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.
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 Name | Appenninica |
| Other Names | None |
| Breed Purpose | Mainly meat |
| Special Notes | Strong 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 Size | Medium |
| Weight | Mature rams average live body weight is around 78 kg, and the mature ram’s average live body weight is around 56 kg. |
| Horns | No |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Color | Mainly white |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | Italy |
