The Merinizzata Italiana is a modern Italian breed of dual-purpose sheep from southern Italy.[1]: 246 [2] It was created in the twentieth century by cross-breeding local Italian stock with imported Merino breeds from France and Germany. It is reared in central and southern Italy, principally in Abruzzo.
| Country of origin | Italy |
|---|---|
| Distribution | southern and central Italy |
| Use | dual-purpose, meat and wool |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Height |
|
| Skin colour | unpigmented |
| Wool colour | white |
| Face colour | white |
| Horn status | polled |
| |
History
editThe Merinizzata Italiana is a modern breed, created over several decades in the twentieth century 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.[1]: 246 [3]: 84 The aim was to produce a good meat breed without sacrificing wool quality.[3]: 84
It is reared mainly in the southern and central Italian regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, the Marche, Molise, Puglia and Umbria.[1]: 246 It is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[3]: 84
Total numbers for the breed were estimated in the year 2000 at 600000 head, of which 19000 were registered in the herd-book;[1]: 247 in 2013 the number recorded in the herd-book was 27260.[4]
Characteristics
editIt is of medium to large size and weight: rams weigh on average 70 kg and stand some 79 cm, while ewes average 55 kg in weight and 69 cm in height.[1]: 247 The fleece and face are both white, and the skin is unpigmented; the fleece covers the whole body, extending far down the legs and sometimes onto the cheeks and forehead. Both sexes are naturally polled (without horns).[1]: 247
Use
editLambs are usually weaned at 6–7 weeks, and slaughtered soon after, at a weight of 10–15 kg. Rams yield about 4.5 kg of wool, ewes about 2.5 kg; the wool is of good quality, with a fibre diameter of 18–26 microns.[1]: 247
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594. p. 246–247.
- ^ Breed data sheet: Merinizzata Italiana/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2014.
- ^ a b c Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Archived 21 September 2013.
- ^ Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 31 Merinizzata Italiana Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed January 2014.