Karachaev breed of sheep: description, characteristics and photos

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Karachay breed of sheep is considered unique and one of the oldest in the world, since its origin was independent. Scientists have not yet been able to identify any genetic links with other breeds. Karachay, which is located at the mouth of the Kuban River, is considered the historical homeland of animals. The considered breed of sheep is bred mainly in North Ossetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, many scientists tried to breed Karachai queens with rams of other breeds. These attempts have not yielded positive results. It was determined that the lambs adopted predominantly paternal rather than maternal genetic traits. This means they were born lethargic and immunocompromised.

Appearance

Assessment of sheep of the Karachay breed:

1. Physique. Animals are strong, have strong hooves. Thanks to this, the sheep move easily through the mountains.
2. Representatives of this breed are small. Sheep weight- up to 70-75 kg, females - 40-55 kg. These are average indicators, which may vary, depending on the individual characteristics of the sheep of the Karachay breed. Cases of individuals growing up to 85-100 kg have been recorded.
3. Animals are characterized by an elongated head of small size. Males have large spiral horns. Females have smaller horns pointing upwards.
4. The length of the tail is 500 mm and more like the English letter "S". The base of the body is large and wide due to the accumulation of tail fat.
5. Wool in females and males is black. Much less common are individuals of other shades, such as red or gray.
6. Karachai breed of sheep are coarse-wooled animals whose warm fleece is light in weight.
7. Useful substances accumulate along with fat in the fat tail area. If there are difficulties with good food, then the necessary nutrients come from fat.

The value of Karachai cattle

Distinctive characteristics of the Karachai breed of sheep:

• No need to create any special containment procedures;
• animals are unpretentious in care and feeding.
• Cattle have high immunity and good he alth.
• This breed is hardy and easily tolerates sudden changes in temperature and even cold.
• Only excellent genes have been passed down from generation to generation.
• Many times ago, sheep lived independently away from people, so they learnedintuitively select only valuable and high-quality grass, which ensures proper nutrition for normal development.

The disadvantage of the Karachay breed of sheep, which is noted by many farmers, is the livestock living in areas with a humid climate. Animals eat only selected natural food. This is the only reason why it will be very problematic to breed sheep in regions with an arid climate.

Wool

It can be seen from the reviews and photos: Karachai sheep have coarse wool of bone structure. Despite the coarse type of wool, cattle cannot boast of a large fineness of hairs. The cover is more downy, and coarse hairs are rare. Taking into account all the features of keeping and feeding Karachay sheep, up to 2.6 kg of wool per year is obtained from one female, up to 3 kg per year from one ram.

Wool is able to fall into a very dense felt, which is considered an excellent material for sewing all kinds of warm products. On the shelves of the store you can find cloaks and other outerwear made from the fleece of Karachai sheep. Such clothing is in great demand, because it has an enviable water-repellent property. It is used mainly for riding or during grazing in mountainous areas. Light sheepskin is characterized by a dense mezdra.

Reproduction

Usually, only one lamb is born per ewe, and two cubs are much less common. CauseThis is mother's milk: in one day, the lamb gains weight by 350 grams. With proper feeding, by the age of six months, sheep can gain about 50 kilograms, which is why they are sent to slaughter at a young age.

How to cross the Karachai breed of sheep and with whom:

1. To obtain meat, fat-tailed breeds of sheep are used for crossing.
2. If you decide to change the direction of your activity from wool to meat, then you can cross Karachai sheep with the Romanov breed.
3. Only a pair of rams is selected for three or more queens.

Productivity

Sheep of the Karachay breed are known even outside the Caucasus due to their tasty and he althy meat. Cattle wool is actively used by industrial enterprises. This breed is one of the most dairy, unlike other fat-tailed varieties. The daily milk yield is 2.5-3 liters, the fat content of which is about 10%. Lamb is appreciated by gourmets for its high palatability.

Breed varieties

It can be concluded from many descriptions: the Karachay sheep breed is considered elite. Therefore, two centuries ago, only those sheep that lived in a certain region of the Caucasus were referred to it. But at present, this type includes other types of coarse-haired cattle raised in different mountainous regions: Kabardinka, Ossetia and Cherkessia. Each of these breeds is valuable only in one specific direction: for the production of meat, milk or wool.

Varieties of the Karachai breedsheep:

1. Kara-muz - the wool of these black sheep is silky and long. The pigtails of the sheep are slightly wavy, but mostly even. Cattle grow horns.
2. Cuff - black polled sheep without horns. In wool, the amount of fluff is much greater than in other animals. The meat breed is characterized by precocity, and the taste of meat is much better than that of other sheep.
3. Kekbash - individuals of gray color are distinguished by a large physique, large mass and high growth at the withers.

Features

The Karachay breed of sheep has good immunity and high resistance to various diseases. This is directly related to a balanced diet and the intake of a sufficient amount of nutrients in the body. Every day, animals consume selected grass of the Caucasian mountains. Lambs of new generations are distinguished by better he alth, as well as genes. This breed of sheep does not have serious pathologies of the limbs and lungs.

If you want to raise sheep at home, it is important to prepare an insulated stall or paddock. If the animals will be in sunny and southern areas, then there is no need to insulate the stall.

The habitual habitat of sheep is considered to be an area with a high level of humidity and frequent temperature changes that occur even during one day. If you decide to breed sheep of the Karachay breed, it is better to give preference to areas with a dry climate. Karachais are proud of these sheep, because they are leaders in quantity and quality, not onlymilk, but also meat.