Skip to main content

Karakul Sheep

Image
By

The Karakul sheep is a multi-purpose breed of domestic sheep originated from Central Asia. According some archaeological evidence, this breed is being raised there continuously since 1400 BC.

And carvings of a distinct Karakul type have been found on ancient Babylonian temples. It is also known by some other names such as Qaraqul, Karagül (Turkey), Karakul'skaya (Russian), Astrakhan and Bukhara.

The breed is also raised in some other countries. It is raised in Namibia in large numbers, having first been brought there by German colonists in the early twentieth century.

The Karakul sheep is named after a village called Karakul which lies in the valley of the Amu Darja River in the former emirate of Bokhara, West Turkestan.

Between 1908 and 1929, the Karakul sheep were first introduced to the United States. And there has been an increased interest in these animals, with a growing interest in the fiber arts in the United States.

Today the breed is a multi-purpose animal, and raised for many different purposes. Such as they are used for meat, milk, hides and wool. Read more information about this breed below.

Karakul Sheep Characteristics

The Karakul sheep are medium-sized animals. They differ radically in conformation from many other sheep breeds, and they are of the fat broad tailed type of sheep.

There are stored fat in their large tail, which is a source of nourishment and similar in function to the camel's hump. They usually stand tall, with a long and narrow body.

Their top line is highest at the loin with the rump long and sloping, blending into a low set broad tail. Head of the Karakul sheep is long and narrow, and slightly indented between the eyes and often exhibiting a Roman type nose.

They have long ears, which are always pointing downward and slightly forward and vary from a long U shape to small V shape (or also may be entirely absent).

They have long neck, which is carried semi-erect, and their legs are medium to long. The Karakul ewes are usually polled, while the rams can be either polled or horned.

karakul sheep, about karakul sheep, karakul sheep appearance, karakul sheep breed, karakul sheep breed info, karakul sheep breed facts, karakul sheep care, caring karakul sheep, karakul sheep color, karakul sheep characteristics, karakul sheep coat color, karakul sheep ewes, karakul sheep facts, karakul sheep for meat, karakul sheep for milk, karakul sheep for wool, karakul sheep for hides, karakul sheep history, karakul sheep horns, karakul sheep info, karakul sheep images, karakul sheep lambs, karakul sheep meat, karakul sheep milk, karakul sheep origin, karakul sheep photos, karakul sheep pictures, karakul sheep rarity, karakul sheep rearing, raising karakul sheep, raising karakul sheep for meat, raising karakul sheep for milk, raising karakul sheep for wool, raising karakul sheep for hides, karakul sheep size, karakul sheep uses, karakul sheep varieties, karakul sheep weight, karakul sheep wool

These animals are easily characterized by their colored fleece, which is due to a dominate black gene. As a medium-sized animal, average live body weight of the mature Karakul rams is between 79 and 102 kg. And average live body weight of the mature ewes vary from 45 to 68 kg. Photo and info from ansi.okstate.edu and Wikipedia.

Uses

The Karakul sheep are multi-purpose animals. They are used for meat, milk, wool and hides. But they were valued for their wool previously.

Special Notes

The Karakul sheep are very hardy animals, and they are able to thrive under adverse conditions. They are resistant to internal parasites and foot rot disease. They are excellent foragers, and often go through a season of scant food or graze marginal land in which ordinary sheep would not able to survive.

They can withstand extremes of either cold or hot, but they should have access to dry cover and be kept out of marshy pastures. The Karakul sheep actually breed out of season, and they are able to produce 3 lamb in 2 years. Single lambs are the rule for these animals. But twins are also born occasionally.

The Karakul ewes are very attentive and protective mothers, resulting a high lamb survival rate. The breed is also posses a strong flocking instinct. And they can be run either in fenced pastures or on open range.

Today the Karakul sheep are raised as a multi-purpose animal. They are kept for meat, milk, wool and hides. However, review full breed profile of the Karakul sheep in the following chart.

Breed NameKarakul
Other NameAlso known by some other names such as Qaraqul, Karagül (Turkey), Karakul'skaya (Russian), Astrakhan and Bukhara.
Breed PurposeMeat, milk, wool and hides
Special NotesVery hardy and strong animals, able to thrive under adverse conditions, resistant to internal parasites and foot rot disease, excellent foragers, and withstand extremes of either cold or hot, they actually bred out of season, able to produce 3 lambs in 2 years, the ewes are very attentive and protective mothers, high lamb survival rate, they posses a strong flocking instinct, used for meat, milk, wool and hides
Breed SizeMedium
WeightMature ewes body weight vary from 45 to 68 kg. And the mature rams on average weight between 79 and 102 kg.
HornsRams have horns, but the ewes are naturally polled
Climate ToleranceAlmost all climates
ColorMany
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginCentral Asia
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

By
The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sorting Cattle

By
Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

By
Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...
Post a Comment
Read more

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

By
Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cleaning A Cow

By
Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Agerolese Cattle Farming

By
Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

By
Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...
Post a Comment
Read more