Tiroler Steinschaf

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Tiroler Steinschaf
Wien-Schonbrunn, Zoo, der Haidachhof, Stall, Tiroler Steinschaf.JPG
In the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, Vienna
Other namesPecora della Roccia Tirolese
Country of origin Austria
Traits
Weight
  • Male: 90 kg
  • Female: 70 kg
Wool colour grey, black or white
Face colour usually black
Notes
dual-purpose, meat and wool


The Tiroler Steinschaf or Pecora della Roccia Tirolese is a breed of domestic sheep from the mountainous Tyrol area of Austria; a few are raised in Italy. [1] [2] The name means "Tyrolean rock sheep". It is raised in the states of Tyrol and Salzburg in Austria [1] and in the autonomous province of Bolzano in Italy. [2] It dates from the early 19th century and is the oldest Tyrolean sheep breed. [1]

A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. Breeds are formed through genetic isolation and either natural adaptation to the environment or selective breeding, or a combination of the two. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry and agriculture, no single, scientifically accepted definition of the term exists. A breed is therefore not an objective or biologically verifiable classification but is instead a term of art amongst groups of breeders who share a consensus around what qualities make some members of a given species members of a nameable subset.

Sheep Domesticated ruminant bred for meat, wool and milk

Domestic sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like most ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe, an intact male as a ram or occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a younger sheep as a lamb.

German Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps now divided between Austria and Italy. It includes largely ethnic German areas of historical County of Tyrol: the Austrian state of Tyrol and the province of South Tyrol but not the largely Italian-speaking province of Trentino.

The Austrian herdbook was established in 1973. [3] The registered population reported for Austria in 2012 was 2780 to 3500, [1] and total numbers are estimated at 12,000. [3]

The Tiroler Steinschaf is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. [3] In 2013 no total number for the breed was recorded in the herdbook; [4] total numbers are about 60 head. [2]

The Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, or roughly "national association of pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more than a hundred indigenous breeds of sheep and goats. It records breed numbers and submits them twice yearly to DAD-IS, and keeps records for all breeders of sheep and goats in the country.

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Sarda sheep Breed of domestic sheep from the island Sardinia

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The Bovec is a breed of domestic sheep from the upper valley of the Soča or Isonzo river, now in Slovenia. The breed is named in both Slovenian and in Italian for the town of Bovec or Plezzo; in the Trenta valley it may also be called Trentarka. It is raised in the Soča valley in Slovenia, in the areas of Resia and Tarvisio in Friuli in Italy, and in Styria and Carinthia in Austria. The breed is raised for milk and for meat.

Braunes Bergschaf sheep breed

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Brigasca sheep breed

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The Finarda is a breed of large domestic sheep from the regions of Lombardy and Piemonte in northern Italy. It is heavy breed raised mainly for meat, although it also yields 4–6 kg of wool per year. It results from cross-breeding the Bergamasca and Biellese breeds. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. However, in 2008 the herdbook was empty, and may in fact never have been activated. Most data for the breed dates from 1983.

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The Pomarancina is a breed of domestic sheep from Tuscany in central Italy. It is raised mainly in the comune of Pomarance, from which it takes its name, and in the neighbouring comuni of Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina, Montecatini Val di Cecina and Volterra, all in the province of Pisa; some are kept in other parts of Tuscany, in the provinces of Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca and Siena. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

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Tiroler Bergschaf sheep breed

The Tiroler Bergschaf or Pecora Alpina Tirolese is a breed of domestic sheep from the mountainous Tyrol area of Austria and Italy. The name means "Tyrolean mountain sheep". It is raised throughout Austria and in the autonomous province of Bolzano in Italy. It results from cross-breeding between the Tiroler Steinschaf of the Tyrol with the Italian Bergamasca breed from the area of Bergamo. This is variously reported as having taken place in the first half of the 19th century and after the Second World War.


The Tacola is a breed of domestic sheep from the mountains of Piemonte in north-west Italy. It is raised in the provinces of Biella, Cuneo and Turin, particularly in the area of Biella and the Valsesia. It apparently derives from the Biellese, from which it is distinguished by its short ears. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

The Schwarzbraunes Bergschaf is a breed of domestic sheep from the area of the Jura mountains in Switzerland. It derives from the Swiss Frutigen, Jura, Roux-des-Bagnes, Saanen and Simmental breeds. The name means "black-brown mountain sheep". It is one of the four principal sheep breeds of Switzerland. It is present also in Austria, Germany and Italy, and in those countries is known as the Juraschaf.

The Valle del Belice is a breed of domestic sheep from the Valle del Belice, the valley of the Belice river in south-western Sicily, from which it takes its name. It is raised mainly in its area of origin in the provinces of Agrigento, Palermo and Trapani, but is also found elsewhere in Sicily and in southern Italy. It appears to result from the three-way hybridisation of the Sicilian Pinzirita and Comisana breeds with Sarda stock brought from Sardinia. It has the resistance to harsh winter conditions of the Pinzirita and the Sarda, the resistance to high summer temperatures of the Comisana, and the good milk yield of the Comisana and the Sarda. Occasionally a pecora scimmia is born, with partial or total alopecia of the head and limbs; this is caused by a recessive gene.

The Merinizzata Italiana is a breed of domestic sheep from southern Italy. It is a modern breed, created in the first half of the twentieth century or in recent decades by cross-breeding of indigenous Gentile di Puglia and Sopravissana stock with imported Merino breeds such as the French Berrichon du Cher and Île-de-France, and the German Merinolandschaf. The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality. The Merinizzata Italiana is raised mostly in Abruzzo, mainly in the provinces of L'Aquila and Teramo, with small numbers in neighbouring regions.


The Nera di Arbus, more fully Pecora Nera di Arbus, is a breed of small domestic sheep indigenous to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy. It takes its name from the comune of Arbus, in the province of Medio Campidano, in the south-western part of the island. It is raised in the provinces of Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano and Sassari. The breed achieved official recognition in 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Breed data sheet: Tiroler Steinschaf/Austria. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN   9788850652594. p. 290–291.
  3. 1 2 3 Tiroler Steinschaf (Pecora della Roccia Tirolese): Standard della razza (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Accessed September 2013.
  4. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza TS TIROLER STEINSCHAF Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed September 2013.