Skip to main content

Appenninica Sheep

The Appenninica sheep is a breed of domestic sheep which was originated from Italy. It is a pretty modern breed and actually developed from the central Apennine mountains of Italy. Today it is mainly distributed and raised in Abruzzo, Marche, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria.

The Appenninica sheep breed was actually developed in the 1970s by cross-breeding and subsequent selection of local sheep breeds such as the Perugina del piano, the Vissana, the Senese delle, the Chietina Verzese, Bariscianese and the Casentinese with Bergamasca rams and with the French Ile-de-France and Berrichon du Cher, with the aim of increasing the meat yield.

The Appenninica sheep breed was officially recognized in 1980. And a herdbook for the breed established in 1981. Today the breed is raised mainly for meat production, although it is a medium-coarse wool sheep breed and pretty good for producing wool. Read some more information about this Italian sheep breed below.

Appenninica Sheep Characteristics

The Appenninica sheep are medium sized animals. They are mainly white in coloration with pinkish skin. Their face is generally free of wool and white in color.

appenninica sheep, about appenninica sheep, appenninica sheep appearance, appenninica sheep breed, appenninica sheep breed info, appenninica sheep breed facts, appenninica sheep behavior, appenninica sheep care, caring appenninica sheep, appenninica sheep color, appenninica sheep characteristics, appenninica sheep development, appenninica sheep ewes, appenninica sheep facts, appenninica sheep for meat, appenninica sheep for wool, appenninica sheep farms, appenninica sheep farming, appenninica sheep history, appenninica sheep horns, appenninica sheep info, appenninica sheep images, appenninica sheep lambs, appenninica sheep lambing, appenninica sheep meat, appenninica sheep origin, appenninica sheep photos, appenninica sheep pictures, appenninica sheep rarity, appenninica sheep rearing, raising appenninica sheep, appenninica sheep size, appenninica sheep temperament, appenninica sheep tame, appenninica sheep uses, appenninica sheep varieties, appenninica sheep weight, appenninica sheep wool

Both rams and ewes are polled, and their ears are carried horizontally. Average body height of the mature Appenninica rams is around 77 cm at the withers, and around 69 cm for the mature ewes.

As a medium sized animal, average live body weight of the mature Appenninica ewes is around 56 kg. And the mature rams on average weight around 78 kg. Photo and info from Wikipedia.

Uses

The Appenninica sheep is a meat sheep breed. It is raised mainly for meat production.

Special Notes

The Appenninica sheep are well adapted to the terrain of the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo and Emilia regions of Italy. The breed is one of the 17 autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept. And the herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia which is the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

Total population of these animals declined from greater than 160000 to 3438 from 1993 to 2007. And their total numbers were 9791 in 2013. However, review full breed profile of the Appenninica sheep in following chart.

Breed NameAppenninica
Other NamesNone
Breed PurposeMainly meat
Special NotesStrong animals, well adapted and do well in their native climate, well adapted to the terrain of the Apennine Mountains, Abruzzo and Emilia regions, the herdbook for the breed was established in 1981, total population decreased greatly, today raised mainly for meat
Breed SizeMedium
WeightMature rams average live body weight is around 78 kg, and the mature ram’s average live body weight is around 56 kg.
HornsNo
Climate ToleranceNative climates
ColorMainly white
RarityCommon
Country/Place of OriginItaly

Comments

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

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...

Sorting Cattle

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...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

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...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

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...

Cleaning A Cow

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...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

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...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

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 ...