not bow legged.

  • Legs are not knocked kneed.

  • Legs are to be more under the sheep than to the side

Foundations:

  • Slight hock angulations.

  • Short, strong pasterns (45-degree angle).

  • Solid bone structure.

  • Joints should be straight and sound.

Gait:

  • Spacious, sure footed and wide legged.

  • Doesn’t sway or waiver.

  • Even and stable movement.

  • Mobile with ease.

A large Valais Blacknose sheep with thick, curly wool and black facial markings, standing on a green surface with a green ribbon after a show with a person partially visible behind it.

Wool:

  • Fleece in lambs is soft to touch but becomes coarser as the sheep matures. (The Swiss grade approximately equates to 28-38 microns depending on age and gender. Fiber diameter generally finest in lambs and coarsest in adult males.

  • Staple length is 4-6 inches based on approx. 6 months growth. (Recommended shorn twice a year at min. Approx. Fleece weight when shorn: Lambs 2.2- 3.3lbs; Ewes 2.5-6.6lbs; Rams 5.5-6lbs. Based on 6 months of growth.)

  • Wool on legs thick and full.

  • Wool on head is natural and long.

  • Some black hairs/fibers are tolerated on neck area. (Females only. In males up to 18 months of age this is a fault).

  • Wool is double coated.

Fitting

This look is not permitted and considered a disqualification. No blocking. Leg wool should be similar to the length with the body. Whole body should be sheared at the same time as legs. No docking of tails shorter that three fingers above hocks (evaluation is needed on animal’s tail spot).

Walking Sheep

It is recommended handlers hand walk their Valais Blacknose sheep or may use a collar & lead. Halters are not permitted as they do not fit the roman nose. Halters pose a safety risk as they may slide down the roman nose and restrict the nostrils/airway. Have exhibitor remove any halters if entering the ring with them.

Major Flaws

Anatomy:

  • Incisor teeth not in contact or correct position with dental pad i.e. overbite or under bite up to 18 months of age.

  • Weak and/or fallen pasterns.

  • Stunted growth.

  • Only one testicle present.

  • Scrotal hernia.

Markings:

  • Black body spots on the main body area. (Black is allowed below the RED line on the diagram).

  • Markings missing from knees, hocks or head.

Skeletal diagram of a sheep with arrows pointing to various body parts, including the head, front leg, chest, abdomen, back leg, tail, and hoofs, along with a red line representing the sheeps body alignment.

Spitti (Multi Color):

  • On occasion a purebred Valais Blacknose may produce off spring marked in reverse color/markings which are referred to as ‘Spitti” (a name adopted in the UK from Swiss Blacknose breeders). Sheep with slight extra black, are over marked sheep. No Spitti or over marked sheep should place above a correctly marked sheep unless confirmation is not correct on correctly marked sheep.

  • Spitti and over marked sheep should be in a class of their own or natural colored wool classes.

A large black and white Valais Blacknose Spitti sheep standing in a show ring, with people and a white structure in the background.

Wool:

  • Kemp and /or tender fibers: kemp fibers are short, medullated (hollow) fibers with pointed tips that may be found within fleece.

  • Kemp is undesirable in fleece because it does not take up dye and is coarse, brittle, weak, and “prickly’. Tender or ‘hunger-fine’ fibers are thinned and break easily, and may occur due to malnutrition, disease and/or scarring.

  • Excessive number of guard hairs: i.e. long, coarse, stiff, outercoat hairs which may be present. They cause the same difficulties to the processing as kemp fibers and are easy to recognize in the fleece because they are typically much longer than the actual wool fibers.

  • Large amounts of felting within the wool.