 | |
| Conservation status | Endangered [1] |
|---|---|
| Other names | |
| Country of origin | France |
| Use | Meat, Wool [3] |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Wool color | White [2] |
| Face color | Red [2] |
| Horn status | Both Sexes Polled [2] |
| |
The Rouge du Roussillon is an endangered breed of sheep from southern France. [3] It is primarily raised in the French Mediterranean countryside for lamb meat. [4]
The Rouge du Rossillon is of Algerian descent, and came to France in the 18th century, [5] and was likely introduced to France via Spain. [3]
The Rouge du Rossillon is a medium fine-wool breed. The males typically weigh 75–100 kg and stand 75–90 cm tall, while ewes normally weigh around 55–65 kg and stand 65–75 cm tall. [3] In terms of coloration, the Rouge du Rossillon typically has white wool with red colored head and legs. [2] The sheep are extremely hardy, and are able to survive all year outside. They can also thrive at high temperatures, and can live in climates with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius. However, they also do well in colder climates with scarce food supplies. [6]
The main use of the Rouge du Rossillon is meat. Traditionally, lamb meat has accounted for about 95% of income from raising Rouge du Rossillons. [3] The lambs are usually sold when they are still fairly light, around 28–30 kg. [4] Lambs sold when they are heavier are commonly considered to be too fatty and are not as desirable on the market. The rest of the income comes from wool sales [3] They were historically milked, with the milk often being used for cheese production, but this is not common today. [6]
Rouge du Rossillon are not raised by transhumance, with herds mostly being sedentary. [4] from mid-October to march the herds graze on residual plants left over from crop harvests. They are often raised alongside Lacaune sheep. [3]
Today, the Rouge du Roussillon is endangered, [1] largely due to a general decline in livestock raising in its native region. [5] There is an estimated world population remaining of around 5,900 reproductive females. However, there has been considerable improvement in recent years in terms of its population numbers. [5] A 1974 study estimated its population at only 750 ewes and 25 rams. [3] In 1981, national protection actions were implemented to protect the breed, and from 1994-2001 a conservation program was launched in Grand Causses regional natural park in France. [5]
Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat, milk, and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin and parchment.
The Border Leicester is a British breed of sheep. It is a polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have been exported to other sheep-producing regions, including Australia and the United States.
The Lonk is a British breed of domestic sheep. It belongs to the group of black-faced hill breeds of northern England, and is found in the hills of the central and southern Pennines of Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is documented from the mid-eighteenth century; a flock book was started in 1905.
The Shetland is a small, wool-producing breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, Scotland, but is now also kept in many other parts of the world. It is part of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it is closely related to the extinct Scottish Dunface. Shetlands are classified as a landrace or "unimproved" breed. This breed is kept for its very fine wool, for meat, and for conservation grazing.
The Pie Rouge des Plaines is a modern French breed of dairy cattle. It was created in about 1970 by cross-breeding the traditional Armorican cattle of Brittany, in north-western France, with red-pied cattle of the Dutch Meuse-Rhine-Yssel and German Deutsche Rotbunte breeds.
Sheep's milk is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France).
The St Croix is a breed of domestic sheep native to the U.S. Virgin Islands and named for the island of Saint Croix. They are often also called Virgin Island White because those that were imported into North America were selected for white coloration. On the Island of St. Croix, they come in shades of brown, white, and black.
The Clun Forest is a breed of domestic sheep originating from the area surrounding the Clun Forest in Shropshire, England. Similar to many of the British breeds of upland sheep, Clun Forest are hardy, adaptable, good foragers, and are long–lived. With sleek heads and wide pelvic structures, Clun Forest ewes lamb easily. The breed has a short to medium–length wool and dark brown faces. They are a multi–purpose animal, kept for meat, wool, and milk. Like other dark faced sheep, Clun produce quality lamb and mutton. However, in contrast to more common meat breeds such as Suffolks, their wool is free of undesirable black fibres and kemp, and is suitable for handspinning. The breed's alert and stylish appearance, together with its reputation for hardiness and fecundity have made it popular with hobby farmers and large commercial flock owners alike. The Official Clun Sheep Breeders Society Show & Sale for males and females is held annually in early September at Ludlow livestock market by McCartneys.
The Bleu du Maine is a French breed of domestic sheep. It originated in the historic region of Maine, and is distributed mainly in the départements of Maine-et-Loire, the Mayenne and the Sarthe in the Pays de la Loire in western France.
The Kerry Hill is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the county of Powys in Wales. It derives its name from the village of Kerry (Ceri), near Newtown. Kerry Hill sheep have a distinctive and unique coloration, with a white face bearing black markings around the mouth, ears, and eyes. Both rams and ewes are polled. Their wool is white, and their legs are white with black markings. First mentions of the breed date back to the early 19th century, and today it is distributed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Though still not very numerous, the breed was removed from the records of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist in 2006. This breed is primarily raised for meat.
Sheep or domestic sheep are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.
The Zwartbles is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Friesland region of the north Netherlands. There it was primarily used for the production of sheep milk as well as lamb and mutton. They were often kept alongside dairy cattle herds.
The Devon Closewool is a British breed of domestic sheep. It is distributed almost exclusively on Exmoor in North Devon, in south-west England. It is raised primarily for meat.
Algerian Arab sheep is a breed of domesticated sheep found throughout Algeria. This breed does grow a carpet-grade wool, and is raised primarily for meat.
The British Milksheep is a robust, dual-purpose sheep commonly known for its milking characteristics.
The Wiltipoll is a breed of polled domestic sheep that was developed in Australia from Wiltshire Horn sheep with the infusion of Border Leicester, Perendale, Poll Dorset, and Poll Merino genetics, that are raised for meat.
The Delle Langhe, also called Pecora delle Langhe or Langarola, is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to Piedmont, in north-western Italy. It is a rough-woolled breed of southern Mediterranean type, and originates from the mountainous area of the Alta Langa, where the Apennines meet the Alps, in the province of Cuneo. It is raised mainly in the Langhe, but is found in several other regions of Italy including Abruzzo, Basilicata, Emilia–Romagna, Liguria and Tuscany.
The German Whiteheaded Mutton is a breed of sheep developed to live along the North Sea coast of Germany. It is a dual-use breed used for both its fine wool and meat production. They often graze along the North Sea dikes in Northern Europe.
The Istrian Milk is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Karst Plateau and regions of Istria in Slovenia and Croatia. The Istrian Milk is mainly used for its milk, which is primarily used in cheese making. Today, the breed is endangered.
Edilbay sheep, also known as Edilbaev(skaya) sheep, are a breed of domesticated sheep which originated in northern Kazakhstan. This breed belongs to the coarse-wooled fat-tailed type of sheep and the Kazakh group. It originated in the 19th century as a cross between Kazakh fat-tailed sheep and Kalmyk/Astrakhan coarse-wooled sheep. Today, it is found in Kazakhstan and Russia.